Thread: How to eliminate snipe on thicknesser?

Suggest that you do a search as there have been a few posts about this and several remedies suggested

Hope that helps

I have the same issue with my wide drum sander, and noticed that the snipe point is exactly where the material enters/leaves the second roller. While only the first roller is exerting pressure, the sanding drum is closer to the material, then when the second roller is engaged the extra spring pressure forces the material and drum apart, causing a shallower cut until the material comes out from under the first roller. (Hope this makes sense.)

Your thicknesser is probably suffering from a similar ailment by the sound of it.

In my case, the drum sander is single-ended with the outer edge unsupported, allowing some flex.
In your case, it's possibly as described in this thread: - https://www.woodworkforums.com/f154/i...knesser-25930/

Good luck.

N.B. I noticed that in the review snipe was experienced at both ends.

Thanks for the replies to date, much appreciated

I found a good article here on what causes snipe - looks like the trick is to make sure the infeed and outfeed tables are exactly flat and level with the base of the thicknesser under the rollers and cutter block.

I found this contribuition by Derek Cohen to an identical problem raised by JillB that is consistent with this. Will give it a go.

I decided to give Derek's solution a go!

I checked out the infeed and outfeed trays again, and found that on the infeed tray, there is a small 3mm step up to the base of the thicknesser plate under the cutter block.

So I put a long straight edge on the base plate, then adjusted the infeed and outfeed trays so the outer edge of each tray was level with the base, then put a block of timber under the outer edge of the trays so that it would not move. I then put a sheet of melamine 1200 x 300 in the thicknesser, covering the infeed and outfeed trays, and clamped it to each tray.

Pressing down on the trays resulted in virtually no movement, a huge difference from the earlier arrangement with just a cantilevered tray without support.

The end result was a marked reduction in the number of times snipe occurred, and when it did occur, the amount of snipe was considerably less.

Not sure why the snipe occurs sometimes, and not other times. Must be my technique.

I raised the problem with the manufacturers ( Elektra Beckum, now Metabo) and they advise the following:

If the workpiece does not feed smoothly it may be caused by a build up of resin on the feed rollers. Try cleaning the rollers also the surface of the planning bed, and feed trays may require waxing.

Depending on the weight of the workpiece it may be causing the infeed and out feed trays to dip slightly at the start and finish of the cut you could try either adjusting trays so the rear edges are slightly higher or by supporting the rear of the trays with a block or jacking screws from underneath.

If the machine has been used extensively there may be a build of debris under the rollers restricting their movement.

The attached picture is an excellence explanation of how snipe occurs on an infeed