RIDGID 13 in. THICKNESS PLANER R4330 - Manual (Page 17)

17
OPERATION
WARNING:
Do not allow familiarity with tools to make you
careless. Remember that a careless fraction of a
second is sufficient to inflict serious injury.
WARNING:
Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses
with side shields when operating power tools.
Failure to do so could result in objects being
thrown into your eyes resulting in possible seri-
ous injury.
WARNING:
Do not use any attachments or accessories
not recommended by the manufacturer of this
tool. The use of attachments or accessories not
recommended can result in serious personal
injury.
WARNING:
The use of this planer on materials not listed
may damage the planer and may cause serious
personal injury.
WARNING:
Never plane workpiece with loose knots or
foreign objects. Do not plane workpieces that
are severely bowed, twisted, or knotted. Cutter
blades can dull, chip, or break causing possible
serious personal injury.
WARNING:
Do not force feed the workpiece through the
machine. Let the planer apply the proper feed
rate.
APPLICATIONS
You may use this tool for the purpose listed below:

Planing the surface of a piece of lumber.
THICKNESS PLANING
Thickness planing sizes workpiece to desired thickness while
creating a smooth, level surface. Thickness of each cut will
depend on type of wood (hardwood versus softwood), width
of workpiece, straightness, dryness, and grain composition.
Whenever working with a new type of wood, make thin test
cuts on a scrap piece of wood first to determine potential
problems with the workpiece.
PLANING TIPS
 Thickness planers work best if at least one side of the
workpiece has a flat surface. When both sides of a
workpiece are rough, use a surface planer or jointer first
to define the initial flat surface. Plane one side of the
workpiece then flip the workpiece and plane the surface
of the reverse side.
 Always plane both sides of a workpiece to reach the
desired thickness. This will leave the workpiece with
uniform moisture to prevent warp during the drying
process.
 When one end of the workpiece is thicker than the
opposite end by more than 1/8 in., make several cuts with
the planer starting with light planing cuts first. Remember,
light cuts create a finer finish than heavier cuts.
 Do not plane a workpiece less than 5/16 in. thick.
 Do not plane a workpiece less than 3/4 in. wide.
 Do not plane workpiece shorter than 14 in. long as this
will cause kickback.
 Do not plane more than one workpiece at a time.
 Do not lower the cutterhead assembly lower than
5/16 in.
 Do not continuously use the planer set at the maximum
depth of cut (1/8 in.) and at full width of cut (13 in.).
Continuous use at maximum cutting capacity will damage
the motor.
 Worn cutter blades will affect cutting accuracy. Planing
with dull or nicked cutter blades may produce ridges or
rough workpiece surfaces.
 Gum and pitch on the cutter blades will cause them to
wear prematurely. Using a gum and pitch remover to keep
your cutter blades clean will prolong their wear.
 Refer to the Maintenance section of this operator’s
manual for instructions on how to remove and replace
or turn the cutter blades.
NOTE: Cutter blades are double-edged and can be turned
once to the opposite, unused edge before replacement
is required. Cutter blades must ALWAYS be replaced as
a set.