DW735 Planer and Byrd Shelix Head Cutter

[grbmds]

[member=49475]patriot[/member] Concerning the Byrd head for your Dewalt 735 . . .

What is the age of your 735? If it's 5+ years old and has had heavy use, do you know what the expected life of the motor and other major components is? At this point, that is a prime concern of mine. Since my planer is more than 5 years old, does it pay to spend the money on the head upgrade at this point? While my planer hasn't had heavy use and I tend to plane 1/32" per pass or less, I have no idea how long it is projected to last. I've never seen any reported problems with its longevity, but anything can happen.

 

[kevinculle]

My DW735 is 11 years old, has had what I would call moderate use in a hobby environment, and still runs like a top.  When you replace the head new bearings are included and that is likely the 1st item on a 735 that would need servicing.

 

[patriot]

[member=19734]grbmds[/member]

Thanks for your post.  Excellent questions!

I put my 735 into service on 20 Jan 2012.  It is currently running on the first edge of its fifth set of knives.

While this may tell you that it has just slightly over five years of use, that says nothing of how many board-feet of stock have been passed through its knives.  After we moved back to New Mexico from Chicago it sat idle for probably 6-months or so while my new shop was built and we settled in.  Six-months is just a guess because I really am not certain.

I will say that it is not used every day, but there have been days that it has run so long that the noise nearly gives me a headache regardless of my (-25dB) hearing protection.  My dog leaves the shop immediately when the 735 and my Jet vac start up.  The next time this happens I will use both foam inserts and my muffs to keep the noise level at a the lowest level possible

That said, like you I tend to take thin slices off of my boards but my slices are about a quarter-turn of the wheel whatever depth that may be.  If I am trimming the edge of a board I may take a half-turn slice, but that's max.

I have no idea what the life span of these machines may be, but I ran a lot of stock through my old 733 and it never let me down. But, when I consider the cost of a new Byrd head and the fact that this machine could quit on me anytime that gives me pause to reconsider the purchase of the pricey Byrd cutter head and go for the A3-31.

If I sell my 735 while it is still in good working order and purchase a Hammer A3-31 that would give me some peace of mind with respect to the new tools longevity.  But everything is relative.

Now, if I just had a crystal ball ...  [big grin]

 

[patriot]

My DW735 is 11 years old, has had what I would call moderate use in a hobby environment, and still runs like a top.  When you replace the head new bearings are included and that is likely the 1st item on a 735 that would need servicing.

If I do purchase the Byrd cutter head I will definitely have new bearings installed.  But, due to the extremely high demand for this cutter head and the very lon-nng delivery date, I may not live long enough to actually get one. [wink]

 

[kevinculle]

Gents,

I happened to have the Byrd head for DW735 popup in an amazon add today, clicked on it and it shows as in stock at $529 with bearings (about $90 more than I paid two years ago on amazon) - I was skeptical so put it in cart and went to checkout and it confirms free Prime shipping arriving Saturday.  Go get 'em!

 

[patriot]

[member=60975]kevinculle[/member]

Thanks for your post.

These cutter-heads do seem to be in stock, but nowhere could I verify that they came with bearings installed.  I did, however, take a look at the Customer Questions section and someone did verify that the cutter came with bearings installed.  It would be nice if this was stated in the item description.

Thanks!

 

[kevinculle]

I can confirm that this is the same amazon stock number I bought and bearings were included and installed on the cutterhead.

 

[patriot]

I can confirm that this is the same amazon stock number I bought and bearings were included and installed on the cutterhead.

Thanks for the verification.  Decisions, decisions, ...  [scratch chin]

 

[thudchkr]

I had the DW735 and I upgraded it with the Byrd head.  I got all those benefits that every one mentions, but I felt that the planer was underpowered after the upgrade.  I had to take extremely shallow cuts when working in hard maple or the planer motor overload would trip.  I ended up purchasing the A3-31 with the Silent Power head and have no issues since with being under powered.  Finish seems about the same between the two and I've never noticed any issues with the lower level of the planer bed.  (I am 6'5" so I do end up bending over when using it.) I've since planed, (and jointed), lots of hard maple and even more Jatoba, which is a good bit harder than the maple, and am more than pleased with my purchase.

After using the Silent Power head equipped A3-31, there is no way I would go back to the DW735, Byrd head or not.

Good luck with whichever decision you end up making.

Clint

 

[patriot]

[member=2575]thudchkr[/member]

Thanks for your post.

Funny, but just this morning I found posts on the net noting that their 735 were tripping their breakers.  IMHO, that's relative to whether they have 16A or 20A breakers in the circuit in question.  Regardless, there is a lot of chat about this occurring with the 735 and the Byrd cutter-heads.

With all due respect - you did what I am trying to avoid: You upgraded your 735 with the byrd cutter then purchased the A3-31.  I'm sitting on the fence contemplating all of these choices.

My 735 has served me extremly well.  I have zero complaints with the way it performs using the standard HSS knives.  My DJ-20 has also served me well, but it has a bowed fence that I have to check daily which is not that big of a deal, but changing knives IS another story. 

I have dissasembled/assembled my DJ-20 twice which by some counts makes me an expert of sorts with this machine, but changing knives is not something I look forward to doing.  And, if the truth be known, changing knives does not happen as often as it should even with carbide cutters.  They need changing now, but since I'm parked on the fence that has not happened.

That said, replacing both my 735 and the DJ-20 with a single (space saving) combination jointer/planer makes perfect sense in a small 20'x24' work shop (glorified garage, really).  I'm not fond of the short jointer beds of the A3-31, but I know Hammer offers table entensions.

I have a K3 on the way (this will be a space hog I think) and I need to purchase a large bandsaw (the minimax mm16 is my choice).  Adding the A3-31 would be the perfect companion to these power tools.  The mm16 is a priority because I have a large collection of logs that need to be quarter-sawn and stored away from the weather. So, in a manner of speaking, the mm16 and the A3-31 are both high priority

Once the K3 is assembled and running I will probably take the plunge and order both.

I appreciate your comments.

 

[Bob D.]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]

I just received an email from Brian Holbren and he made it clear that that Byrd has not outsourced the DW735 cutter head.  He also said that this product has been their - " ... #1 seller ever since it came out, demand is just very high and they are very busy."

What a concept:  An American company that cannot keep up with demand for their good product.  I will always go out of my way to buy American when I can. 

That said, I just placed my order.  I will more than happy to wait 3-5 months for my Byrd cutter head.  No problem.

Thanks for your post.

I'm thinking I should do this also. Get my order in as this Fall I have about 100 bf
of cherry I need for a project that will need to be planed to required thickness.

 

[patriot]

[member=233]Bob D.[/member]

I think these cutter-heads are currently available on Amazon.  You can check this out here if you like.

Now you don't have to wait. [big grin]

 

[Bob D.]

[member=233]Bob[/member] D

I think these cutter-heads are currently available on Amazon.  You can check this out here if you like.

Now you don't have to wait. [big grin]

Thanks, but purchased from whomever it better be a serious upgrade over stock performance at that price.

When I bought my DW735 over 8 years ago the whole machine cost (plus the in/outfeed tables and stand) as much as the Byrd Shelix Cutterhead. $500 is about 12 or 13 sets of blades. I've been hoarding them every time they go on sale at any place I frequent, usually Lowes will knock off 10% every once in a while. I have 4 extra sets now but I would still consider the Shelix cutterhead. Maybe after I burn through my current stock of blades they'll be caught up and the wait time will be reasonable.

 

[Bob D.]

I was just reading about the Shelix cutterhead on Byrds' website, and I see that the head is available in two diameters.

Which one have any of you bought and installed and would you get the smaller or stay with the original diameter if you could go back and do it again.

If you have installed the smaller diameter head, have you noticed any shortcomings associated with it? Any affect on cut quality or machine capacity or power as compared to the original diameter Shelix head or the original DeWalt cutter head?

Here's the notice on the Byrd page for the DW735 cutterhead:

IMPORTANT: When installing the SHELIX head, the head has to go through a small hole in the machine housing and it will not fit through with the knives installed. For the same reason, you will also have to remove the straight blades first before you can remove the original cutter head. Byrd’s default SHELIX head is 1/8” smaller in diameter to enable you to install the SHELIX head without having to remove all 40 knives. The disadvantage is that this will reduce the cutting ability by 1/16”. As this machine by default can only remove 1/8” per pass, equipped with this SHELIX head, you will only be able to remove about 1/16” per pass. Due to the fact that spiral heads require more horse power, you cannot remove more than 1/16” anyways when cutting wider stock. Byrd does offer this head also with the original diameter. As explained above, you will have to remove all 40 knives from the SHELIX head and re-install them once the head is in the machine. When you place your order, please select the version of your preference above.

 

[kevinculle]

I have the smaller one and the only major disadvantage I see is that the stop knob on the DW735 (left of the infeed in 1/4" increments) is now out of calibration by the amount the head radius is smaller.  If this was a concern one could go with the larger option...installing the cutters after the head is in would be a bit of a pain but I suppose worth it if this detail is important to you.

 

[tdwilli1]

The stop is adjustable at least on mine!, just loosen the nut, move the screw to the correct height and tighten it back up. You have to be careful when tightening it up, it tends to move the screw as you're tightening the nut.

I have the smaller one and the only major disadvantage I see is that the stop knob on the DW735 (left of the infeed in 1/4" increments) is now out of calibration by the amount the head radius is smaller.  If this was a concern one could go with the larger option...installing the cutters after the head is in would be a bit of a pain but I suppose worth it if this detail is important to you.

 

[patriot]

[member=60461]Bob D.[/member]

I really appreciate the revealation of the Byrd 'fine print'.  While this knowledge is important, I think the more revealing information is their statement that "... spiral heads require more horse power, ...".  This, IMHO, is undoubtedly the reason that a lot of 735/Byrd cutter-head users are tripping their breakers.  This makes perfect sense.

It is my habit to only remove 1/4-turn of stock in one pass, sometimes 1/2-turn if I'm trimming the edge of the stock.  However, as we all know, the wider the board and the denser the stock the more the motor is strained.  Add to this the fact that the Byrd cutter-head further strains the motor due to its inherent design, then the user must pay particular attention to making sure he/she takes very thin slices. 

While all of this is manageable, I would not be happy to discover that my workflow - assuming I had the Byrd cutter-head installed in my 735 - would be impacted by this restraint.  If I could continue to remove stock as I normally do without tripping the breaker then that would be fine.  However, the only way to ascertain this would be to purchase the Byrd cutter-head and see how it behaves. 
This seems to be a risky undertaking.

I just took a look at the required amperage on my 735 and it is 15A.  So users running their 735's on 16A breakers would IMHO be the most susceptible to tripping their breakers if they have the Byrd cutter-head installed.  I would also think that they could easily trip their 16A breakers even without having the Byrd cutter installed.  All of my breakers are 20A so I have no way to verify that.

[attachimg=1]

If someone who is running the Byrd cutter in their 735 could measure their amperage usage that would be valuable information to have.  I wonder if Byrd has this info on hand?  I may send them an email and see what they say.

Back on topic: The cost of the Byrd cutter-head is a heck of a lot less than the price of the A3-31.  If the amperage issue can be resolved this may be the way to go.

Thanks!

 

[Bob D.]

I wonder if there is a difference in the amp draw between the two models(diameters). The difference may not be enough to be significant. I run mine on a 20A circuit also, and its the only machine running on that circuit when I use it.

However I have in the winter when the shop is cold popped that breaker once or twice in the past. It has happened when I have not used the planer for a few days and haven't been in the shop so no heat running. Being a converted portion of my garage it is insulated but there is minimal heat, so when the temps dip below 32 outside it can get down into the upper 30s in the shop after 24 hours without the heat being on. It's then when the planer will pop the breaker when I first start it up even before feeding any wood into the machine. I reset it and it doesn't happen again until the shop gets cold again.

 

[patriot]

[member=60461]Bob D.[/member]

If you had a line splitter you could learn how many amps your machine is pulling.  Here is a video which may help.

Your 20A circuit should not be tripping the breaker, if as you noted, it is the only appliance/tool being run on that circuit.  However, because you mentioned the ambient temp being in the low 30s when this happens, I wonder if the 735 has inherent friction affected by the cold temp which dissipates when the machine has been run?

Just a guess on my part.

 

[Tinker]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]

I hear you on the 735 snipe.  I built an 8-foot bed that ran through my 733 and had to make it wider when I got my 735.  My 'method' for combatting the snipe is to (1) raise the stock as I feed it into the cutters and (2) do the same as it exits the cutters. However, what I have found that works in addition to the above process is to take miniscule cuts when I am nearing my final dimension.  By miniscule I mean lowering the head less than 1/4 turn of the wheel.  This works for me.  The lighting in my shop is such that I can actually see - and feel - the snipe which is a good thing.

As to the long bed, I once leveled it perfectly and just knew that was the key to ridding myself of snipe.  Wrong!  That may have actually made it worse.  I think I built this bed over ten years ago and I do not think I could ever work without it.  I will say that I make certain that the melamine bed lays perfectly flat against the 735's built-in infeed/outfeed tables.  I use a feeler gauge for this as shown below.  IMHO, the ends of the bed do not have to be perfectly level because as I noted above, I raise the stock as it enters and leaves the machine which voids any benefit a perfectly level bed would provide.  This is just my experience with this planer bed.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

[attachimg=4]

I only just ran onto the thread.  I use the same methods you use with my 734.  The old model 734 was two blade an was satisfactory until in the middle of a project the drive belt broke.  Because I was expecting to deliver the table within a couple of days, it was quicker to replace the entire machine.  The new 734 has three blades and does leave a mirror finish and far less prone to snipe.

I used a flatpiece of melamine as you show in your post.  The problem with that was that eventually, the interior compressed.  I went back to using the method you describe to prevent (cut down on snipe).
Tinker