Helical Knives for Jointers/Planers
user-65676
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I’m in the market for a new jointer and planer and I’m considering machines with helical knife arrangements. Does anyone have experience with helical knives on their machines? Are they worth the additional expense when buying new equipment.
Replies
That term "Helical" is becoming confusing in this new age of tool making. Ten years ago it meant knives that were actually bent around the cutter head and had a quick insert capability. If you mean the new spiral technology where you have multiple individual cutters staggered around a cutterhead with the cutting either at an angle to the cutting face (Byrd Shelix) or parallel to the cutting face (spiral) I can speak to the second style, but have no experience with the first. You will find true helical cutters on European machines mostly. The individual spiral cutters made by Byrd Machine Tool in Kentucky are the best, we retrofitted one onto a Delta DJ-20 jointer. The Taiwanese spiral carbide cutters are not quite as good as the Byrd, but they are very close. You will usually find that style in Grizzly type machines. If you have to retrofit a new machine, I would buy the Taiwan OEM head. If you can get the machine with a Byrd I would buy the Byrd.
Now to answer your original question. The spiral heads are light years better then straight knives. I have a 20" spiral planer and a 12" spiral jointer and I have yet to change the cutters(3 more cutting edges) after 5 years. They are quieter and last a long time. I spent the last 30 years of WW changing knives on a Powermatic 100 planer and a Delta 8" jointer and I changed the knives 3 times a year. Never again!
I have the Shelix on my DJ-20 jointer. I love not changing cutters.
How difficult is changing over the head? I've never done one.
It's not to bad, helps if you are a bit of a mechanic. Byrd has instructions on changing the heads on many machines on it's web site. http://www.byrdtool.com/ There is a lot of great info there on the head and on it's installation.
I have a Byrd Shelix head on a Yorkcraft (Wilke) 15" planer and it is fantastic. Super smooth and very quiet.
Bruce"A man's got to know his limitations." Dirty Harry Calahan
Thank you, Bruce.
It wasn't that hard to do the conversion. As I recall there was a bearing or two that had to be driven onto the shaft. I did this with a deep socket and a rubber mallet. I think changing the head took me less time than changing and adjusting blades.
I dunno. With my machine it looks like I' d have to tear half the sheet off of it to get the head out. I could be wrong.
Denny
I put a Byrd head on my old PM60 8"jointer. The improvement over straight knives is worth every penny.
If I were buying a new machine, I would wait until I had the money to buy one with the helical head preinstalled. The changeout on a jointer is pretty simple, but a thicknesser is more involved, as you have to take apart the gearbox to replace the head. I have been doing an older 20" Grizzly in my machine class, and it takes lots of time. I'm sure the second one I do will go faster.
I have no experience with the Taiwanese spiral insert cutterheads, but it is good to hear from others that they are also very good.
Bill
How big of a task was it to install the new head? I have an old Powermatic model 50 that I just love. But, changing the blades is a real pain. Does it take any special tools? Does the Byrd head come with instructions?
Changing the head on a jointer is pretty easy. It does require a way to pull a bearing off a shaft/ push one on a shaft. If you buy new bearings you may be able to drive them onto the helical head with a piece of pipe the correct size, bearing only on the inner race. The old bearings can stay on the old head that way. You will want a dial indicator and stand, which can be had for about $30.I also found I had to shim the outboard bearing holder .008" to get the cutting circle in plane with the outfeed table. On a traditional head this is accomplished when setting the knives, but an indexed head has no such adjustment. Soda can aluminum works fine as shim stock.Bill
I also have a shelix with the segmented cutters on a 15" planer and I think its the cats meow. I mentioned in a thread a couple weeks ago that I liked it, but someone brought up another great point. Its quiet. Surprisingly. You can stand next to a running machine and have a conversation.
I think I'd agree that now, if I was in the market for a new jointer or planer, I'd probably wait a few extra weeks or whatever to be able to do that upgrade.
Real trucks dont have sparkplugs
Thanks for your thoughts. Its decided - I'm going Byrd.
As Terrylee wrote, I hope you're referring to the individual 4-sided cutters which are placed in a spiral pattern around the head.
I have an old 24" jointer as well as a not-so-old 20" planer, both with the traditional straight knives. A year ago we got a new Taiwanese 20" double sided planer with the replaceable helical blades. It's light years ahead of the old system, on several counts:
1. It's quiet
2. If you get a nick in the blade you can rotate only those few knives that are involved, not resharpen the whole thing.
3. No sharpening ever.
The Taiwanese planer has run literally miles of hard and softwoods, and we've rotated the original blades once. No question at all that in this case the new technology is worth every penny.
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
Dave,
A little trick the tech taught me when I picked up my planer and jointer from Wilke Machinery. He said if you do nick one of the carbide cutters instead of rotating it in place move it to the outside of the head and rotate it to a new face out there. Bring the one on the outside to the middle, with the old face up and screw it down. He said the new edge will be a little higher because it is not worn and it may leave a track a little bit. If you do plane all the way to the outside the same thing will happen, but he said we usually don't use that outside edge that much. Makes sense, but I have not needed to try it yet so I can't vouch for it. The only one who puts any wood through those machines is ME.
I very much like the direction this thread is going. Out in the sticks where I live, I confess I never knew one could even get a spiral cut head for a planer, let alone a jointer. I've used one once, some years ago, but I thought they were exclusively made for large industrial machines. I'm glad to find out I was wrong and would like to get some more information. Could you folks tell me where I can go to get it?
Thanks,
Dan
They were exclusively for large machines. It's only been in the last 5 years or so it's been available for the hobbyt shops. The insert technology started in the metal work trades and slowly went to the larger wood machine manufacturers. It's been discussed heavily on the web and in the magazines the last few years. Guees you don't get any catalogs either. Sunhill, Grizzly, Byrd Tool are a few places to buy seperate heads. Most manufacturers are offering it as an option.
Great idea, thanks.David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
My spiral cutterhead was worth every penny. Not because I get significantly smoother results (fact is I think that sharp regular blades give smoother results unless the grain is wickedly figured), but because I don't have to futz with changing blades anymore. This was always trial and error for me and consequently I would let blades get far too dull because I dreaded changing the blades.
http://www.ithacawoodworker.com/
Edited 4/15/2008 4:28 pm by JsHerbel
What Quickstep said "Amen"
6" jointer with Shelix. Five years....... same blades have rotated some twice.
Love it....
Best,
John
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