• Check surface of workpiece for any irregularities. • Plane equal amounts on each side of the board to reduce the chance of warpage. • Use entire width of planer to wear knives evenly. • Surface wood with the grain. Never feed any end cut or end grained wood through the machine. -16- G1017 12'' Portable Planer Wood Types IncreasingDifficulty The species of wood, as well as its condition, have a dramatic effect on planing ability. The harder the wood (as illustrated by its shear strength), the more difficult it will be to plane. Commonly used hardwoods and their associated shear strengths are illustrated in Figure 12. High shear means difficult planing. Type Shear (PSI) Black Locust 2,480 Sugar Maple 2,330 Pecan Hickory 2,080 White Oak 2,000 White Ash 1,950 Black Cherry 1,700 American Elm 1,510 Black Walnut 1,370 Red Alder 1,080 Basswood 980 Cottonwood 930 Wood Characteristics The species of wood, as well as condition, will affect planing ability. The harder the wood, the more difficult it will be to plane. We’ve included below, a list of wood characteristics you may encounter when planing. The following descriptions of defects will give you some possible answers to problems you may encounter while planing different materials. Possible solutions follow the descriptions. Chipped Grain - usually a result of cutting against the grain, or planing wood with knots or excessive amount of cross grain. Chipped grain can also be caused by dull knives. Often, chipped grain can be avoided by taking shallow cuts. If those options do not work, inspect your lumber and determine if its grain pattern is causing the problem. If the wood does not show substantial crossgrain, inspect your knives for sharpness. Fuzzy Grain - Usually caused by surfacing lum ber with too high a moisture content. Sometimes fuzzy grain is a characteristic of some woods, such as basswood. Fuzzy grain can also be caused by dull knives or an incorrect grinding bevel. Check with a moisture meter. If moisture is greater than 20%, sticker the wood and allow to dry. Otherwise, inspect knife condition. Glossy Surface - Usually caused by dull knives taking shallow cuts at a slow feed speed. Surface gloss will usually be accompanied by overheating. Often, lumber will be scorched and eventually, damage to knives will occur. Snipe - Occurs when board ends have more Increasing Difficulty Figure 12. Common hardwood shear strengths. Similarly, common softwood shear strengths are displayed in Figure 13. Type Shear (PSI) Western Larch 1,410 Tamarack 1,280 Douglas Fir 1,160 Alaska Cedar 1,130 Sitka Spruce 1,150 Sugar Pine 1,050 Cypress 1,000 Redwood (OG) 940 Red Cedar 860 White Pine 850 Balsam Fir 710 material removed than the rest of the board. Usually caused when one or both of the bed rollers are set too low. However, small amount of snipe is inevitable. The best way to deal with snipe is by planing lumber longer than your intended work length and then cutting off the excess after planing is completed. Wavy Surface - Caused by poor knife height adjustment, wavy surface appears when one Figure 13. Common softwood shear strengths. knife is taking deeper cuts than the rest of the knives. Recheck or reset knife height to ±.001''. G1017 12'' Portable Planer -17 Pitch & Glue Build-up - Glue and resin build-up on the rollers and cutterhead will cause overheating by decreasing cutting sharpness while increasing drag in the feed mechanism. The result can include scorched lumber as well as uneven knife marks and chatter. Chip Marks or Indentations- Chip indentation or chip bruising is the result of wood chips not being thrown away from the cutterhead and out of the dust chute. Instead they are carried around the cutterhead, deposited on the planed surface and crushed by the outfeed roller. Chip indentations can be caused by a number of reasons, some of which are: 1. The type of lumber being planed. Certain species have a tendency to chip bruise. 2. A high moisture content (over 15%) and/or surface moisture. Typically found in air- dried stock where the surface is dry but the inside needs a longer time to season. 3. An inefficient dust collection system without enough suction capacity or an incorrectly engineered and assembled system. 4. Dull knives. 5. Too much material being removed in one pass. 6. Improper knife cutting angle. Possible Solutions: 1. Lumber must be completely dry, preferably kiln-dried (KD). Air-dried (AD) lumber must be seasoned properly and have no surface moisture. Do not surface partially-airdried (PAD) lumber. 2. Make sure planer knives are sharp. 3. Use an adequate dust collection system, one that uses relatively few turns and is as air tight as possible. 4. Remove less material per pass. 5. Use a smaller cutting angle or a double bevel grind (consult a reputable knife grinder). Notes -18- G1017 12'' Portable Planer SECTION 8: MAINTENANCE General Regular periodic maintenance on your Model G1017 Planer will ensure its optimum performance. Make a habi...