Drop slot refinement?

[retired2]

I've participated in a few threads regarding plugs in the separator, and it seems that when they occur, quite often ithey start at the end of the drop slot and quickly back up until the entire slot is closed off.  These plugs occur most often with stringy planer shavings.

Since I have personally experienced the problem, although in my case the shavings were very wet,  if I were rebuilding my separator tomorrow, I would end the drop slot with a slight tear-drop shape.  I would not exaggerate the shape, but a subtle budge might be beneficial!

So, there you go folks, a new idea you can run with!

[dabullseye]

i think if you had a wood lathe you could turn a cone then slice it into a parabola with a couple of rabbets on each side so it would fit into the drop slot would be ideal but thats to much work.

[retired2]

i think if you had a wood lathe you could turn a cone then slice it into a parabola with a couple of rabbets on each side so it would fit into the drop slot would be ideal but thats to much work.

I was thinking a hole saw and a wood rasp! 😂😃

[RobHannon]

I am having a hard time envisioning this. I originally thought you meant and enlarged end of the slot so it would be harder for material buildup, but now I'm not so sure.

[retired2]

You were thinking right, the end of the drop slot would be shaped like a tear drop or light bulb.  That description is a bit of an exaggeration of what I envisioned, but a hole saw slightly larger than the slot would approximate the bell, the tapers can be shaped with a coarse wood rasp, and the filed and sanded smooth.  That describes how it can be done as an afterthought.  If you do it as a new uides there are ways to obtain more professional results.

[RobHannon]

I may have to try that if I run into a clogging problem.

[Alan H]

Interesting concept.  Would you do this on both ends of the slot or just the end farthest from the direction of rotation?

[retired2]

I would only do the end of the slot, not the start.