Craftsman 351.217480 Operator's Manual page 7

Recommended Maximum Depth-Of-Cut:
Hard/Softwood up to 6" wide: .................. 1/8"
Hard/Softwood 6-1 3" wide: ...................... %2"
CAUTION: A 8/82" d epth-of -cut on hard, softwood
6-1 3" wide can be made. However, continuous opera-
tion at this set-up can cause premature motor failure.
WORKPIECE THICKNESS PRE-SET GAUGE
Refer to Figure 7.
An eight position workpiece thickness pre-set control
knob is mounted on right side of planer. This knob allows
operator to preset the desired finished workpiece thick-
ness. Eight settings are provided: W', W', 1/2", 8 /4",1 ", 1W',
1 W'and 18/4".
Example: Plane a 2" thick workpiece up to 11/4".
• Raise or lower rollercase until it is just above the
workpiece.
• Position the workpiece on the planer table below the
rollercase.
• Rotate knob until 11/4"is indicated.
• The planer is now set to stop the rollercase when
the workpiece thickness reaches 11/4".
NOTE: To reset for a different depth stop, raise the
rollercase by about 2 rotations. Turn knob to desired
set-up.
Figure 7 - Workpiece Thickness Pre-set Guage
AVOID DAMAGE TO BLADES
• Thickness planer is a precision woodworking
machine and should be used on quality lumber only.
• Do not plane dirty boards; dirt and small stones are
abrasive and will wear out blade.
• Remove nails and staples. Use planer to cut wood only.
• Avoid knots. Heavily cross-grained wood makes
knots hard. Knots can come loose and jam blade.
CAUTION: Any article that encounters planer blades
may be forcibly ejected from planer creating risk of injury.
PREPARE WORK
• Thickness planer works best when lumber has at
least one flat surface.
• Use surface planer or jointer to create a flat surface.
7
• Twisted or severely warped boards can jam planer.
Rip lumber in half to reduce magnitude of warp.
• Work should be fed into planer in same direction as
the grain of the wood. Sometimes grain will change
directions in middle of board. In such cases, if possi-
ble, cut board in middle before planing so grain
direction is correct.
CAUTION: Do not plane board which is less than 15"
long; force of cut could split board and cause kickback.
FEEDING WORK
The planer is supplied with planing blades mounted in the
cutterhead and infeed and outfeed rollers adjusted to the
correct height. Planer feed is automatic; it will vary slightly
depending on type of wood.
• Feed rate refers to rate at which lumber travels
through planer.
• Align work perpendicular to rollercase so that work
feeds through planer straight.
• Raise/lower rollercase to produce the depth of cut
desired.
• Stand on side to which the handle is attached.
• Boards longer than 24" should have additional sup-
port from free standing material stands.
• Position the workpiece with the face to be planed on
top.
• Turn the planer on.
• Rest board end on table and direct board into planer.
• Gently slide workpiece into the infeed side of the
planer until the infeed roller begins to advance the
workpiece.
• Let go of the workpiece and allow automatic feed to
advance the workpiece.
• Do not push/pull on workpiece. Move to the rear and
receive planed lumber by grasping it in same man-
ner as it was fed.
CAUTION: To avoid risk of injury due to kickbacks, do
not stand directly in line with front or rear of planer.
• Do not grasp any portion of board which has not
gone past out-feed roller.
• Repeat this operation on all boards which need to be
same thickness.
• Planer has return rollers on top so assistant can
pass work back to operator.
NOTE: Assistant must follow same precautions as
operator.
• Surface that the planer will produce will be smoother
if shallower depth of cut is used.
Avoiding Snipe
• Snipe refers to a depression at either end of board
caused by an uneven force on cutterhead when work
is entering or leaving planer.
• Snipe will occur when boards are not supported
properly or when only one feed roller is in contact
with work at beginning or end of cut.