# Snipe



## redgum (Oct 27, 2006)

I recently purchased a 12" TWM thicknesser and a book on jointers and thicknessers. 
On the outfeed there is zero snipe.
However on the infeed there is always snipe from the start of the piece of wood to exactly 50mm in.
I have adjusted the infeed table as recommended in the book but this appears to have little or no effect. I have also lifted the board at the start of feeding as is often recommended, however this also does not solve the problem and often exacerbates it creating a 2nd gouge out of the piece of wood further up.
I have read that adjusting the actual rollers can also help solve the problem however i've studied the thicknesser and manual and i'm fairly confident this is NOT possible on this model.
The book suggests snipe can always be eliminated, but from reading around i suspect that this may only apply to more expensive models. 
Do i have to live with snipe or is there something else i can do?
What thicknessers do you recommend that have managed to eliminate snipe?


----------



## redgum (Oct 27, 2006)

just another note to add to the above message
i am looking at a 2nd hand 15" JET thicknesser
are these recommended?


----------



## Rob (Oct 31, 2006)

I wish I had the answer. I have a portable Delta 12" and have come to the conclusion it's just not heavy-duty enough. I tried ALL the fixes yeras ago and now, just put up with it on the leading edge.
Good luck!


----------



## joasis (Sep 15, 2006)

There are no permanent fixes to "snipe" in planers....it is the nature of the design. The only sort of solution I know of is have the blades ground with a negative leading edge....in other words, dulled with precision byt the company that sharpens them, and as they cut/tear the material off on the leading and trailing ends of the board, the board is pressed away from the cutter head, eliminating snipe. However, this will work in inductrial equipment, and I doubt smaller machines will have the power. I have noticed that with good support, my Woodmaster 18 inch planer does not seem to have this problem.


----------



## SawDustJack (Nov 6, 2006)

One thing I have done is put a piece of melamine underneath the piece being planed .. Seems to reduce it somewhat .. I think operator error may have something to do with it at times .. Sometimes I get it bad , and other times I can plane quite a large amount with little or no snipe .. 
I dont know that their is a quick and fast solution other than having large infeed and outfeed tables .. I've pondered trying to make them and see how they do , havent gotten beyond the thinking stage though ..


----------



## oscorner (Dec 10, 2006)

I've found on my WoodMaster planer that there is less snipe if I don't support(by hand) the board on the infeed side. If I try to hold up or down on the tailend of the board the snipe is more noticable than if I let it lay on the infeed table freely after the first feed roller makes contact.


----------



## formula462 (Dec 9, 2006)

I have just gotten used to making the pieces longer than needed and cutting it out. I have both the DeWault and Rigid planers and they both do it although the former not as bad


----------



## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Snipe does not have to be accepted as the norm. I have eliminated it completey on my Dewalt. The way I do it however is not by the way i have it setup. Somehow I have deveoped enough of a feel for how the board comes out of the machine that I can give it just the right amount of upward pressure so that its virtually gone. 
Well, not vitually, it IS gone because it doesn't exist. Every now and then when I start planing after not having done so for a week or so I will snipoe 1 or 2 or maybe 3 before i get that perfect "feel" for it again, but I do get it back.

When the blades are real dull, even though it doesn't make sense in my head that it should matter as to snipe, I can't keep it from happening most of the time. When it starts, then I know it's time to reverese or change the blades.

I don't know if you have played with hand pressure, but it solved my problem completely.


----------



## formula462 (Dec 9, 2006)

Just asking but shouldn't or why doesn't the front roller hold the piece flat until it completely passes the blades? I mean I can see it happening to a long piece thats not supported but on the shorter pcs. why won't the roller prevent it?


----------



## oscorner (Dec 10, 2006)

formula462, what I see happens on my planer is that the cutter engages the board after it passes the first feed roller, then when the board hits the second roller it pushes the board down causing the front snipe on the board. The rear snipe is easier to prevent by supporting the board correctly. In other words, by holding up the end of the board slightly, it keeps the end of the board from raising which will allow the cutter head to dig into it. I'm sure that there is a more technical explanation, this is just my observation. The infeed and outfeed rollers are made of rubber, so there is a minute amount of give. Also, if there is any sprang(I know that sprang in the first few inches of the board is stretching it) once the board is clear of the first roller there is nothing to hold it down as it engages the cutter head. I hope this make sense.


----------



## heavenlywoodcreation (Jan 28, 2007)

I have a 15IN delta and when i first got it the snipe was vary bad and i put ply wood on the bed to make it longer (4FT) and i had to put a shim under the in and out feed sides to raise them up about 1/8 IN at the ends (a washers is what i used it stopped almost all but not all 

Jack


----------



## dwwright (Jan 15, 2007)

Even with a stationary head, I always manage to get some snipe, you just never know since each board has different properties. I found that I either have to put a sacrifical board in at each end along with the board I want to keep or just dont' plan on using the first few inches. If you've got several boards it helps to either butt them end for end or stagger them if you have room.


----------



## JCCLARK (Jan 30, 2007)

I have fought snipe for a long time, after adjusting everything perfectly
I just about got rid of it but then it creeps back eventually.
I now just push a narrow scrap in behind the last board butted
against it firmly and I don't get snipe.
I got tired of fighting it.:icon_confused:


----------



## pitbull (Jan 29, 2007)

can I ask what you say is "snipe"


----------



## mdlbldrmatt135 (Dec 6, 2006)

It's when the planer "digs in" near the end of the board.


----------



## pitbull (Jan 29, 2007)

ahhhh. I have a portable DW but never had the problem. And in the workshop, I get it the od time, Even though the portable thicknesser say they can take off 3mm the distance between the rollers especially 2 or3 roller designs tend too kick up that 1/16th on the in feed or out.

If you have 2 rollers on the in feed and 1 on the out, you have a greater chance of snipe on the back as it leaves the 2 rollers at the rear the only thing that keeps the wood down and not pivoting are the roller and the cutting blades themselves. If you are wanting a top notch thicknesser then get a 4 roller. 2 on the in feed and 2 on the out feed.

hope this may make sense


----------



## Mitchman (Sep 17, 2011)

*carrier board*

couldn't you completely eliminate snipe if you attached your workpiece to a carrier board that is a few inches longer at both ends with some double sided tape


----------



## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Mitchman said:


> couldn't you completely eliminate snipe if you attached your workpiece to a carrier board that is a few inches longer at both ends with some double sided tape



I have tried this with my DeWalt 735 and it did not eliminate the snipe.

I think the issue is the rollers being spring loaded vs the head is not.

I have tried lifting the board on the inlet and exit. I can sometimes reduce, but so far I have not been able to eliminate the snipe.

This model is touted as having autolocking heads. It may. I was able to get less snipe on my previous Delta 55-280 which had manual locking heads.

Other people with the DW 735 have posted that they are not experiencing noticeable snipe, so perhaps I am one of the "lucky" owners. :thumbdown:


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Make your subject board a "follower". It follows a scrap board, butted tight as it passes through.









 







.


----------



## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Mitchman said:


> couldn't you completely eliminate snipe if you attached your workpiece to a carrier board that is a few inches longer at both ends with some double sided tape


I use a carrier board with 80 grit on it. That board, in turn, rides on a melmine covered piece of MDF. Srill doesn't completely eliminate snipe but, as Texas Timbers says, judicious lifting (of either end) does the trick. If not, a couple passes on my "V" sander does.
I use a 12.5" Delta.


----------



## 65BAJA (May 27, 2012)

I have the DW735. It doe have some snipe on both ends. I just use a sacrificial board to leed and follow. No snipe.


----------



## Fastback (Sep 2, 2012)

Funny in the directions of my Jet 15-inch it says that you cannot get rid of snipe. This is my third planer and each has had some snipe. At this point I think the Jet has the least of the three. I kinda just expect it and plan for some. The Jet seems to have more on the start of the planing cycle and hardly any on the exit. Of course this can be reduced but butting material, but that is not always an option.


----------

