Replies

1. 
   PhiWoodworking | Feb 20, 2013 04:36pm | #1

   Shelix 15" Cutterhead

   I replaced the cutterhead on my 15" Grizzly planer over a year ago.  It looks similar in design to your Delta.  I ordered the Byrd Shelix cutterhead from Grizzly, though had to wait a while due to back-orders.  The carbide inserts on the Byrd cutterheads are slightly skewed for a shearing action when removing stock.  It was a bit of a project to replace the original, but manageable and well worth the effort in the long run.

   Grizzly support was very helpful with recommendations for installation and other parts/tools needed.  Recommended new bearings (they're relatively cheap) and gearbox cover gasket in the event that the originals are compromised upon removal.  Not sure if they can advise on other makes.  Also needed a gear puller.

   A word of warning after a fruitless search for a Delta table saw arbor nut, Delta seems to have left their parts supply chain high and dry lately.  I would be sure to have all spare parts in-hand before embarking on the conversion.

   I've had mine in light professional use for just over a year and just recently rotated the inserts to a fresh edge for the first time after noticing a bit of tearout here and there.

   Tearout is a thing of the past with tricky grain. I even fed the boards the wrong way on purpose as a test and there was no sign of tearout on sharp inserts. It also operates much quieter.

   Based on my experiences, I just recently upgraded my 8" Jet jointer with the Grizzly spiral head.  The Byrd cutterheads were backordered again and I didn't have the luxury of waiting.  The Grizzly model doesn't have the skewed inserts for shearing action like the Byrd.  However, I figured that even if it doesn't tame tearout to the same degree as the Byrd, most stock will have subsequent milling elsewhere after the jointer.  This installation was much simpler.  So far, good performance with no tearout.  One hiccup was that the pulley included with the Grizzly cutterhead had shallower belt grooves than the original Jet part, which necessitated different belt length.  I'm ecstatic that I don't have to fuss over setting the knives anymore and great performance so far.

   Hope this helps.

2. 
   woodhacker | Mar 03, 2013 08:09pm | #2

   Byrd planer head

   I switched my Delta DC-33 13" planer to the Byrd Shelix cutter head. Conversion wasn't really all that hard, although I'll admit that I had the help of a friend who'd recently had his 15" Delta apart to replace some bearings.Removal/replacement of the cutter head took perhaps two hours. As my planer had very low hours on it (had been unhappy with its performance) I didn't install new bearings as part of the cutter head replacement, but I'd recommend new bearings as part of the upgrade if your planer has had significant use. The only problem I had with the installation of the new head was that my original had a tapped thread on the drive end which the Byrd cutter head didn't have. If you're going to order the Byrd head, you might want to check in advance if your cutter head has a tapped thread on the drive end, and if so mention this to Byrd when you order yours. Also if you think you'd like to order some extra cutters to have on-hand, include them in your order when you purchase the cutter head, as Byrd has a minimum order amount, I believe it's $50 minimum.

   I've been very p[eased with the performance of the planer since the upgrade to the Byrd head. It's a totally different planer now, and I've since sold the Makita 2030 which I was using more than the Delta. Once I started to really use the Delta I found that the stock Marathon motor was far from adequate. Tripping the thermal protection would require at least an hour and a half cool-down period with a fan blowing on the motor before it could be restarted.  Trip the thermal protection twice and an entire evening is lost. I replaced the 2 hp Marathon with a 3 hp Lee Nelson and have had no problems since. The LN motor hardly gets warm even when being used for extended periods.

   After upgrading the Delta planer I purchased a PowerMatic 8" jointer with the spiral head and love it. A few days ago I "found" a 16 penny nail in a board being run over the jointer. I could hear that i'd encountered a nail, but the nail was sliced cleanly and didn't nick the tooth, it still leaves a smooth surface with no ridges. I'm not, however, recommending leaving foreign material in boards to be surfaced or jointed.

   Get the Byrd head, you'll never regret the decision.