Thickness Planer Question?

[rcp612]

I've been reading all the reviews I can find, plus this forum's insights to thickness planers and snipe. The only thing I find in common in the reviews is that the length of the tables causes snipe. This forum seems to lean more toward the lack of a cutterhead lock being the cause.
Can someone please explain the reasons for snipe??
I want to buy a planer but, with a limited budget, I don't understand which way to go. Buy what I can afford or, just give up on the idea until I can afford one with a cutterhead lock ?

[dlminehart]

From what I understand, the main cause of snipe is not having the tables perfectly aligned. I saw a clever idea recently where someone used a flat length of melamine shelving extending through the planer as a base for moving the material through. You lose some thickness capability, so it does have its limitations. But for 3/4" boards, no problem doing it, and no problem with snipe.

[AlanWS]

The feed wheels press stock down onto the table, and the cutterhead is between them, spinning so as to cut against the direction of stock travel. If you have a short table, or it is adjusted too low, when the stock passes the first feed roller and is only pressed down by one of them, the larger part of the stock can sag, raising the short end into the cutterhead. This describes trailing snipe, and a similar process at the start of the cut can cause leading snipe.

Lifting the end of the stock as you feed it in and take it off by using infeed and outfeed tables, roller supports, or your hands, can diminish snipe.

I'm not completely sure how important the cutterhead lock is, but mine has it (22-580) and I get noticeable snipe only rarely when I don't properly support the stock. I imagine an unlocked cutterhead might move a bit as forces shift as stock passes a roller end.

I bought this planer because of the lock and have been happy with it, but many seem to be successful without the lock.

[Knottscott]

Not just table length, but alignment is a big factor as well. Some form a locking device for the cutterhead is also a big improvement in snipe reduction, and is one of the two most important features of a planer IMHO...dust collection is the other.

[bmyers]

.....I saw a clever idea recently where someone used a flat length of melamine shelving extending through the planer as a base for moving the material through. You lose some thickness capability, so it does have its limitations. But for 3/4" boards, no problem doing it, and no problem with snipe.

This is what I would do with my old Ryobi AP10 (no head lock) and it was a big improvement. I eventually purchased a Dewally which did have a head lock, even still a melamine board helped that planer too when it came to reducing snipe.


I got the AP10 for $100 used and had that for a while.


Bill

[ragswl4]

Yes on all that has been said. My experience is with a Grizzly 12 1/2" planer. I tried leveling the tables (numerous times), using a sled, lifting the board and could never get rid of the snipe, about 2" on each end. It did not matter how long the board was. I purchased a Rigid MSUV and mounted the planer on it and used the infeed/out rollers as support for the board. No joy with that either.

Gave up, purchased a Dewalt planer with a cutter head lock and WHALA, no snipe. If I forget to lock the cutter head I get snipe with the Dewalt as well. So my limited experience tells me "cutter head lock=no snipe". I have planed long and short boards with the Dewalt with no snipe. I just got tired of wasting wood, the cost can add up @ $6-$7 per board foot.

[rcp612]

From what I understand, the main cause of snipe is not having the tables perfectly aligned.

I eventually purchased a Dewally which did have a head lock, even still a melamine board helped that planer too when it came to reducing snipe.

So, if I understand everyone correctly, the cutterhead lock is a good feature but, not totally necessary? With additional support and a little luck, I'd be alright without the lock?
Also, it seems as though the board doesn't need upward support as much as it needs to be held down, level with the tables. Is that a correct assumption?
Thank you all for the information and your help!

[eddy merckx]

I think the reality is that the cheaper planers are just gonna snipe. I also have a 12 1/2" Grizzly which does a great job of planing smoothly. If I set the tables just right and hold my tongue just right, the snipe is pretty minimal. It does randomly take a deep bite on short pieces however.

There are a few ways to avoid snipe on planers without locks. You can send the board through with longer scrap boards on either side to keep the rollers level. You can also butt the board ends against one another as you feed them through.

Personally, I just cut the sniped ends off if the snipe is severe. Otherwise I plane or sand the face of the board to remove the snipe mark. It is helpful to plane the boards while they are still long (before they are crosscut to smaller sizes. Then you only have two ends with snipe.

Whenever this planer dies, I would certainly get one with a cutterhead lock. The standard seems to be the Ridgid. If you want to save a few hundred bucks, look for one on Craigslist. They appear in my area all the time.

Edd

[Garasaki]

IMO snipe is not caused primarily by table misalignment.



The best alignment (IMO) for tables is not perfectly flat, but rather curved so that the infeed and outfeed tables are slightly above the cutting surface, to fight the tilting of the board shown in the image above.

Cutterhead lock helps to minimize snipe caused by the rocking of the cutterhead assembly...theres a really good animation out there somewhere that demonstrates how cutterhead lock helps. Basically even if the stock is fed in perfectly flat, the movement of the infeed/outfeed rollers can cause some snipe.

I just bought my first planer, a used 22-540 from delta - supposedly a snipe monster. So far, in 2 uses, I haven't even been able to notice snipe...maybe it's jsut cause I'm new to the game though. However, I put a penny under each "outside" corner of my stock infeed/outfeed tables which I read helps a lot.

[LCHIEN]

I think there are two causes of sniping, which is fundamentally because the board raised up some at a point and the blade took a few mils deeper bite.
One cause being that the tables don't support the wood adequately, either mistuned or too short.
The other cause is that the two rollers, one front, one back , moved and allowed the wood to rise into the blade. The movement happens if you don't have a cutterhead lock and the two rollers are driven up and down by an elevation control. The cutterhead in this case literally rocks back and forth (by a few mils, dependent on tolerances and clearances). When the trailing edge of the wood passes the rear roller, the rear roller drops and the front roller rises allowing the wood to lift slightly (we're talking 5-10 mils here, enough for snipe) and get sniped. (same thing happens in the infeed side)
A cutterhead lock will lock both rollers to their respective columns, not allowing either to rise or fall. Then your snipe is entirely dependent upon the alignment of your tables.

So a CHL can go a long way to reducing your snipe, but you also have to have the machine's infeed/outfeed properly tuned.

[rcp612]

A cutterhead lock will lock both rollers to their respective columns, not allowing either to rise or fall. Then your snipe is entirely dependent upon the alignment of your tables.

So a CHL can go a long way to reducing your snipe, but you also have to have the machine's infeed/outfeed properly tuned.

Thank you,,, that makes more sense to me now. I was thinking the cutterhead lock only locked the cutterhead which, made no sense to me. But this explaination "un-"confused me.

[newood2]

If I set the tables just right and hold my tongue just right, the snipe is pretty minimal.

Is this the same as how Michael Jordan stick his tongue out
to get the ball in the hoop? Then this would reguire years of training in paraphysics or something of that nature. LOL

Howie