planer advice

[wallace]

Hi all, I have a little wadkin 6" planer and have encountered a problem when planing. When I try to flatten a board I find the last portion of the board does not get planed, if I keep on passing the board over it becomes tapered. I checked the levels of the tables and found that end of the outfeed table was not level with the infeed table so creating a pivot at the centre. To remedy this I shimmed the table. I realigned the blades level with the outfeed table and tested it on some scrap wood. I made sure there was sufficient pressure placed on the wood when on the outfeed table. It still missed the last section of the board. I'm pretty new to planing. Am I doing something wrong?
Mark

 

[condeesteso]

Hi, I don't know the Wadkin, but I know they are very good. If it keeps missing the last section of board something has to be moving. If the blade and outfeed are aligned and if both were rock solid, I can't see how this could happen. Shims or not, I think the outfeed needs closer inspection and it has to be solid as a rock. That's my best guess

 

[tool613]

Is that your newly finished RA? I beleve that machines has a 2 knife head where the knifes are skewed in the head.

A few questioned
The knifes are sharp?
the tables are co planer,If not you shimmed the out feed table and not the in feed table? How did you do this?
you use a dial to set the knifes off the rear table?
the out feed table is set just below the cutting circle by about 2 thous? This can be set by sound off the out feed with a peace of wood. you just want the knife to kiss the board when on the out feed.

If i where to guess your out feed table is to high,or your knifes are dull.

jack

 

[devonwoody]

Perhaps your board is thinner at the last end and you are pressing down hard on the outfeed end and therefore it does not get to the knives?

 

[wallace]

Hi all, yes its my RA. The knives are freshly sharpened. I placed a long metal rule across both tables and found it would pivot in the middle, to compensate for this I shimmed it with a piece of paper. To set the knives I did it the old way, by rubbing chalk on the bottom of a flat object and then adjusting the knives untill the knives just skimmed the chalk. I tested it on a piece of timber that was already planed from another planer and it still missed the last portion.

 

[jss]

I would agree with Jack - if the outfeed is just a fraction too high it will tend to taper the wood.

John.

 

[tool613]

Paper is not the best shim stock. Go buy a second set of automotive feeler gauges. Since you move the infeed table frequently, that is not the one to shim, it is common practice to shim the outfeed table. Loosen off the gib plates so you can slide various feeler gauges up under the ways, one per side. Start at 0.001, tighten the gib screws back down and see if that raised the table enough. I find this a two person job, one person lifts up on the outfeed table, the other slips the feeler gauges into the dovetailed ways. Go up one thou at a time until your tables are co-planer/flat. Once you have the correct shims, break them off in the ways. You now have two feeler gauge sets missing one gauge each.

sometimes the flat steel way bars have ware and can be flipped over for a fresh surface,. If they are bad have them resurface .


jack

 

[wallace]

Thanks for the advice chaps.