Thread: How do I prevent thicknesser from ruining ends of my timber?

Originally Posted by munruben

Its only a cheapie Ozzito
Thats proably the problem eh?

If it's as good as the Ozito sawbench I was inspecting last night, certainly.

I have a sheet of 19mm melomene as a false base in my thicknesser. Also if you are feeding in multple boards always butt 1 board up against the other as they go thru that way any possible snipe is only on the front of the very first board & the end of the very last board. Also i always keep some cheap radiata pine handy to run thru as sacrificial timber if no snipe is critical.

If you are using the melamine board route, also be careful that your infeed and outfeed tables aren't "tipped" up slightly from the horizontal plane. As presssure comes onto the board from the feed roller, the melamine flexes, and exacerbates the inherrent snipe problem.

For most of the cheapies, (and I suspect all adjustable head (as opposed to adjustable bed) machines, the snipe is inherent, and due to "twist" or "rock " in the machining head, as the board passes first under the infeed roller, then the cutterhead, then the outfeed roller, (and reversed on exit)

I suspect this is the fix by m2c1 referred to above, ( project by apricottripper) but it does sacrifice flexibility, as it is necessary to unlock and relock the machine head with each pass through the machine, which is a PITA. Maybe worth it for the last 1/2 mm cut?

In general I don't bother. I finish plane each component before assembling anyway, and in general, find that 6 or so srokes with a fine set plane are all that is needed to get rid of the snipe.

regards

On my machine, I lift the workpiece slightly as the rollers catch it going in, and lift it slightly as it comes out. In fact the amount I lift it going in is virtually nothing, its more like an upward pressure. It seems to cure the problem most of the time. I have a long piece of mdf going through the machine and over both infeed and outfeed tables which makes it easier to do the lifting.

Sorry to contradict the advice given above, but its not just a matter of reinforcing the little pressed metal infeed/outfeed tables fitted to most machines. You will notice that even pro-quality machines with heavy cast iron beds suffer from snipe - in fact they seem to suffer worse.

I will back Arron's statement. It does reduce snipe. I was a happier man when I learned this trick. Not claiming it is the fix for all snipe but a lot of it is down to the operator rather than the machine.
Regards
John

I always do what Arron does, it can be quite a sensual feeling controlling the timber that way

I lift the workpiece slightly as the rollers catch it going in, and lift it slightly as it comes out.... but its not just a matter of reinforcing the little pressed metal infeed/outfeed tables fitted to most machines.

Arron

Snipe occurs at the beginning and, more often, the ends of boards because the rollers cannot hold it flat to prevent the board tilting into the blades. When you lift the board as it exits the machine, all you are doing is supporting its weight and preventing it from tilting into the blades. If you had a long-enough, flat-enough support for the board as it enters and exits the thicknesser, you would likely avoid snipe.

Adding support to the in- and outfeed tables in only one step. This is fine for shorter lengths, but not enough for longer boards. The heavier the board, the greater the importance of the in- and outboard supports.

The ideal would be a long, flat table through the thicknesser. One MDF board is a poor choice since it will flex. I once made up a triple layer of MDF and it still flexed! I have plans to make up another with steel section reinforcing. Forget MDF on its own.

You will notice that even pro-quality machines with heavy cast iron beds suffer from snipe - in fact they seem to suffer worse.

I doubt that this has to do with the support beds. If it does occur, it really demonstrates that there are a number of causes of snipe. It is not only the bed support.

Regards from Perth

Derek

This link was posted here the other day...in relation to the "New Fangled Workbench"...anyhoo, there are some other videos and one is for getting the most from your Thicknesser. It has some stuff on snipe.

http://vidego.multicastmedia.com/player.php?v=j8i4h121