Does any one have experience with the Jet spiral cutter planer models, or spiral cutter planers in general ? My specific interests are how spiral cutter planers handle highly figured wood, and how much sanding is required after planing.
Saw a demo on Friday of a similar machine to a Jet (made in the same Chinese factory but fitted with a Tiawanese cutter) on a piece of sawn highly figured curly Maple. Two passes across both sides to flatten and thickness it and then one pass thru a drum sander fitted with 220 grit paper - no tearouts, no chips, no holes - ready to paint or polish further.
We were standing next to the machine talking while it did the thicknessing.
Wish that I had the spare cash with me but I will have to save up a bit.
I have the Shelix cutter head on my planer and I just finished sanding a white oak frame and panel that took several minutes starting with 80 grit Granat on my ETS 150/3. Every surface has to be sanded using the Shelix cutter head and a minimum of 100 grit has been my experience.
It will cut difficult grained woods but you have the sanding issue to deal with after.