Delta TP305 - is it possible to avoid snipe?

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Los Angeles, CA
I should have checked the list before I unpacked the tool.

I got a Delta TP305 planer for Christmas (my first planer), and of course all excited as I am I immediately unpacked it and ran some boards throug it, only to find a 2" long 1/64" snipe at the start of each board (didn't notice any at the end). At first I thought I had missed some adjustments, so I checked the infeed / outfeed again,but that didnt help. Only then did I decided to go in and check online and as far as I can tell this is a known problem and not really anything can be done to avoid it. Whish I had checked before using it, but oh well, I'm still excited about it, even if it means I have to cute 2" of each board.

But, is there really nothing that can be done to avoid this ?

Jesper
 
...what Don said... also, if you have multiple pieces to feed, butt the ends. As one is out feeding, start the next butted to it. You should help limit snipe to your first and last pieces. keep feeding them in the same order.
 
Congrats on the new planer. I don't use mine a lot, but when I need one, it sure is handy.

In the case of most planers, Don and Darren are right. Darren's suggestion of butting boards end to end ( or overlapping the ends as you feed then in) is a good one. In the case of the TP305, I sure haven't seen anything at all to get rid of the snipe on mine. I've tried adjusting infeed and outfeed tables, tilted the board up as I fed it in, taken lighter cuts (it will give 1/64" of snipe on a pass that removes 1/128" of material), an cursed in every language I can think of. So far I've found nothing that gets rid of it. I also get the same snipe at the end of the cut. Other than the snipe issue, my Delta Snipmaster has been a pretty good planer. Like you, i just figure on wasting a few inches of each board. ;)
 
The fact that you went ahead and tested out your planer does not remove the possibility of seeking a solution so I wouldn't feel all is lost or anything like that just yet. The discussion in the link Bart provided covers what I do on my machine. Snipe is now such a rare occurrence on my DeWalt DW734 that if I do see it I am stopped cold. Reflection will usually point to something I have done that was the cause of the snipe. I correct this behavior, probably me rushing things, and move on.

The carriage on my planer rides on four corner posts and two center screws. I believe the Delta is a similar design. With the DeWalt carriage lock engaged, all four corners are locked to the guide bars. This along with the torque from the screw posts puts a pretty good grip on the cutter head assembly.

As mentioned in Step 8 of the document Bart provides, the outer edges of the infeed and outfeed table are elevated in relation to the platen. I started out with the table ends about the thickness of a dime higher than the table under the cutterhead. Further testing has me with a fat 1/8" of clearance when a straightedge is laid through the material path as shown in the figure on page 3.

I do not think the Delta has a carriage lock and this may contribute to the reputation as a SnipeMaster. With the table edges elevated, the pressure on the carriage as the stock passes through may be moving things a bit more than one might desire. I have a DRO on my DW734 and it shows the carriage is pushed up about .05" as stock passes through due to the table edge elevation.

I used to get no displayed deviation when the table edges were set only slightly higher than the table bed but, still got some snipe. I just kept working at it till I found a reliable setting. It looks a little extreme when you have a straight edge laying across it but, with rare exception, it runs snipe-free and this is where it has been running for years. Dad and I were able to eliminate the snipe on his DW735 using the same methods. HTH.
 
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