One of best known thickness planer is the DeWalt DW708. Many shops contains one of these planers which are often used to flatten rough lumber. The DW708 has been around for decades and it have served woodworkers well as it delivers consistent results at a reasonable cost.
With regular use, however, machine will develop issues. Understanding those issue can help prevent stopping your work. Resolving the issues protect the quality of your work and saves you money.
An out of alignment planer can destroy wood. Burned edges, uneven surface, and even snipe can occur if planer isn’t running right. Understanding how to correct these problems helps you keep projects on time and keeps the machine running.
Common DeWalt DW708 Problems And Fixes
Feeding Wood Evenly
Feeding wood evenly is by far biggest issue. You put a board in the infeed and the machine kicks the wood out or strain under load. Usually what’s happened is that knives have become dull.
The DW708 cut very fine layers of wood with rotating blades. When the blades gets nicked, they don’t cut the wood, they tear it up. That creates friction and the feed rollers loses their grip on the wood.
A quick test for this is to run a scrap piece through the planer. Is the top layer of the scrap shredded or rough? It is time to change out or sharpen the blades.
Correcting Snipe
Don’t let your motor burn before you do. Snipe Snipe happens when the board dip slightly at the very beginning and end of the pass. When that happens the knives will extends past the surface of bed.
Where there is no support, the machine cuts deeper in the wood. To remedy this, get all your tables aligned with main bed. The height screws controls how high the table sit.
Make them all even by setting to match what’s on the bed. To continue removing snipe, add sacrificial boards at each end. They will holds the lumber up till it gets grabbed by the rollers.
Preventing Overheating
If it overheats, something is blocking the machine. The motor on the DW708 are pretty stout and will get hot if clogged. Why?
It happens mostly because of dust. It collects in motor vents and the roller axles. It’s an insulator, AND; a brake.
Clean inside and outside periodically. Blower air around the motor fan area and clear the roller housings. Heat accumulates fast if not done.
Then the thermal overload switch engage, shutting the machine off. Now you’re stuck with a half-cut board.
Fixing Belt Slippage
Uneven feeding is another issue that results from belt slippage.
There is two belts: One for the feed (rollers) and one for the drive (cutter head). Both rubber stretch out with use and lose their tension. If you see cracks in the belt or glazing, change it.
When your belt slip, the cutter head will spin faster and slower, resulting in an uneven cut. Replacing a belt isn’t too bad; DeWalt includes diagrams on how to do it. Remember to unplug tool before removing the housing.
Calibrating the Depth Gauge
Last but not least, calibrate the depth gauge. This ensures that your projects will fit. Make sure the micrometer dial click easily and resets to zero.
To make the dial click better, clean the threads and put just a drop of a dry lube on them. It’s best to calibrate regularly so you get accurate cuts. Regulary calibrating a DW708 ensures you gets precise cuts.
Taking care of your planer is an investment in your work. Taking care of issues keeps machine running smoothly. The DW708 is a durabel tool that needs care.
Invest some time cleaning, sharpening and adjusting its components. This effort would of pay off on your final projects.