Surfacing boards

[Anonymous]

After reading various reviews I have just purchased a perform planer after Axminster made me an offer I couldn't refuse (£89 instead of £149).

My problem is when surfacing boards I seem to end up with an unwanted taper. What am I doing wrong!!! I've tried exerting more pressure on the outfield table but still can't seem to get it right. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi L
It's difficult to "do" andything wrong with a P/T, it's almost certainly the table which is not set up correctly. Try searching this site and the web for articles on setting up a P/T.
They should be right from the factory, of course, but often they are not.

Briefly, the tables should be parallel to each other, and to the thicknessing bed.

The cutter block should be parallel to them all.

The knives should be set properly in the cutterblock.

That's all.

But if the tables are not right, you'll never get satisfactory results.

When my Kity cam a couple of years ago it was all over the place, and it took an engineer 16 hours to set it up properly from scratch. Kity's bill, not mine.

Cheers
Steve

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Is the "taper" across the end of the board? If yes, you have what we in the US call snipe. It is commonly caused because the planer head isn't locked into place or because the head cants at an angle as the infeed roller falls off the end of the board. Sometimes you get it at the leading end as well. The infeed roller is up on the board but the outfeed roller isn't. This allows the head to sit at an angle and the cutter head rides lower until the board gets under the outfeed roller.

If your planer head is locked and you still have this problem there are a couple of solutions. First, plan on the snipe and leave your boards long enough that you have room to cut the snipe off. Another solution is to run longer strips of scrap the same thickness as your stock. these will keep the rollers up until the cutter is off the work.

There may be some adjustment to the locking mechanism and you should check that the infeed and outfeed tables are level with the bed.

 

[Alf]

Welcome to the forum, LR

Before we get into a classic "divided by a common language" difficulty, I assume you mean one of these? Rather than one of these?

Cheers, Alf

 

[SketchUp Guru]

 

[Alf]

Not to worry, Dave. Goodness knows why we call 'em different things. :roll:

 

[SketchUp Guru]

I could have at least looked up to see what he was talking about before I got going down the wrong path. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions I'll go back to the set-up first

 

[mahking51]

LB
Welcome to the forum.
You may not be aware but there is a thriving local Dorset chapter of the forum aka The Three Woodkateers, two of whom should be avoided at all costs in the interest of maintaining the health of your wallet. :twisted:
Which bit of our lovely county are you in?
Best Regards
Martin (the other one........)

 

[Waka]

LB
Welcome to the forum.
You may not be aware but there is a thriving local Dorset chapter of the forum aka The Three Woodkateers, two of whom should be avoided at all costs in the interest of maintaining the health of your wallet. :twisted:
Which bit of our lovely county are you in?
Best Regards
Martin (the other one........)

LB

Welcome also.

What martin omitted to say was thatit is the Poole Woodkateer who you should keep away from, come to that he could be moving out of Dorset soon, so they'll only be two Woodkateers, Martin we'll have to recruit.

 

[ike]

Hi L,

You're doing nothing wrong. Some adjustments are needed and with a little time spent it'll cut true.

As Steve says, the tapering is due to the infeed and outfeed tables not being exactly parallel. A very small error here is simply magnified with successive passes.

When surfacing (as opposed to thicknessing) any snipe ( a step on the end) will be caused by the cutter blade being set to high above the outfeed table. If you place a suitable straight edge across from the outfeed table over the cutter block, when you turn the cutter block, the blade should just kiss the straightedge or drag it no more than about 1/8". Be sure to check this both ends of the blade.

Ike

 

[Chris Knight]

What martin omitted to say was thatit is the Poole Woodkateer who you should keep away from, come to that he could be moving out of Dorset soon, so they'll only be two Woodkateers, Martin we'll have to recruit.

So where are you headed Philly?

 

[martyn2]

there is another one me i still live in dorset but still rank as a beginer :?

welcome LB you will find the help here

martyn

 

[Alf]

there is another one me i still live in dorset but still rank as a beginer :?

You'll be D'Artagnan then.

Cheers, Alf

Wondering who's who of the others... :-k

 

[martyn2]

was'nt he the young dashing good looking one


(just gos to show how wrong one can be :?) (homer)

martyn

 

[Alan Holtham]

This is the classic symptom of the blades being too low in the block. Try bringing them out a few thou only with the jacking screws and the tapering will disappear. :wink:

If you bring them out too far the timber will drop onto the block at the end of the cut and leave that characteristic scoop called snipe. The difference between being right and being wrong is fractions of an inch, so go easy on the adjustments. If you wind out too far take the blades right back in and then wind them up again to take up any backlash in the seating of the knife on adjusting screws.

Don't mess with the tables until you have tried this first, you are opening a real can of worms with table adjustments!

Hope this helps.

Alan

 

[Philly]

Not going too far, Folks. Exeter area-not finalised yet. Details to follow......
And no-it's not because of the Axminster show :lol:
Philly

 

[philpolish]

Hi there i thought the same as you so cheap cant be missed. Took it out of the box and I found the same fault as yours. The outfeed table is set to low and there is no adjustment . I sent mine back and upgraded it. It is only classed as a hobby machine. Even so it should still do what is says on the tin. I bought the Axminster one for around £180 well worth the extra feels more like a tool and not a toy would highly recocomend.
Kind regards Phil.