How to Control Planer Snipe

Mostly the design of the machine is the biggest culprit. There simply isn't enough support and control when the end of the board is passing under the planer knives. Sniping starts when the board is past the infeed rollers and the outfeed roller can't hold the end of the board against the table. This happens because the outfeed roller is either too far away from the cutter head or it doesn't have enough downward pressure to keep the board from raising or bouncing.

Small diameter rubber covered feed rollers are probably at the top of the bad idea list. These covered rollers are normally on the infeed and the outfeed side of the planer. They're rubber covered to help grip the lumber as the board passes through and they're also rubber covered to prevent marring of the surface. These are both good ideas for the main problems they solve. The secondary problem they create is when using rubber coated rollers it's hard to get enough downward pressure to keep snipe from happening.

Another major contributor to planer snipe is a short outfeed table. If the board isn't supported properly when the board feeds past the infeed roller then the board will pivot up into the planer blades. If you couple this with a rubber outfeed roller without proper downward pressure then the planer blades will really dig in causing very heavy snipe.

It seems that the planer knives also try to pull the board up from the table as the board feeds under the knives. Without the downward pressure of the infeed roller at the end of the board this lifting action from the rotation of the knives can pull the end of the board away from the table. The heavier the cut the deeper the planer snipe.

Make sure the board is supported good on the outfeed side of the planer. I like to raise the support slightly at the far end, creating a slight incline. Also, try pushing down on the board as it comes out of the planer. Sometimes this helps stabilize the board as it finishes its pass.

If your planer is built with bed rollers start by making sure they're set to the manufacturers recommendation. After that, experiment a little bit by dropping them down a little at a time. I've found that this helps sometimes but when you change the depth of cut to a heavier cut the planer snipe gets bad again.

When sizing boards try taking a skim cut on your last pass. A skim cut doesn't give the planer knives a chance to dig in and raise the end of the board after it feeds past the infeed rollers.

You can also try feeding boards end to end tight against each other or sometimes you may be able to run boards side by side if your planer is wide enough. To try this, the ends of the boards should be offset at least 12" or more. This is the most effective method I've found to control planer snipe when planing a lot of boards at the same time.

At one time or another I've tried all of the methods above with mixed results. There are so many variables involved that something that works one time may not work the next.

Oh, and P.S. Do I need to mention how sharp planer knives seem to help all of the methods I mentioned above to eliminate planer snipe.

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