Had to drill my planer today..... - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

**Leo G** · 06-24-2009, 08:10 PM

OK, I have moaned and groaned about this problem for 1/2 a decade. When I first bought the machine I didn't have this problem. After I got the knives sharpened for the first time I did. And ever since that I have had a problem with chips coming around with the cutter-head and leaving marks in my wood and also chips getting crushed into my wood by the rollers.

The first recent thing I did was flip over the orange plastic chip guide. Put the bevel down. This allows the chip guide to be pushed forward a little more than before. This eliminated about 10% of my problem.

I was moaning about the problem again. I had some free time to blow while waiting for someone to show up. I was told time and time again it was my vacuum system, I knew better. So I was feeling around with my hand while the vacuum was on (machine off) and noticing how much vacuum was around the cutter-head. I also noticed while I was planing that the problematic chips would come from in front of the last outfeed roller, in between the roller and the casting. Well I felt for vacuum in that area and there was essentially none. I wondered why. So I pulled the guards off and there is no way for any vacuum to get to that area. So I made it so it could. I drilled a series of nine 9/16" holes in the casting, spaced apart 1 1/4". Now I didn't have a lot of vacuum there, but there was some. It seems to be enough to keep the chips from falling down to the board.

I have only run a test board through it. On fast speed taking 1/8" off a 8" wide poplar board I got no chip fall. I still had a little bit of chips being beat by the cutter-head, but very little compared to what I usually get.

So, it may not be a perfect fix, and I might make the holes bigger or even connect them and make it slot. But it is a start and it is something that actually is making a big difference. So calling it solved may not be the perfect term for it, but it is the closest I have been in 5 years. Here are a few pics with the top guard off

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 07:18 PM

It wasn't fixed as good as I hoped. So I drilled more holes, 8 to be exact, in between the other nine. I was planing a 13 1/4" board removing 3/32" on high speed (20 FPM) and I got some chip fallout. I had one of my other machines dust gates opened and that was part of the problem, but not all of it. I get a good vacuum in the trouble area between the roller and casting. Only time will tell. If this isn't sufficient I will make the holes into a slot. If that doesn't work......don't know. Maybe a new machine.

WarnerConstInc. · 06-26-2009, 07:45 PM

It's throwing the chips up and over the head and then they get slammed back into the board, after the knife did the cutting?

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 07:49 PM

No, the chips are traveling around with the cutter head and falling out after it passes the chip director (orange plastic). It then falls on the outfeed roller and ends up getting crushed into the board between the roller and board. Putting little chip dents in my wood, even maple. I have been dealing with it for some time now. In critical situations where I can't deal with the chip dents I would take a 1/64" pass. I wouldn't have the problem then. But when doing a whole kitchens worth of doors or other large planing operations it became a time sucker.

WarnerConstInc. · 06-26-2009, 07:54 PM

I got you, its the old up, around, and over wood chip.

Have you ever bought new Knives for it? You said no problems untill after you had the knives sharpened, right?

Are the knives set into the heads to far, letting the chips go up and over? Possible Coke can wedged in there maybe?

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 08:03 PM

At one time I called the Jet tech and told him all I knew. He said it shouldn't do that. DUH. Then he said my vacuum might be to strong. Uh Huh... Then I mentioned the part about the knives getting sharpened and he asked how they did it and what type of grind. He informed me that the single edge grind could cause this and told me to have a double grind, 40º main and a 42º micro bevel 1mm wide. I did that and had high hopes. They were crushed as soon as I ran the first board through. I haven't gotten a new OEM set of blades. They are expensive and I already have two sets. The original and a second I got from my sharpener for $35. The replacement blades are $110 from Jet. I was going to try a new set, but then I drilled these holes.

WarnerConstInc. · 06-26-2009, 08:07 PM

Well, I dont think the holes are working that great. How much is that part you are about to butcher up? More or less than OEM blades?

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 08:19 PM

Oh, you mean the planer casting, gee I don't know. Like the whole value of the planer

Really not doing any damage to the planer casting. There is a 3" wide cast on either side of the small area I am drilling into. And the holes are doing a good job of removing the chips. Even before I drilled the second set of holes it was working better than it has in years. I am able to plane off 4 times as much on the high speed as I was before while getting the same results using the low speed (16 FPM). Plus I was able to take the chip deflector and pull it away from the cutterhead so it isn't so horribly loud. If I tried to put a 12" board through the planer on high speed taking almost 3/16" it would have spilled chips all over the place. Now when I do that I only get a chip here or there and they aren't pressed into the board, just sitting on top. I use to get chips that would fall onto the planer bed and just bounce around. Occasionally one of these chips would get pushed by the board and get stuck where the rollers on the bed were. Then you would get a nice crease line on the bottom of the board. I so hated that. Now I don't have any standing chips on the planer bed. So it was worth the effort. And I don't have to spend $110 on another set of knives I really didn't need. And even if I got the OEM knives, eventually they would need to be sharpened, and then I would have three set of no good knives.

WarnerConstInc. · 06-26-2009, 08:29 PM

Well at least it is working better.

leakygoose · 06-26-2009, 08:37 PM

Leo ,it's time to do some serious investigation into your problem ,I suggest high speed cameras to get to the bottom of this ,quit messing around,theres others out there with this aggravating problem too.

Have you considered static electricity causing this .

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 08:48 PM

Yup, considered the static. But it is grounded properly and so is my dust collector. Hard to do any investigation because of the metal guards. If I remove them then the airflow properties change. I was thinking about making one out of plexiglass, but that would only last a short time before it was scarred up to much to see through it anyway. So I never did it. I took the guard off of it and left the dust port on. I planed some wood through it and I could see that the DC was easily able to handle the chip load without any difficulty at all. Even taking a full pass with close to the full width. It took the chips away so nice it looked like it wasn't producing that many, but I know better. The area that is problematic would need tiny cameras and lighting to see the chip fall out. If I had enough money for that equipment I would just buy a new planer. Drilling these holes didn't cost me anything but some time. Time I had because I was waiting for someone to show up. I guess you could say I solved this problem because I was bored.

WarnerConstInc. · 06-26-2009, 08:57 PM

Were you waiting for the Coca-cola man to come back and stock the machine?

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 09:05 PM

Go to the "Post a picture of your current job" thread. Look at pst #1458 & 59. I left something in the picture just for you. Really. I had to be sure it was there, but you never caught it.

WarnerConstInc. · 06-26-2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo G

Go to the "Post a picture of your current job" thread. Look at pst #1458 & 59. I left something in the picture just for you. Really. I had to be sure it was there, but you never caught it.

Actually, I hadn't looked at that one yet, so thanks for giving yourself up!

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 09:24 PM

I did it just for you. I know how you feel about my Coke (a cola) habit.

Joe Wood · 06-26-2009, 09:24 PM

hey Leo, I have the same problem and have been researching it for quite awhile.

the last advice I got (haven't tried it yet, hardly any work and no need for the planer) is to make sure your ducting is grounded. Mine isn't (a 4" flex pipe) and when I walk under it the hair stands up on my head. Not being grounded is probably causing the dust to swirl around inside the pipe instead of being drawn straight thru.

Might be worth a shot if you haven't grounded your system.

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 09:29 PM

Fully grounded. Metal ducting, flex tubing with copper spring wire is attached to the duct and the planer. Never any static buildup on anything. The dust in my flex pipe serpentines through the pipe, probably because it is a cyclone. Not caused by static.

What planer do you have Joe?

WarnerConstInc. · 06-26-2009, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo G

I did it just for you. I know how you feel about my Coke (a cola) habit.

I should take a picture of the passager side floor board in my truck. Usually about 5 empty pepsi bottles.

I have the same affliction, only in a blue wrapper.

**Leo G** · 06-26-2009, 09:48 PM

It's the only vice I have left, caffeine.

**Double-A** · 06-26-2009, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo G

It's the only vice I have left, caffeine.

Really?

I would say you have a larger sawdust habit than a coke habit.