Use and Care Manual

12
OPERATION
PREPARE WORK
Thickness planers work best when at least one side of the lumber is flat. Use a surface planer or a jointer to create
a flat surface. Twisted or severely warped boards can jam the planer and should not be used. Rip lumber in half to
reduce magnitude of warp.
Work should be fed into the planer in same direction as the grain of the wood. Sometimes grain will change
directions in middle of board. In such cases, if possible, cut board in middle before planing so grain direction is
correct. NEVER PLANE AGAINST THE GRAIN DIRECTION OF THE WOOD. DO NOT PLANE END
GRAIN, AS THE WOOD COULD SPLINTER OR POSSIBLY EXPLODE.
CAUTION: Do not plane board which is less than 14-1/2 inches long; force of cut could split board and cause
kickback.
AVOIDING SNIPE
Thickness planers tend to leave a small bit of snipe at the end of the planed boards, particularly for longer work-
pieces. Snipe is a small dip that occurs from the weight of the board tilting downwards, thus pushing the other
end of the board into the cutter head, creating an uneven finish. Snipe will occur when boards are not supported
properly or when only one feed roller is in contact with the work at beginning or end of cut.
The best way of avoiding snipe is to cut your lumber long enough that you can saw off the snipe after the board
has been planed. Leave 1-2” on both ends that can be later removed. Other less efficient ways include gently push-
ing the board up while feeding the work until the outfeed roller starts advancing it. Then, move to the rear and
receive the planed board by gently pushing it up when the infeed roller loses contact with it. The third option is
to have another dummy board flush against the beginning and end of the workpiece. That way, this piece of scrap
wood will be the recipient of all of the snipe. Snipe is more apparent when deeper cuts are taken. Lower depths
help prevent snipe.
It is also recommended to have the infeed and outfeed extension tables slightly inclined upwards to form a V
shape, with the difference between the outermost edges of the extension tables and center of granite tables being
about 1 mm.
CHECK FOR WORN BLADES
Condition of blades will affect the precision of cuts. Observe the quality of the cut that the planer produces to
check the condition of the blades. Dull blades will tear, rather than sever wood fibers and produce fuzzy appear-
ances. Raised grain will occur when dull blades pound on wood that has varying density. Raised edges will also be
produced where the blades have been nicked. Blades on this planer are reversible and should always be reversed
or replaced as a matched set. Keeping a spare set of blades on hand is recommended. Replacement blades can be
ordered from wenproducts.com