Carbide insert tooling for jointersand p
Whilst looking for a new jointer I have come across some new machines with replaceable carbide insert tooling (4 sides). I have’nt found any reviews of the technology yet, anyone tried it??
Edited 3/20/2005 12:33 pm ET by Erk
Replies
It's actually old news. It's been in use commercially for quite a number of years and has been available for a few years to smaller shops and only been seen recently by most home shop folks. It does work and it's been talked about in the archives and on the dozens of many other forums in greater depth. http://www.byrdtool.com http://www.sunhillmachinery.com are just a couple that are offering retrofit heads. http://www.sawmillcreek.com
Edited 3/21/2005 9:54 am ET by rick3ddd
Did you convert to the Shelix system and, id so, was it hard to do?
We've been using this type of head on our 12" Wadkin moulder. It's not a shelix but it is an insert type head for roughing out on the bottom cut before it gets to the finish cutter at the end of the machine. It does leave small lines that need to be sanded out.
Haven't put a Shelix but have rebuilt jointers and changed plenty of bearings on jointers over the years, so for me it would be a couple hours at the most.
I have access to a North-tech 24" planer that has an insert head (not Shelix) and it leaves small lines. Nothing major that can't be sanded out but it's pretty much what these heads are like. You wouldn't take a freshly planed board and go right to staining even with the older heads.
Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to check out the process before replacing the knives on my 15-inch Powermatic planer. When I looked at the Shelix website it looked like a major project to change over and I'm not sure I'd be up to the task without some experienced help. Do you know why they suggest changing the gears?
There is no need to change gears. The instructions say to make sure you put the gears in the same way you took them out because on some models the gears can be reversed and you wouldn't be able to tell right off.
Thanks The reason I asked is that Sunhill offers a new gear box kit for an extra 100 bucks and I couldn't tell what that meant. I guess it means they will ship a whole new gear box with the spiral cutter already installed as an option. If I decide to go ahead with a spiral replacement, I should probably do some more research.
Sunhill offers it with the gearbox for the less mechanically inclined guys.
Edited 3/21/2005 4:46 pm ET by rick3ddd
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