HL850 vs Nail

[Birdhunter]

I was reworking a piece of furniture for a friend. I had to cut the top off a TV credenza and trim the top. I was using my HL850 and heard a screeching sound. There was only about an inch of the blade engaged in the wood. The edge on that inch was dull as a butter knife. I had planed the top off a hidden nail.

Fortunately, I had a back up insert. I don’t think the inserts can be sharpened so $44 down the drain.I never thought to check for a hidden nail.

 

[afish]

no good deed goes unpunished

 

[Cheese]

I'm surprised that with the insert being solid carbide, it didn't crack and fracture instead of just becoming dull.

 

[Birdhunter]

I guess I was lucky it didn’t shatter.

 

[Svar]

Eat my dust, Festool! Yes, true helical cutter head.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Lincoln]

They're only available for Makita planers, right [member=15585]Svar[/member]?

 

[Svar]

They're only available for Makita planers, right [member=15585]Svar[/member]?

Yes, several Makita models as far as I know. A company called Sheartak. No affiliation.
P.S. Just checked their site. They've added quite a few other brands of planners.

 

[Birdhunter]

Just checked their site and didn’t see Festool listed. I have helical heads on Powermatic planer and jointer. Definitely a great cutter design.

 

[Cheese]

I also took a look at their site and came away with a mixed impression.
https://www.sheartak.com/common-home

First off, for a DW735 planer they are $60-$70 more expensive than a Byrd Shelix conversion.  [blink]

They offer heads for Bosch, Hitachi, Makita and Milwaukee hand held planers which makes sense, however they also offer $193 heads for Ryobi & Wen planers which cost only $40-$50.  [jawdrop]

 

[sancho57]

Good thing about FT planers is their knives dont need adjusting basically remove and replace.

Is you buddy gonna reimburse you for the cost of the blade?

 

[Birdhunter]

Not going to spoil the pleasure of doing something nice for a friend. I always enjoy testing my skill with a new project.

I did need to align the insert to the outside edge of the cutter head. Not hard. No other adjustments needed.

I seldo use the 850, but, when needed, it’s a great tool.

 

[mino]

I also took a look at their site and came away with a mixed impression.
https://www.sheartak.com/common-home

First off, for a DW735 planer they are $60-$70 more expensive than a Byrd Shelix conversion.  [blink]

They offer heads for Bosch, Hitachi, Makita and Milwaukee hand held planers which makes sense, however they also offer $193 heads for Ryobi & Wen planers which cost only $40-$50.  [jawdrop]

Where there is a market ... shame Festool does not make one or subcontract one as an optional upgrade.

I can see a contractor going through a couple planers while just transferring the head.

 

[Birdhunter]

My guess is that the HL850 market is microscopic compared to the big box store brands.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Not going to spoil the pleasure of doing something nice for a friend. I always enjoy testing my skill with a new project.

I did need to align the insert to the outside edge of the cutter head. Not hard. No other adjustments needed.

I seldo use the 850, but, when needed, it’s a great tool.

Might need to let the cutter project a little beyond the head. It should be even with the shoe on the rabbet side. Easy way is to lay the planer on it’s side on a smooth flat surface and slide the blade to the surface before tightening.

 

[Birdhunter]

I put a 6” steel ruler alongside the “shoe” and slid the insert up against the ruler. The insert should be aligned correctly.

I saw a YouTube video by New Brit Workshop where he modified the 850 fence to provide improved registration. I made a very crude copy and it helped to plane a right angle surface. His version was very elegant. My version was quick to make.

 

[Svar]

Old Porter Cable 126 had a single spiral knife. Virutex CE223X has one too. It's a bit outdated approach. One of the benefits of segmented helical cutters is high level of standardization, where only couple of knife types can be fitted onto cutter heads of all lengths, diameters and brands.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Old Porter Cable 126 had a single spiral knife. Virutex CE223X has one too. It's a bit outdated approach. One of the benefits of segmented helical cutters is high level of standardization, where only couple of knife types can be fitted onto cutter heads of all lengths, diameters and brands.

Not even the HL850 can leave as smooth a finish as a fresh blade did on that venerable old planer produced. Good luck trying to sharpen the PC cutter though. That really separated the men from the boys.

 

[Svar]

Although I brought it up myself, but to be fair PC 126 wasn't a regular planer. I.e. you can't flatten a table top with it. It's more of an edge router.

 

[Cheese]

Although I brought it up myself, but to be fair PC 126 wasn't a regular planer. I.e. you can't flatten a table top with it. It's more of an edge router.

If I remember correctly, it was specifically used for sizing doors to their jambs.

 

[mino]

One of the benefits of segmented helical cutters is high level of standardization, where only couple of knife types can be fitted onto cutter heads of all lengths, diameters and brands.

IMO the big benefit is "smoothness" of operation and hence stability. Clean cuts are just a result of that.

With a full-width cutter the cutter hits the material all at the same time, this can cause the cutter to be slowed down more easily when the momentum of the cutter head is not enough to make the cut. I see this all the time when there is some major imperfection in the wood which is way-harder than normal softwood the cutter may have a difficulty to cut it and the planer jumps if not held firm-enough.