Spiral cutter heads

[skysharks]

It took me a while but as of Friday I have completed my shop upgrade. What I mean by this is that I have installed a spiral cutter head in both my DJ20 8" jointer and now my Woodmaster 718 planer.:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc
The first thing that I noticed was the reduction in noise level. Before you couldn't talk or hear yourself think when running the planner. But now I can actually hold a conversation without raising my voice or wear hearing protection.
The second thing is the ultra smooth surfaces that both of these tools now produce. Infact whle face jointing an 8" wide maple board, I realized that the outfeed table and the wood seem to create a bit of suction between them, WOW.
My Woodmaster has never planed so good. The wood chips are small and light, especially with the Maple that before created almost spaghetti type shavings that would plug up the dust extraction hose.

No more will I have to worry about aligning and setting blades heights.

I could go on and on, but I got wood to play with lol.

 

[bwat]

Ditto! If anyone is on the fence about these heads I hope John's post will sway them to make the transition. Well worth the time, effort and expense IMHO.

 

[Bas]

As the self-appointed president of the I Hate Setting Jointer Knives Club, welcome! It's almost cheating, dressing lumber with a spiral cutterhead.

 

[ehpoole]

The second thing is the ultra smooth surfaces that both of these tools now produce. Infact whle face jointing an 8" wide maple board, I realized that the outfeed table and the wood seem to create a bit of suction between them, WOW.

Just an FYI, but straight knives will do just as nice a job... I have an 8" jointer (Jet JJ-8CS) with straight knives and the finished boards *always* want to "stick" to the outfeed table if you try to lift them straight up (they are much easier to remove if you simply slide them off the table). It is probable that in the course of installing your new cutterhead you also altered the alignments just enough to fix some earlier setup issues.

I'm happy to hear you are enjoying your new upgrade.

 

[pviser]

Bas, that's funny about cheating. My wife said the same thing when I completed my Byrd-Shelix retrofit!

 

[DWSmith]

I hate setting straight jointer knives so much! So much in fact I swore them off when I purchased an 8" jointer and a 15" planer with spiral heads. What a wonderful idea!

 

[Charlie]

Spiral cutter heads are so far above straight knives, they should be on all machines from the factory. I converted my 8 " jointer and 15" planer 3 years ago. I will never own another straight knife machine if the spiral cutter head is available.

 

[KenOfCary]

I have the 15" Grizzly Planer with Spiral heads now but haven't gotten the jointer replaced yet. I cringe every time I have to use that little bench top screamer. I'm working on getting more room and my savings built up to afford an 8" Spiral Jointer, probably a Griz.

- Ken.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

John,
What kind of spiral cutterhead did you get (Shelix, etc)? I have a 15" grizzly planer with a spiral cutterhead, but my 8" jointer has straight knives. It would be great to upgrade the jointer, maybe sometime down the road. I love how the spiral cutterhead is a lot better with tear out.

Jeremy

 

[skysharks]

Jeremy the head that I got for my Delta Jointer is the same one that goes on Grizzly's 8" jointer. At least that is where I purchased the head from.

 

[wolfden]

I am planning on replacing my planer knives for a spiral head. If I usually run jointed wood through the planer also, why replace the jointer knives as well? Won't the planer give the same effect?

 

[eyekode]

I agree having a helical head on your jointer if you already have a helical planer is a luxury. But it does keep you from ever having to set and sharpen jointer knives again!
Salem

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I am planning on replacing my planer knives for a spiral head. If I usually run jointed wood through the planer also, why replace the jointer knives as well? Won't the planer give the same effect?

I was thinking the same thing when I got my spiral head planer (which I really like). My thought was that there isn't really any benefit to having the spiral head on the jointer since everything goes through the planer after the jointer. After seeing how much better the spiral cutterhead is with regards to tear out, I would like to get a spiral head for the jointer. As long as the tear out is small on the jointer, it can be cleaned up with a spiral planer or a drum sander, but I would prefer to avoid it as much as possible. It would also allow me to take a little bit heavier cuts on the jointer with less tear out which would be nice.

 

[robliles]

How difficult is it to change the heads? I am considering upgrading my Delta 37-877 8" jointer as well as my Delta as well as my Delta 22-785 15" planer. The Byrd-Shelix replacement head is $499.00 for the jointer and around $750.00 for the planer. Is it worth it? I have fairly reasonable mechanical skills and access to decent tools, but not a beating press. Thanks for any information.


Rob Liles

 

[robliles]

Ok, needless to say, I meant a "bearing" press.
Rob Liles

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

Ok, needless to say, I meant a "bearing" press.
Rob Liles

I like beating press better!

 

[eyekode]

I am not sure on the difficulty but try Grizzly and Holbren tools. I think they usually have significantly better then you quoted.
Salem