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PREPARING
THE WORK
• Do not plane dirty boards. Dirt and small stones are
abrasive and will wear the blade.
•
Remove nails and staples to avoid damaging the
blades.
• Avoid knots. Heavy crossgrain makes knots hard.
Also knots can come loose and jam the blade.
•
The planer works best when the lumber has at least
one flat surface. Use a surface planer or jointer to
define a flat surface.
•
Twisted or severely warped boards can jam the
planer. Rip lumber in half to reduce the magnitude
of the warp.
FEEDING
WORK
•
Feed work along the grain direction. Wood fed
against the grain will result in chipped and splintered
edges. Sometimes grain will switch direction in the
middle of a length of board. If possible, cut board
before planing (See Figure 8).
With the Grain
Rotation
Against
the Grain
Rotation
Grain._._,_
_<._Grain
I
I
Figure 8 - Direction of Grain
CAUTION:
Do not plane a board which is less than
18" long. The force of the cut could split the board and
cause a kickback.
•
Turn the planer on.
•
Stand on the side of the planer to which the height
adjustment handwheel is attached.
•
Lift the work to infeed table by grasping edges at
approximately the middle of the length.
•
Boards longer than 36" should have additional sup-
port from free standing material stands (See
Recommended Accessories,
page 19).
•
Rest the board end on infeed table and direct the
board into the planer.
•
Push slightly on board and allow automatic feed to
take the board. Release board and allow automatic
feed to function properly. Do not push or pull on
workpiece.
CAUTION:
Do not stand directly in line with front or
rear of planer. When an object is projected from planer
it will travel in this direction.
•
Move to the side and receive the planed lumber by
grasping it in the same manner in which it was fed.
•
Do not grasp any portion of the board which has not
gone past the outfeed roller.
•
Repeat this operation on all boards which need to be
the same thickness or adjust the height.
•
The planer has return rollers on the top so an
assistant can pass work back to the operator.
NOTE: An assistant must follow the same precautions
as the operator.
CUTTING
DEPTH
Refer to Figure 9.
The surface finish the planer provides will be smoother
if a shallower depth of cut is used. Deep cuts require
more power and cause greater wear on all machine
parts.
Shallow
Cut
Figure 9 - Cutting
Depth
SNIPE
Snipe is a depression at either end of the board,
caused by an uneven force on the cutterhead when
work is entering or leaving the planer.
Snipe will occur when boards are not supported
properly. A slight snipe may still be noticed when the
board is supported.
An uneven force is created when only one feed roller is
in contact with work at the beginning or end of cut.
The snipe is more apparent when deeper cuts are
being taken.
To reduce snipe:
•
Gently, lift the board slightly when the board is fed
until the outfeed roller comes in contact with the
board.
•
Release the board when both infeed and outfeed
rollers are in contact with the board, and the board is
being fed.
•
Move to the outfeed side.
10
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