Trouble with snipe

[Byrdie]

I was going to say what Eric said, feeding at an angle only works until you need to feed a board too long or too wide to feed at an angle.  Supporting the ends of the boards (roller stands, longer in and outfeed, slightly raising the angle of the in and outfeed tables) will help with keeping the ends from dropping and and levering the end of the board still in the machine into the knives.  Ultimately, you're still going to get snipe from time to time.  Learn to plan for it.

[ShoreHardwoods]

I use a Dewalt planer at work and the only way I can plane boards and not get snipes in my project wood is to feed the wood end to end so the rollers have constant pressure on them the whole time. Then on my last board I follow it with a piece of scrap so the only board with a snipe is the scrap. You'll need two people to do it this way but it works for me.

[pudick]

Sorry if my suggestion was a bit short.

 

You are correct in that the angle is limited by the width and length of the board. The principle being that the roller catches the corner of the board first and last where snipe is not noticeable. On longer boards I revert to feeding a sacrificial piece ahead and behind the piece. It would be nice if the planer makers would resolve the problem mechanically.

 

Cheers

[drzaius]

Barry's solution is exactly what works for me.  You get feel for how much force to use when lifting on the end of the board.  I have a Delta 13" planer.