Replies

1. 
   daleduvall | Mar 10, 2004 06:43pm | #1

   Just ordered a Shelix cutterhead (Byrd Tool) for my Powermatic planer. I'll let you know how it works soon. I've heard that they leave small lines (striations) on the work. If these are small emough, I have no problem with scraping or sanding them since I never consider a board that comes out of a planer ready for finishing anyway. Anything that keeps me from having to align cutterheads is worth a great deal!!

   Dale

1. 
   Mackwood | Mar 10, 2004 10:38pm | #2

   There was a thread about this a while back and I did a small bit of research.  Be sure not to equate "spiral" with "helical".  The Byrd head is true helical which gives a cut that is skewed to the wood surface.  The spiral head offered by Griz. still cuts "straight on".  This may seem like nit picking but I've been lead to believe that there is a significant difference in the tear out factor favoring the Byrd, true helical, head.

   Both offer the segmented cutter arrangement which would seem to eliminate knife setting problems.

   I'm considering an 8" jointer and was looking at the Griz. with the spiral head.  Decided against it after reading up.  The difference between the regular knives and the "spiral" doesn't seem great enough to warrant the extra cost.  The Bryd head is way too spendy for me so I'll just stick with the traditional knife style.

   Enjoy!

   Mack"WISH IN ONE HAND, S--T IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"

1. 
   RickL | Mar 12, 2004 04:00pm | #10

   I get great results even with figured wood with a straight knife head. The key is to keep sharp knives in it. With the right tools you can change an 8" jointer in 15 minutes within .0005".

   Edited 3/12/2004 8:01 am ET by rick3ddd

   
2. 
   BarryO | Mar 11, 2004 04:49am | #3

   Straight knives leave planar marks as well.  But if toavoid alignment, the added cost may be worth it.  Even if I still have to sand

   I currently have a 6" Grizzly.  'wanting to upgrade to an 8" sometime, and looking into the 8" spiral.

3. 
   Buglehead | Mar 11, 2004 05:47am | #4

   drduvall,

   You will love the shelix head.  Just today I put one on a friend's jointer, also a Powermatic.  We then jointed a chunk of 8/4 curly maple on all sides, both directions, various cuts up to 1/16".  Couldn't get it to tear out, not once.  And it is fantastically quiet.  When you fit up your planer, the bleeding from the ears will stop and never return :o)

   Bugle

1. 
   daleduvall | Mar 11, 2004 05:53am | #5

   Just it quick question. How long did it take you to change the head on the Powermatic, and did you have to spend much time adjusting the cutterhead parallel to the bed??

   Thanks,

   Dale

1. 
   patternmaker | Mar 12, 2004 01:53pm | #9

   I too have the Powermatic.It is the table that is adjustable in relation to the cutterhead.

   I use a 4"long helix on my shaper to edge joint red cedar boards for glue up.The boards in this operation can lay flat on the table.The cutter is a standard item from DoAll.

   Work safely ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

2. 
   AlanTurner | Mar 11, 2004 10:39pm | #7

   Buglehead,

   Great post.  Aside from no tearout, was the surface smooth, or did it have railroad type tracks?

   I too am thinking of these, one on aplaner, and one on my old iron 12" jointer, for which they have already quoted me.

   I would love to have more information from you.

   Thanks.

   Alan

   http://www.alanturnerfurnituremaker.com

   Edited 3/11/2004 2:41 pm ET by s4s

1. 
   Buglehead | Mar 12, 2004 09:49am | #8

   s4s,

   When I spoke with Tom at Byrd, he said there are machine marks, only different from what a standard head produces.  At first we could not see them, and would have quit trying to, except I was told they were there.  I even wet the wood with naptha to get it to show.  Was finally able to see them by holding the board level with my eye as if sighting for straightness.  They are VERY subtle lines parallel to the direction of feed; longitudinal ripples, if you will, perhaps 3/8" wide and .0005" (yes, half a thousandth!) deep.

   In short, the Byrd head is the proverbial bee's knees.  I plan to call tomorrow and order one for my own jointer, but with a reverse helix so it can still be used for rabbeting.  The standard left lead head will not leave a square notch if used for rabbeting, but I had to see the head in front of me to understand why.  There is a lot of interesting geometry going on with a helical head using radiused square inserts, and it strains the limits of my 3-D powers of visualization to see it in my mind's eye.  If the upcharge is too big, I may forgo rabbeting and just get the standard issue.

   When describing the sound to my wife, I came up with this analogy.  The standard head chopping at the wood sounds like a propellor-driven airplane, while the Shelix head continually slicing small bites sounds more like a quiet jet turbine.  Big jet planes are loud, but we tend to forget how much louder the huge propeller planes were that preceded them.

   By the way, For what it does, the Byrd Shelix is a deal, and no, I do not work for them.  The same size spiral head in the Woodworker's Supply catalog is $50 more money, and imported.  The Byrd head is helical, and made in Kentucky.

   Bugle

1. 
   AlanTurner | Mar 12, 2004 04:10pm | #11

   I can't thank you enough for the further report.  There was a posting here about a bad cutterhead from Byrd, and then I did not see the end of the story.  He was invited to return it for correction or replacement, and I am sure at the price that he would have done so.  I just didn't see the follow up.  I got cold feet from it, so your report is esp. valuable.  And, let me know the cost of the reverse helical as I have a rabbeting ledge as well.

   As to my old beast of a jointer, it is a 22" journal, belt driven, with a 12" cutterhead.  About 4" in dia.; three knives.  It runs in pillowblocks, with open bearings sitting in about 5 oz. (that is a guess) of oil.  When I bought it, it had to be disassembeled to get it into my basement, and so I replaced the bearings at that time.  Just $100 for the new bearings as they are a standard issue size.  Byrd invited me to send the bearings on down too, and I thought I would jsut take off the belt, and unscrew the entire block assembly, bolt it to a heavy board, box it up and ship it (with ins., of course).  I think I will have to reach down and do it.

   I also have a 20" planer.  It is a cheap one, as such things go, and Byrd now sells a replacement head for it.  Mine is a WoodTek, but I think it is the same as the PM that they have instructions for installation on, on their web site. 

   Has anyone done this install?  If so, how did it go?  Etc.

   Thanks again.Alan

   http://www.alanturnerfurnituremaker.com

2. 
   Buglehead | Mar 13, 2004 02:22am | #12

   s4s,

   The reverse helix is not possible from Byrd, but rabbet cuts should be possible with a pair of modified inserts on the leftmost positions.  I ordered the head today and it will ship for a small extra charge with the specially modified edge inserts. (There are 6 rows of inserts, with 2 rows in each of 3 equal offsets, so only two inserts hang past the left end of the cutterhead.)  I'll find out the cost on Monday, likely to be about $50 or so.

   Bugle

2. 
   EdHarrison | Mar 11, 2004 05:46pm | #6

   Barry, I've been ogling this in the Grizzly catalog as well, wondering if I'm looking at something sort of revolutionary. I think this thread is into apples and oranges, now, between helical cutterheads and the "Grizzley spiral cutterhead" - helical cutterheads are obviously the best but they are very expensive from what I've seen.

   This idea from Grizzly seems pretty cool for the home hobbiest and I am interested in the same question you are. Grizzly already offered the best price point for 8" jointers, and now you combine it with this "spiral cutterhead," where if you hit an embedded nail or something and cause a nick you just turn the indexable insert 90 degrees and go - a bag of 10 indexable inserts for $19.95 - that seems like the bee's knees to me. I've been looking at that jointer (G0543) thinking about pulling the trigger and interested in what any users have to say.