Tool Addicts

Easy-to-install spiral cutterheads for $250

Asa Christiana, editor, Fine Woodworking magazine

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Shinmax's Accu-Head cutterheads are available for retrofitting to many popular jointers and planers. They come with the right bearings and pinion gears attached for each specific machine, making installation a drop-in procedure.

If you want to buy a planer with the Accu-Head helical cutterhead already built in, look for Steel City's new 40200H 13-in. planer ($599). The cutterhead rides on four posts for good stability and the motor is 15 amps.

Shinmax's Accu-Head cutterheads are available for retrofitting to many popular jointers and planers. They come with the right bearings and pinion gears attached for each specific machine, making installation a drop-in procedure.

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If you want one of those new-fangled spiral cutterheads in your planer or jointer, the ones that a have multi-sided carbide insert teeth and make smooth cuts for years on end, until now you had two so-so options. One was to spring for a pricey new machine with the new cutterhead built in; the other was to buy the cutter head only, but then struggle through a difficult installation process.

At the Steel City booth, I ran into the folks from Taiwan (Shinmax) who make the segmented cutterheads for Steel City's benchtop planers. Shinmax is now offering those same cutterheads, with the same two-sided cutters, as a retrofit for many other manufacturers' planers and jointers. To make installation easier, the new Accu-Head cutterheads include the bearings and pinion gear for the machine in question, and also a detailed instruction sheet for eeach model. All models 13 in. wide and smaller are priced at $249. Click on the "order" button on the Accu-Head Web site to see if there is a cutterhead for your planer or jointer (that button was being repaired as I posted this blog, but Steel City said to call 510-780-9108 or e-mail orders@accu-head.com as a backup plan).

posted in: blogs, tool, workshop

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Comments (6)

Glenn Bradley writes: I'd rather spend a bit more and get the greater number of cutters on the "other" heads. It makes no sense to me to go "almost" there for most of the cost if you are after that type of cutter. I love mine BTW ;-)
Posted: 4:57 pm on July 23rd

gt67 writes: Nothing for minimax mini max or mini-max.
Guess I will keep going with my tersa.
Posted: 9:24 am on July 22nd

skipz writes: Good to know. I just wish some company would come up with a replacement head that uses Tersa cutters. After watching a buddy show the quality of cut and how easy and quick it is to replace the cutters (without any required adjustment to align cutters), their technology just seems to be almost perfect.
Posted: 12:54 pm on July 19th

sharonlev writes: Thanks for the headsup Asa, for those of us that can't be there. This is good news. hope they prove themselves and the new product. this could be a good upgrade to many woodworkers out there.
Posted: 11:15 am on July 17th

AsaC writes: I thought the same thing, Sleepydad, but it is the same cutterhead Steel City puts in their planers, and I saw some of the cuts it made at the show. Extremely clean and smooth. I should have mentioned that in my blog. Also, each cutter goes on its own ring, and the rings can be removed if the seat that holds the cutter gets damaged. That's impossible on other cutterheads.
Posted: 3:13 pm on July 16th

sleepydad writes: It has virtual no cutters on it? I can’t believe it would produce a nice smooth cut. Yikes.
Posted: 2:42 pm on July 16th

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