[Alaska_Guy]

I purchased a dewalt planer (734) and i have ran a few sets of boards through and there is always one that is .20 thicker... Any reason why this would happen? It's not the end of the world as I could sand down that much between the joints on a top table for example... But my concern is why is this happening? This planer is literally a week old if that? Shouldn't it be a lot more accurate?

It seems to be every 3rd board. I used dial calipers to measure the thickness of the board that was off and it was .20 and the other board that was off was .20. I thought it was user error, so I ran it through the planer again without changing the depth, but it didn't remove any material... However, the other two boards are .20 thinner...

I really don't want to have to measure with dial calipers after getting down to my final thickness.... Is this something that just comes with the territory and you need to use dial calipers when planing to final thickness?

Thanks!

 

[Manuka Jock]

Is it the first thru the thicknesser , the last , or one in the middle , that is thicker ?

 

[Gene Howe]

Guy,
The thickness gauge on my new 735 is dead on accurate and maintains the depth with multiple boards. That being said, previous planers have caused trust issues, so I ALWAYS verify the thicknesses as they come out of the planer.
Mostly, I plane to thickness measured in increments of 1/16th so I keep an open end wrench, of the target dimension, handy.

 

[ryan50hrl]

Hang on .20 is almost 1/4 of an inch....it's really off by that much??

 

[Alaska_Guy]

I measured last night.... 1.284 was the thicker board and 1.282 was the other two. The gauge was set to a 1.25" on the planer, so the good thing is I have room to go down to my final thickness still as all of them are thicker than they are supposed to be. I will run a few more boards through and try and track down the issue.

Yeah I meant .002, not .020. It was late last night and I was tired and brain didn't type the right measurement.

 

[ryan50hrl]

.002 seems plausible I don't doubt that the planer could move that amount in use.

 

[Miller Woodworks]

0.002 inches? That's almost nothing. That's less than 1/4 of one percent of an inch. One board having a different grain pattern or different area of the tree could account for a slight variation in compressive resistance. That would let it push back on the infeed and outfeed rollers (and the planer head as a result) a little more leaving you with a 0.002" thicker board. I doubt any planer can boast accuracy/consistency within 2 thousandths between all boards run through it.

Honestly, I'd accept that as it is because I'm not good enough to sand within that tolerance.

 

[Manuka Jock]

0.002 inches ? That's almost nothing.

yep , thats' fraction of a millimetre , or as it is officially known ,
less than a gnats tit .

Alaska ,
put those dial callipers away .
This is woodwork , not metalwork , we use tapes and rules , and any measurement that cannot be read on a rule does not exist .
Timber sometimes swells or shrinks more than that as we work with it.
And as Miller says , the density of the board can account for that .

 

[ryan50hrl]

I've milled wood one night, and came back the next day to wood that's three or four times your tolerance different based on humidity. As said before....differences in hardness, grain structure, sawdust on the planer bed or a slight breeze (kidding) could all affect your results by .002 or more.

 

[Alaska_Guy]

Ok thanks for the info. I won't worry and sand it smooth to match the others.

My other hobby and my job all require me to be very analytical and precise and it's carrying over into my wood working. (Reloading and computer programming)

I will accept it and move forward.

Thanks again fellas

 

[Trav]

Is the difference consistent throughout the board or is the difference just on the end? I am trying to rule out snipe that some experience with your model of planer.

 

[Alaska_Guy]

Nope it's not snipe I'm familiar with snipe and that's not what is happening.

 

[GeorgeC]

I measured last night.... 1.284 was the thicker board and 1.282 was the other two. The gauge was set to a 1.25" on the planer, so the good thing is I have room to go down to my final thickness still as all of them are thicker than they are supposed to be. I will run a few more boards through and try and track down the issue.

Yeah I meant .002, not .020. It was late last night and I was tired and brain didn't type the right measurement.

00.002 is not enough to be concerned about for anything except metal working.

George