Snipe with no known way to fix - Axminster AP260SPT

[ddcboyle]

Hi guys, need help with snipe from my new tool. Just bought an Axminster AP260SPT planer thicknesser, which I upgraded from the Dewalt DW733.

I constantly get snipe when using the thicknesser part. Its a cast iron table, no infeed table on it so I don't know how best to adjust it to stop snipe. It does have an outfeed table support, but the snipe im getting is from the infeed.

The wood is flat, fed flat (and ive tried adjusting the feed angle of the wood) to no avail.

Im planing about 150 shelves that are 10mm thicknx 50cm x 6cm. Constantly get snipe. I got snipe when I was planing 20mm thick boards aswell.

The dewalt had the adjustable infeed table, so I have no snipe at all. Surely at 2.5k, I should be able to plane on this with no snipe. Any ideas?

(Photos attached to all the parts of the thicknesser incase theres any adjustments)

 

[Doug71]

Snipe at the start can be caused by the feed roller pressure being too high but if the planer is new I would contact Axminster before fiddling with it.

When thicknessing if you feed the next piece of wood in straight after the one before it so there is always wood in contact with both rollers it can reduce snipe but unless someone is helping it can be quite tricky, especially with short pieces!

 

[Sideways]

Think.
There's no spring between the thickness table and the cutterblock. There shouldn't be any movement in that height.
If the machine is stiff and you have already planed one side of the board truly flat which becomes the bottom surface, then if the wood is fed in flat and kept flat, there shouldn't be snipe when you thickness.
Be pedantic about it and check :
You have locked the thickness table so it can't tilt as stock passes through.
There's no snipe at the ends of the lower face of the board from your planing operation to throw off the thicknessing ?
You have roller supports on the infeed and the outfeed sides to ensure the stock is fed absolutely flat in and out of the thickness table ? Check with a straightedge, maybe a long spirit level because they are straight and stiff. Don't rely on the plank itself to show you where flat is, the plank can droop. Place the inward roller at a distance a bit over half the plank length away from the table so it's all stable without you holding it. Outfeed side it has to be near enough that the plank will be starting to droop but will hit high enough to ride up and over the roller. Far enough that the overhanging plank won't be seesawing on it and trying to lift the final end towards the cutterblock once it's free of the infeed roller and being held down only by the outfeed roller.

Is there anything in the manual for your planer that gives setup instructions for the spring tension on the in and outfeed rollers ? If there is, check this. If there isn't, message and ask Axminster how it should be set. I think that's about the only thing that can make a real difference if you are feeding flat in and out.

You don't feed in and out at an angle (above or below horizontal).

The feed rollers are quite high presure but fairly close together.
Planing a decent size, long plank, there's a lot of weight acting at quite a few feet away from the machine. It's a lot of leverage that just one of the two feed feed rollers has to overcome for a few inches at the end of each pass. Cranking up the feed roller pressure should help keep the timber down but increases friction against the table, and if you properly support the timber in and out, the feed rollers shouldn't have much to do.

 

[Mike Fletcher]

I had the same problem with infeed snipe. I reduced the pressure on both feed rollers, gave the table a good coat of wax and snipe was gone. It took some back and forth to get the pressure right, as too little pressure caused the boards to slip on the rollers and made gouges where the board stopped moving. But keep at it, you can get it right.

 

[Blister]

I found that having longer in feed and out feed tables helped , As the board was entering the in feed roller it was flat and well supported , Then through the cutter block working towards the out feed roller , At this point if the board is not fully supported the weight will cause the board to tip causing snipe , At my previous home I built it into a work bench so I had a 1 meter wooden table aligned with the steel P/T table and the same on the out feed side, It did work but took up a lot of room , I did consider using the roller type stands that could be folded and stored when not in use.