Thread: should I return it? or is it normal

Gidday Eric
Mate I dont have a gmc one but Ive got a 12in and 15in Sherwood and both these have little screws that you can use to adjust the roller height...

Yours should have them as well small grommet type screws perhaps? try looking around the top of the unit or down alongside the rollers themselves... did you get a manual thingy with it? chingalese I bet... in that case better get hold of our resident Chingalese mate Wongo the drongo to translate! nah sorry lost the plot for a tic there he speaks a weird version of Aussie but hes cool... now back to the thicknesser

Someone else on board will have the same unit mate and hopefully they will find a work round for you

The rollers MUST push the timber down for it to work properly.

I've got one , great machine.
Never had to do any of the adjustments so can't advise about them.

When I feed the timber, it feels like the infeed table is higher and when the roller pushes the timber down can feel the timber is tilting
not sure if I can make myself clear.
The same feeling as if the infeed table was 1mm higher and when the timber is on the cutter table and push down by the rollers, it tilts downward because of a difference in height, although there is none

Whoa!!

I think we need to make sure we are all talking about the same thing here.

I think EMistral is talking about the external rollers that hang off the ends of the fold-down tables, while Echidna is talking about the internal feed rollers.

The way I read the problem is that the following should all be level:
1) top of edge roller on infeed table
2) top of infeed table
3) top of cutting table
4) top of outfeed table
5) top of roller at the end of outfeed table.

BUT

EMistral's machine has 1) and 5) higher than the rest, thus causing his problem.

OK, working on the previous assumptions, I agree with Wild Dingo - check to see if there's a screw that will let you adjust the rollers into line with the tables. The roller-securing screws are usually in a slot that allows for adjustment.

Cheers,
Andrew

E Mistral,
if the problem is that the metal rollers on the infeed table and on the outfeed table are higher than the tables, then you have a similar problem to some of us; and the solution can be found on Stuart Lees (the orange moderators') website. He found a solution by riveting a thin sheet of Aluminium to the infeed table, thereby making it level with the rollers. It may also be on the post about the GMC thicknesser bargain. Pm him and I am sure he will help, it looks like an easy and practical solution, I hope this helps.

Regards,
Felixe.

Just a note, my thicknesser has a similar problem and I am off to Capral tomorrow morning to get some aluminium to fix this problem using Stuarts solution.

Regards,
Felixe.

Originally Posted by arose62

Whoa!!.........
EMistral's machine has 1) and 5) higher than the rest, thus causing his problem.

Thats how i read the problem too, and my GMC machine is the same.

apparrently they think that by elevating the rollers a bit it reduces friction over the table and the pressure in the in- and out-feed rollers is supposed to hold the stock flat as it is planed.

Once i build the table to hold the thicknesser with extended in-and out-feed support the end rollers will probably be removed or replaced by flush rollers mounted along the table (with me, the design phase continues till the project is completed). it looks like they are adjustable but i havent bothered with doing so at this stage

EMistral,
Have a look at this website.
http://www.woodisourart.com/planer/planer.htm
Has some great info about snipe and about the roller height.

If it is 1 and 5 like Andrew pointed out, try this. It works a treat, no snipe, and thickness down to 1.5mm with ease. You loose 18mm in depth, but who cares

G'day
If you can adjust the table rollers, I would adjust them so they are not in use. For light work you wont need them.

Cheers
Marty

Originally Posted by Q Joinery

G'day
If you can adjust the table rollers, I would adjust them so they are not in use. For light work you wont need them.

Cheers
Marty

Heres a quote from the excellent link posted below by woodbutcher

"Lumber snipe - To minimize the effects of this, the operator should lift the work slightly as he commences the cut and hold it there until the cut is well established. This holds the free end flat on the platen until the outfeed roll takes effect. The helper at the other end does the same thing as the board exits. Thus the work is held flat to the platen and any snipe present is minimized. If a sniped board is turned over the feed roll forces the underside snipe to the platen, it compounds the topside snipe, particularly of the material is already thin and flexible."

thats why they raised the rollers on the gmc machine, i think

Yeah, something like that Doug.
If the board is perfectly flat then the best option is to have the infeed and outfeed rollers and the table perfectly flat, but we don't live in a perfect world. It is good to have the rollers slightly above the table but only .5mm to 1.0mm. Any more than this could cause more problems.

For the record I plane a fair bit of Timber at work. I think we dressed around 900l/m in the last two days. We always hold the end of the board up as it goes into the thicknesser to reduce snipe, but sometimes no matter what you do it happens. And this is in a machine that weighs around 2.5t and was designed for a lot of use.

EMistral, Remember the thicknesser is only worth $200 for a reason. I think that everyone that bought (or if lucky enough, was given) one of the GMC thicknesser, myself included, has to realise that they are not quality machines. There are ways to minimise snipe and I think we may just have to settle for that.

Have a look here:

http://www.majorpanic.com/images/woo...hicknesser.htm

If its not working after this treatment, throw it away...

Originally Posted by Wood Butcher

If the board is perfectly flat then the best option is to have the infeed and outfeed rollers and the table perfectly flat, but we don't live in a perfect world. It is good to have the rollers slightly above the table but only .5mm to 1.0mm. Any more than this could cause more problems.

The piece of marine ply i have through mine as shown in the pic has the rollers on the infeed and outfeed tables adjusted to just touch the ply and i have two strips of veneer glued under the infeed to raise it up a mil and a bit. I dont get any snipe with this set up and its cheap and quick to do