Best Decision I’ve Ever Made || How to: Planer Sled
2023 ж. 3 Қар.
236 014 Рет қаралды
Let’s upgrade the bench top planer.
Need a planer for your shop? I’ve been using this one for about 3 years now and it hasn’t let me down yet. Here’s a link for you!
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For something a little bit higher end try this upgrade:
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Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel if you’re super cool and have a great weekend in the shop!
#diy #woodworking #planer
Having snipe and how much you have depends on the planer, and how much you try to remove at each pass. I had a Dewalt 734 such as was used in the video. The cutter head is not fixed, so when the stock is first engaged by the in-feed roller, it raised and the cutter head lowers, then raises when the second roller, remains constant until the stock looses contact with the in-feed roller when it lowers again. Thus snipe at both ends. I tried using a dead-flat planer sled (1 1/2 inch thick Appleply) but I still had snipe, though not as much. I sold the 734 and got a Dewalt 735. It has the advantage of having two speeds. The slower speed produces an almost glass like finish. I don't use the sled anymore. When I am nearing my target thickness I turn the wheel just a fraction, maybe just 1/16 of a turn of the wheel, and this reduces the pressure differential between the feed roller and the cutter head, and reduces the need for pressure to send the stock through. If you're into 10 thousands of an inch, maybe there is still measurable snipe. But it is not detectable to the eye or the finger and if you feel the need to sand, the micrometer won't tell you it was ever there.
Sorry, but snipe will not go away by extending the table and using a sled. I did it. The problem occurs when the wood is supported by only one of the rollers, and it causes flex in the system. The more times you push the wood through the system, the worse the snipe will get. There are ways to rid snipe and that is adding end board extensions, or by ridgedly blocking out the planer from the four corners. You can also train your pices one after another, but you always end up with the ends jacked up. That being said, feed tables and a sled are worth doing since they allow you to joint wide boards if properly supported.
This agrees with my experience, too. The infeed/outfeed rollers are mounted on the same carriage as the cutter head. Although there are guide rods at the four corners of the carriage it still has a small amount of play allowing it to pivot or rock front to back as the wood moves under and out from the feed rollers.
Several of the comments mentioned the best and least expensive way to deal with the snipe. CUT THE PIECE TO LENGTH AFTERWARDS! Do not waste your time or money chasing a solution to a problem that can't be solved without large amounts of money! That being said, thank you for the nice video.
I don't have a planer yet, just relaying what I've heard -- you can lift the end of the piece sticking out a bit as it enters or exits. If so, should prevent having to waste cumulative board feet and comes at no extra cost.
@@CLove511 Clove there is no PERFECT TOOL that will machine every piece of lumber to perfection. And this is not BARBIE LAND! Although we as humans have big egos and we want everything to be perfect all of the time, that is not how thing's go typically. I retired last year from an architectural millwork company where I started my career in woodworking back in 1973. One of the first things that I was taught is that when you work with all species of rough cut lumber, is that no matter who you buy your lumber from you will have to deal with checks on the end of some of the lumber that you buy. Some of them could be quite long, 6 to 9 inches in length. The checks are a byproduct of the drying process of lumber. When you purchase several thousand board feet at a time, you could expect to see checks on the ends of upwards of 10 percent of the boards. Checking, knots, wane, mineral streaks, splits and other defects are a part of what purchase. That is why you should figure, depending what species of lumber you are using, you must figure that you will upwards of 30 to 45 percent wasted material, by the time you get your board cut to its finished size. Therefore you will ALWAYS have your best yield on your lumber if you; 1 joint one face flat 2 surface plane the opposite face to the finished thickness 3 joint one edge 90 degrees to the faces 4 rip your lumber to the finished width 5 crosscut one end of your lumber square, while removing any defect 6 make your final crosscut to your finished length This is the best way to control your waste of the expensive lumber you will be using. Dont waste time or expense to build an additional contraption to help eliminate something as small as a snipe on the end of a board. Every planer sold has the capability to create a snipe while surfacing, and no stupid contraption will ever eliminate the problem forever. You will be just wasting your time and money on something that is not attainable. This information is my own opinion based upon my own experience. Take what you will from this and use it in good health. Remember that perfection is just a point that you are willing to work to and live with. GOOD LUCK!
Great idea! I think I'll make one for mine since I fight this issue like everyone else. A quick demonstration at the end would have been nice.
Your joint was starved for glue on the particleboard side. It should have grabbed hard at 1st contact. Rubber Cement is known for needing sticks to properly align parts before inital contact. Any dowel or small stick longer than the width (so you can grab and pull out one stick at a time) will do.
Nice additional support for infeed/outfeed but that wont eliminate snipe.
That bed makes the planer nicer and more enjoyable to use, but it does not address the cause of snip in lunchbox planers. The snip is caused by the blade cage tilting when your piece hits the first roller and when your piece leaves and only hitting the last roller. The tilt actually lowers the blades a little. The ONLY way to eliminate snip on these is to run sacrificial pieces in front and behind your project piece. What you did is great and adds needed support, but that’s all it does.
Really, I haven't seen that at all...
@@davidcurtis5398 Well, it is a factual statement
Fact or not, I now have zero snipe on my wood. none at all...@@genebaldwin7342
He’s correct. It’s true that a badly adjusted bed can make snipe worse, but the actual cause is the head moving up and down as the piece enters and exits. Perfectly aligned beds help, as does taking VERY shallow cuts, at least as you get to final dimension. I have a digital readout on mine and use that to sneak up on the final dimension, then I’ll do multiple passes without changing the height at all, and I get very little snipe that way.
There are aftermarket cutters that can eliminate snipe, and give you a much smoother surface after planing. They also last a lot longer. They are called helical cutters. They will not help if you don't have the 735 model, and avoid the smaller diameter cutter one that is easier to install.
I lift the board as it comes out, take very light cuts as I approach final thickness, run the board at an angle to the cutters and support the board with hand pressure as it exits. These tricks are all dependent on the size of the board. I can usually get little to no snipe doing it this way. I have the side crank version of that dewalt planer with stock tables. But, the only ways I know to get zero snipe every time is to account for 2 to 3 inches of sacrificial wood on each end of the board or run separate scrap boards before and after the project board. When I do get snipe, it’s only about .004” deep which can be sanded smooth with a random orbital. So I don’t stress about snipe.
I thought snipe was caused by the position of the rollers not the length of the in/outfeed tables. Not showing a result indicates it didn't solve the problem.
nice upgrade. i have the same planer, so i may do this myself. just a tip, when you're applying the laminate, it's easier to line up if you put sticks under it, then pull the middle ones out as you press down, working from the middle out. the sticks won't adhere to the dried glue.
Great idea. Thank you for making the video for us.
Thanks for showing us how well it works.......Dupa!
Great!! Thank you!
Very nicely explained and demonstrated. Thank you for sharing.
Great project! Well done! Thanks for posting.
THANKS !!!
Great idea
Well done!
Great job!!
Great idea!!
Excellent video… keep ‘em comin!!!
Nice work.
love it!!
Love the idea! I have my eyes on you
Wow nice job and great info, thanks for the idea!!!
Thats a fantastic idea. Ive seen sleds built that run through the planer with the work piece but this is on a different level.
The sleds that run through usually serve a different purpose though, they are meant to support a piece that is uneven / wobbly on both sides as it moves through the planer, to get an accurate face on one side. Those of use who have a planer but no jointer use them :)
sleds do run through. this is not a sled but more of a table.
Nice job and good idea!
This is badass I'm doing this to my craftsman planer
Very nice work 🤌🏼putting this one on my to do list.
Thanks for the video that’s pretty cool. Generally what I do is give myself a few inches at the end of the board that if I have to I can cut off. But the other thing that works really well is to lift the board as is coming out.
Very nice, I will be doing this : ) Thank You
Little tip. Whenever you make these how to videos, viewers always want to see it working at the end. If you ran a piece of timber through it and it was perfect then the results speak for themselves. Overall, great video though.
Excellent idea! My shop size would need one a bit smaller. Ever thought of scrap countertop for a local shop? If one is chipped, it can't be installed in a home.
The trash can fence extender is genius :)
I have made one long time ago. It works well.
Great video. The lunchbox planers do have some issues but I also think are the absolute best bang for the buck in all of woodworking machinery. To be able to plane 12.5” boards and then put it under my bench has helped me a lot and it doesn’t take up much room.
Definitely, I’m happy I get to keep this one quite a bit longer now before having to upgrade
Great video
I’m impressed, just subscribed. Looking forward to new adventures. Thanks 🙏
I like the concept. I dont know if it will illiminate snipe, but, it cant hurt. Let us know if it works or not. Its ok if it doesnt work, thats how we learn. I do applaud you for the idea and effort! I myself would have used a thinner plywood to give you more room to plane thicker pieces. Good to see a young man like yourself woodworking
They really help with the snipe. Doesn't always completely eliminate it, but does help. I first saw the idea in a woodworking magazine back in the early to mid nineties. I built and have been using one ever since.
I have this exact planer so ... this is my next project and I'll incorporate it into a workbench
Definitely want to see how that turns out
I use adjustable roller stands on either side works great for me.
I made a similar in/out feed table for my planer but I lust bought a 6' by 12" melamine shelf from the shelving department at HD for the table surface. Made the sides from scrap. This doesn't solve snipe, but it gives a nice long surface for my sled to move on while fully supported.
My 8 foot table solver all of my problems.
Cool.
Very good Gilles from Québec Canada
Close ups of planed wood before and after would have been nice. It looked good though
To prove the concept, wish you had run a couple boards through planner and show "no snipe". Looks good to me and shall try it on mine after seeing a vid proving the concept.
There will still be snipe at the front when only the rear roller is engaged on the work piece and on the rear when only the front roller is engaged, causing the roller/cutter head assembly to tilt back and forth slightly. The only way to completely eliminate snipe is to do this (ensure your in and outfeed tables are flat and level) as well as use a sacrificial piece at the start and end. However, this will definitely reduce the snipe if your table is short or uneven.
As I understand it, you can mimic the angle of that assembly tilt by slightly lifting the end of the piece as it goes in and comes out, with some practice, so no sacrifice. Will try in about 3 weeks when I have mine, but I trust the sources.
Yeah you can definitely reduce it by trying to match the angle but you're not going to completely eliminate it unless you do it perfectly and that's not something a human can consistently do. With practice I'm sure you can get it consistently close enough that any sanding you would've done anyway would get rid of it, but everybody has scraps laying around and that is always a consistent no-snipe result.@@CLove511
Great idea! Thanks for the video and the link to the vinyl. And just another thought for the top of the sled is to leave it raw, and then apply paste or bees wax.
That's what I was thinking. I might try that instead as I already have everything else needed to make this for my planer.
Great video. Now if only I had a larger shop so that I would have the room to do this on my planer. 😞 One suggestion - Rather than mess around with laminating, I would simply buy a piece of Melamine and skip that step entirely. Not that much of a cost difference and will provide the exact same result.
Not knocking your sled idea at all, in fact it's a great idea. I've seen many sleds built similar, each are all different and yet each works. I had an old craftsman planer, could never solve the snipe issue it had, ended up replacing it with a Rigid planer. Mounted the new planer to a Rigid miter saw stand, (early model), with this stand extending out to 6 to 8 ft overall, I've got plenty of support at both the in feed and out feed sides of the planer. Plus this made my planer a lot more "mobile". Great video, cheers :)
I'm not gonna lie.. I hit pause at 3:30 and that's only because I was distracted by Discord... Watching you disassemble this planer was about as painful as running my hand through one. Maybe moving forward, just skip all of that stuff... Just my .02
I built one of those but it was a little longer to support infeed and outfeed side of my Cutech 13" Planer. I checked the sled for square and level and ran severval pieces of Maple thru it - Still had evidence of the dreaded snipe. Not sure a sled really helps
Good evening, from Auckland, New Zealand ...nice idea bro ...
put them in a zipolock bag and tape the bag to the underside of the table.
I am looking to do this to my Makita planer. I have seen a couple of builds on KZhead - I would like to see a before and after mod with calipers so we could see how much the snipe was reduce by.
Totally planned on doing this, definitely doing it now. Thanks for the video!
Snipe is mainly caused by the limited amount of feed rollers but mainly by the amount of play in the height adjustment screws ,
Planner as well but my shop is a 1 car garage. This set up would be nice but wouldn't be practical for my shop.. thanks for the idea and will keep it in mind. P s. Keep the helpfully tip coming!
Nice idea for the DeWalt planer. A comment about your laminating though....When rolling on the contact cement, use a denser spongy roller. The robust thirsty painting roller is not a match for contact cement. Also, put down strips of wood on the wood surface after the waiting period but before setting on your laminate. You were fortunate here that the laminate did not immediately bond to the mdf surface when you were aligning it on its base. Setting down wood strips allows you to accurately and safely position the laminate on the mdf base. Once positioned remove one strip of wood at a time. Presto. All aligned and then you can press with heavy pressure (roller) from the center to the outsides.
Sadly this won't cure your planer snipe. At best it might reduce it.
IF snipe was only (usually more than one) caused by overhang section weigh down the workpiece, here is an alternative solution - orient the planer on its side. kzhead.info/sun/gLufk757mpOZhp8/bejne.html
My deck cured mine completely. Over 20 years ago.
I made the same for my planer. I found if you lag screw the planer to the workbench you will improve on snip and a have a more parallel cut. The planer will literally lift up when the board is at the front and sometimes at the end of the travel.
Maybe it’s time to bolt this thing on a rolling cart then. Thanks for the tip!
Interesting.
I'm guessing your channel hasn't been going long as you have all mak tools except for the planer. Why mak dropped their planer and portable table saws still has me scratching my head. It's a nice idea and I might nick it for my shop once I get around to doing it. I was glad you put an oversized piece of formica on the top as getting a perfect fit with contact cement is impossible. Normally I'd use and over sized panel and then rip one side and then the other. The trim router was a good idea!
after putting the bolts in a bag, tape them to the sled
Great work, professionally explained and great idea! You earned my sub! 👍
Everyone talks about the "sacrificial piece." I just cut the board 6 inches long or so and just cut the snipe off.
Nice video! Where did you buy your roller? It looks heavy duty!!
Great video. I was hoping you would run a board through so we could see the difference.
Neat idea, but because snipe in these planers has to do with the rollers more than the feeder sleds, i find the easiest solution is to plan on slightly longer boards and trim off the ends as necessary. Then i don't worry about a long sled that is cumbersome, nor having to feed 2 sacrificial boards front/back.
This is a nice modification to other feeder boards I've seen. Particularly the guides. My one main question, and I think you did it, was figuring out the width of the board and how to center it. In my opinion, if you're trying to eliminate the sniping, the outfeed end needs to be the same length as your longest boards. In your case the outfeed should be at least 6 ft 6 in. In my opinion that is.😊 I'm going to keep this video so I can try and copy what you did on my Wen planer. Thx!
It only needs to be half the length of your longest board.
@@maxhoward945 like I said, in my opinion. And we all know what opinions are like! 🤣🤣🤣
I've been thinking aboutndoing this for my porter cable planer for quite a while. The only thing that bothers me is that I wouldn't be able to use the scale on the planer any more reliability. I mean yes, I could just add 3/4" to qhat it says but believe it or not the scal om mine is really accurate and I go off that on almost everything I plane
Hi Arkus, really like your workmanship but while this addition makes the planer easier to use it doesn't stop snipe, we all can learn, keep up the good work though.
I like the idea but why glue it up when you can purchase the same board at Lowes or Home Depot with the slick surface? It just seemed like a lot more work than needed. Thanks for the video.
I'm not a expert on planers, but I've had this same planer in my shop for 10 or more years, and I never have a problem with snipe when planing hardwood stock. What seems to work for me is to adjust the infeed and outfeed tables a bit higher than the bed of the planer. As the work piece passes and exits through the planer, the pinch roller holding the stock against the bed loses contact with the board and it's trailing edge lifts slightly into the cutter head causing snipe. By raising the outside edge of the outfeed table, the trailing end of the board is forced downward against the planer bed and away from the cutter head minimizing snipe. The same principle and fix also applies to the infeed table if infeed snipe is a problem. Could be wrong, but that's what works for me.
Nice video and certainly an improvement. But it will not entirely solve your snipe. As the material is being planed it is compressed between two rollers, under high pressure, at either side of the cutter. At the end of the cut, high pressure releases from one roller, causing a slight racking of the head that causes the stock to rise slightly into the cutter head for a brief second. You won’t get that run off, ramp snipe from an unsupported board. But you will get a narrow depression across the width of the board. Only a couple of thousandths. You can ride the side of a pencil or a flat chalk across to see it. There is just not enough mass in our smaller planers to overcome the loss of pressure on one side of the cutter without creating that slight bump.
I don't have this problem but also I don't take much off with each pass. Maybe 1/32 to 1/6 if an inch. And yes it takes a bit longer but I don't have any snipe anymore.
2 car garage...haha/...I wish. I work from a small bedroom with a bed taken up half lol
Putting your contact cement on like that it doesn’t seem like it sticks that well. I use a siphon gun and I spray it on. As soon as I touch the laminate to it, it sticks automatically where I have to use sticks in order to align it.
Sorry this is old old old news and does NOT eliminate snip all together, as others have said before you will always get snip because the timber isn’t all square before using the thicknesser as well as the timber hitting the rollers which causes the timber to tilt etc
Cool video… get yourself a smaller roller for that contact cement though! :-). That paint roll and all the cement it drank up make it an expensive way to go!!!
U can never eliminate snip... u can reduce it to where its not as noticeable but it will never be completely gone
10:29 Keys: MDF and laminate.
I think anyone even selling particleboard should be thrown in jail for life 😅
When I made my in feed and out feed table I just bought a shelve that was 12 inches wide and already had laminate on it. I never plain down stock that is wider than 12 inches. At least not in the last 20 years. Okay, so I loose 1/4 inch on each side... I used the entire 8 foot piece with 4 feet on each side of the blades. I have the space so why not??? I also have the plainer attached to a rolling table permanently.
Thank you for sharing, you should take out a patient and sell at least the idea, I would have never thought of this addition to my planer. Please keep sharing I have learned a lot from you.
I built a platform like this for my planer. Must have done something wrong. What it did was somehow reduce the traction or grip the planer table used to have on a board. So, the planer got very good at shooting the board against the far wall of the shop. I hadn’t had that problem before and took this modification off my planer.
Holy hell lol, I haven’t had that problem luckily
Great sled. How much of height did you lose by running it through the plainer? 3/4" ??
Yeah, plus just a hair because of the Formica. Use a set of calipers between passes for the best results!
I think I would use a melamine faced book shelf for the sled rather than all that formica work.
Yeah a melamine sheet would be easier. I had the Formica leftover from my glue station addition on my workbench. Didn’t want it going to waste. If I was doing it from scratch I would have probably just used melamine
Did it fix the snipe problem?
It did for me. There’s other tips I’ve seen like not taking too big of a cut, that helps with making sure the cutter head doesn’t shift. Someone has also mentioned bolting your planer to the workbench. I’m going to reattach my stock infeed and outfeed pieces and see if bolting it down to eliminate movement does the trick too
Bolting it down didn't fix that problem for me. But I have a different planer than you do.
Whats the plans for this build? Love to try it out!
Why do you need plans for this. Van't you just see what is done and adapt it to your needs. What a lazy bunch of people we have today.
@davidcurtis5398 thank you 😊
You're so very welcome!!!@@MrLngboarder75
I have another idea that works for me prior to sending in the good stock run a sacrificial piece of stock through the first and place the good stock directly behind the First piece and at the end of the good stock it works every time.
I did that to mine but the planner lifts up and snipes I can’t bolt mine down where it is. That’s what needs to be done.
Oh and mine is 3’ on both sides
I simply ran some plywood under the planer and screwed them together that way the whole thing is one solid block.
@@BanditHat I am saying I watched what and how you did yours but where you were longer on the one side I am same length on both. I have mine sitting at the end of my 8’ out feed table and it still snipe. Ours is identical building mine just longer.
mine does snipe if I go strait in if I angle the boards hard no snipe and my in and out feeds are only about 30"@@johnnyking6071
great idea! but doesn't the thickness of the wood and laminate now make your measurements impossible (or at least challenging)? i.e., the vertical ruler on your height adjustment is off now, isn't it? or is my brain missing something, lol - which is always a possibility!!!
It definitely renders it useless, however I’ve gotten used to using calipers for narrowing down my thickness so I never used it anyways
@@ArkusWoodworking makes sense! I have a little Ryobi planer similar to the Dewalt, and snipe on the way out can be brutal
This won’t eliminate snip completely. Snip is caused by not having sacrificial pieces or product behind the item you are planing.
More of bed extension than a sled. You could run a sled on that bed.
I don't get why you didn't also elongate the front of the planer sled? I get snipe at both ends of my boards, not sure if you do but I think that most people do. Maybe you don't have the room in a small shop. Also, I would have liked to see you plane a board and show us how this jig solved your snipe problem. Nice video though, thanks.
I was at the mercy of a 5 foot piece of laminate. My original plan was to add 3 feet on both sides but I forgot my laminate sheet was quite a bit shorter than what I needed for that so I called an audible
That's why I used an entire 8 foot table...
dont know how you were able to reposition that laminate sheet twice...?
It doesn’t really bond permanently until you add pressure to it. Once it first touches you have a few seconds. I definitely wouldn’t do it like that on a larger surface lol
so that is actually not a planer sled-= it is just a planer table. A sled would move through the planer. Not a bad idea but sure eats up a lot of space in that small shop.
Not sure why you’re calling that a sled - it’s a handy extended infeed/outfeed table, but a sled moves past the blade so material in a consistent and controlled manner can rest stationery against the sled and not the slide against the table. 😮
Don't be so damn picky...
Fair play. 🙃@@davidcurtis5398
The best way to not having sniping is multiple rollers on each side. Sniping occurs either prior to the board being caught by the outfeed roller or after being released by the infeed roller. Any bow in the lumber and sniping will still occur on any length table as long as it's pivoting on just one roller. Having said that, I do think doing this will help.
This will help with managing of larger boards but unfortunately will not fix snipe, it will reduce it at best. They really should start designing these planer with two rollers on each side. This is the only way I can see this issue being fixed on these planers.
I built this exactly like this, still doesn't prevent snipe! Sorry I wasted my time
Why not just buy a sheet of melamine and skip gluing the single sheet on?