Planer Accessory Table

[peterwoody]

I am contemplating building an accessory table for my Palmgren planer which doesn't have them as standard. I am planning on using a 4 foot length of melamine which will fit over the planer table. I get a large amount of snipe at present and recall reading that having the infeed and outfeed table higher (say 1/16th) than the planer table will go some way towards reducing snipe. I could accomplish this by gluing some thin material on both the infeed and outfeed sides.
Has anyone tried something along these lines.

[gsmittle]

I am contemplating building an accessory table for my Palmgren planer which doesn't have them as standard. I am planning on using a 4 foot length of melamine which will fit over the planer table. I get a large amount of snipe at present and recall reading that having the infeed and outfeed table higher (say 1/16th) than the planer table will go some way towards reducing snipe. I could accomplish this by gluing some thin material on both the infeed and outfeed sides.
Has anyone tried something along these lines.

I have the Rigid planer with infeed and outfeed tables. I found that raising the ends of both of them about a dime's thickness higher than the planer bed helped with snipe.

Might want to make the shims removable until you know for sure if it helps...

g.

[LCHIEN]

you can't just make the infeed and outfeed tables 1/16th higher with shim material; consider when the fed material hits the out feed table it will get stuck. and when the end of the workpiece falls off the infeed shim they you will get a definate 1/16th snipe as it falls down by 1/16th.

I think what you are hearing is that the infeed and outfeed tables are tilted up by a 1/16th at the outside ends.

it may help some but that also presents some theoretical problems.
I think snipe is a thing you have to live with with certain design planers. Two things contribute to snipe:
The more slop they have in their upper mechanism that holds the two rollers and the blade/motor, the worse the snipe will be.
Also the more flexible the feed tables (e.g. having none would be very flexible) the worse the snipe will be.
tilting the tables by 1/16th just tries to compensate for sag in the feed tables.

[peterwoody]

Planer Accessory Table

I guess I didn't express myself very well. I had planned on making the ends of the table higher by 1/16th and taper down to zero where the accessory table is directly above the planer table. I agree that just adding 1/16th would cause more troubles than it cures !!!!
My understanding is that snipe is generally caused when only one roller engages the workpiece, allowing it to rock the head or liftup slightly into the cutterhead. I have had some success in reducing snipe by lifting up on the outfeed side aftter the board has cleared the infeed roller.
Thanks for your response and thoughts.

[Sawduster]

Feeding the workpiece at as much of an angle to the blade helps to minimize snipe. A couple short pieces of scrap of the same thickness, one fed in front of, and one behind the workpiece, each butted against the workpiece helps. If feeding several pieces through, butt each against the previous one.

With longer pieces I will hold the trailing end up slightly as the leading end goes under the rollers, then move around and do likewise with the leading end as the trailing end leaves the rollers.

I added a 4ft long piece of 3/4" MDF with a battan on the located located such that it catches the edge of the infeed table preventing it from being pulled through. More or less split the difference between the infeed and outfeed side. Don't get to use the built in thickness rule, but the added table length makes for better planing.

[cabinetman]

Feeding the workpiece at as much of an angle to the blade helps to minimize snipe. A couple short pieces of scrap of the same thickness, one fed in front of, and one behind the workpiece, each butted against the workpiece helps. If feeding several pieces through, butt each against the previous one.

That's really the only way to minimize/eliminate snipe. I've never added any tables to the planer. For a lot of footage, it helps to have it all ready to feed. It's convenient to have a helper on the other end.

I've gotten accustomed to not depend on using the last inch or so of boards in my figuring of stock. As in most hardwood projects you have to figure an overage just to CYA.