Shelix Helical Cutter by Byrd Tool Co.

[jmarkflesher]

Input from anyone that has bought Byrd shear cutters requested. I have a 6" Rockwell jointer model 37-220. I bought it in the 70 D's when they were still made in Canada. I can get cutter head, bearings and 10 extra cutters for $407.00 including tax and shipping. Bed of jointer is dead flat. Worth it or no? Thanks in advance, MARK

 

[jacko9]

I installed the Shelix Helical cutter head in my Powermatic 12" planer last year.  The cutting is noticeably quieter and easier on the motor.  The tear out on difficult woods has almost been eliminated but, you have to realize that the finish on the board is going to have a slight ripple caused by the design of the cutter head.  This ripple can be easily sanded or smooth hand planed.  I like to ease of cut but the ripple is annoying to say the least and for my 12" planer I didn't find an alternative at the time.  My 8" Poitras Jointer has solid carbide knives that I installed over 20 years ago and while not as quite as the Shelix, the finish is far superior.

Jack 

 

[jmarkflesher]

Thanks Jacko 9. Carbide cutters for same machine are under $50.00 delivered. I am going to check on the price of a spare head with bearings and mounting blocks. This will save time if swap out is needed. Thanks, MARK

 

[jacko9]

Thanks Jacko 9. Carbide cutters for same machine are under $50.00 delivered. I am going to check on the price of a spare head with bearings and mounting blocks. This will save time if swap out is needed. Thanks, MARK

I think you'll like the carbide blades.  If your careful about the stock you put through your jointer (no used wood,etc) the carbide blades hold an edge forever (almost).

Jack

 

[rjwz28]

The Byrd cutter heads are awesome.  I got them on my Grizzly Jointer and my DeWalt 12" planer.  Will never go back to regular blades.

Rob

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

The Byrd cutter heads are awesome.  I got them on my Grizzly Jointer and my DeWalt 12" planer.  Will never go back to regular blades.

Rob

Phew! I have the Byrd Shelix on back order for my Dewalt 735x. Jacko got me nervous, because I respect his opinions. (Hoping to make an awesome planer even better. Love the Wixey, too, BTW.)

 

[Max Neu]

I run the planer head on my 20" powermatic,and I have several of their heads for my shaper,I love them.

 

[jacko9]

I run the planer head on my 20" powermatic,and I have several of their heads for my shaper,I love them.

I didn't say I don't "love" my Shelix but, you do have to deal with the ripple pattern.  When I had solid steel blades a real sharp set will give me an almost finished surface.  Now admittedly I had to do a lot of set up aligning my blades concentric, and adjusted to the rolls and pressure bar but, I didn't have to sand surfaces too much.

There has already been discussions of this here, do a search and get others opinion as to the surface finish.

Jack

 

[Max Neu]

I personally don't care about the scallops,because everything that comes off my planer goes through the wide belt sander.The Byrd cutter eliminated tearout which results in less work for the widebelt sander.

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Interesting, guys. Unfortunately,  I don't have a wide belt sander. Today, I got gorgeous oak boards from just my stock blades. (I only took off 2 or 3 mm at a time, though...and made sure to have the tables and out feed rollers all perfectly aligned.)  Maybe, I will cancel the order and just get the carbide blades, then? Anyone else, with the Dewalt 735 and Byrd Shelix care to chime in?

 

[jacko9]

Interesting, guys. Unfortunately,  I don't have a wide belt sander. Today, I got gorgeous oak boards from just my stock blades. (I only took off 2 or 3 mm at a time, though...and made sure to have the tables and out feed rollers all perfectly aligned.)  Maybe, I will cancel the order and just get the carbide blades, then? Anyone else, with the Dewalt 735 and Byrd Shelix care to chime in?

For a 6" wide jointer solid carbide blades will give you better results in my humble opinion.  Save your money and get a wider jointer at least 8" and you'll be happier in the long run.

Jack

 

[John Stevens]

I've had an 8" planer with a Shelix head for about eight years.  The scalloping or rippling in the finish is no more pronounced, and requires no more sanding or scraping, than with the regular jointer head I used to have.

EDIT--point is, it probably depends on the machine.  The one I bought was sold by the mfr with the head, so I'm guessing it was spec'd so the number of rows of blades would give a smooth cut at the rotational speed of this machine.  May not be able to do that when retro-fitting the head.

--John

 

[jacko9]

I've had an 8" planer with a Shelix head for about eight years.  The scalloping or rippling in the finish is no more pronounced, and requires no more sanding or scraping, than with the regular jointer head I used to have.

EDIT--point is, it probably depends on the machine.  The one I bought was sold by the mfr with the head, so I'm guessing it was spec'd so the number of rows of blades would give a smooth cut at the rotational speed of this machine.  May not be able to do that when retro-fitting the head.

--John

Good point John since my experience is limited to the retrofit of my 35 year old Powermatic Planer.  However, I did a Google search on the surface scalloping and found others that have experienced the same issue that I had.

I think the issue for me is that with my solid blades the surface irregularity was linear and with new or sharpened blades the finish was good enough for some surfaces.  The scalloping morphology however slight gives an appearance that in my opinion has to be addressed by sanding, plaining or scraping.

I love the way the Shelix cuts but I think there are better segmented cutter heads out there that leave a less distracting surface appearance.

I even asked the Bryd Tools folks if there was something that could be done to reduce the scalloping but was told that the appearance was what it was (as best as I can recollect).

Jack

 

[Claimdude]

The Byrd cutter heads are awesome.  I got them on my Grizzly Jointer and my DeWalt 12" planer.  Will never go back to regular blades.

Rob

Phew! I have the Byrd Shelix on back order for my Dewalt 735x. Jacko got me nervous, because I respect his opinions. (Hoping to make an awesome planer even better. Love the Wixey, too, BTW.)

NYC,

I upgraded my DeWalt 735 last spring with the Shelix head and couldn't be happier. One thing not in the instructions for install is the head lock slide used with the old 735 head does not fit with the new head so you have to leave it off. Need any help once you get yours let me know. Took me about 3 hrs start to finish (didn't rush it due to spending so much for the head). I have read others make comments about the little concave cutter marks but mine comes out slicker than owl snot. A little sanding with some 150 grit then 220 and it's ready for finishing.

Jack

 

[rjwz28]

The Byrd cutter heads are awesome.  I got them on my Grizzly Jointer and my DeWalt 12" planer.  Will never go back to regular blades.

Rob

Phew! I have the Byrd Shelix on back order for my Dewalt 735x. Jacko got me nervous, because I respect his opinions. (Hoping to make an awesome planer even better. Love the Wixey, too, BTW.)

I don't know about this rippling some people are talking about.  I got the 735 and I use it as a planer and don't expect perfect smoothness from planning.  That's what sanding is for.  And not much of it.  If your biggest concern is on the smoothness, the positives surely outweigh that one negative.  Way quieter, no setting of knives, lasts longer, can rotate the cutters 4 times, great on figured wood with way less tear out, if you get it nicked, you can change only one cutter.  Too me the only thing is can you afford it?  I'm not rich and my machines aren't top of the line.  But I wouldn't get a new jointer or planer without a Byrd head in the future if I change machines.

Rob

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Rob and Claimdude, you both make convincing arguments for me to keep my order in, for the Byrd Shelix Head. Heck, you guys own this set-up! Also, the amazon reviews applaud it. This cutterhead was made specifically for the 735. That was also a selling point for me. So far, even without the Byrd Shelix, I love the 735. No snipe and smooth boards. With my Hearos -33dB plugs, the noise didn't bother me.  Yes, the BS is expensive. The carbide straight blade cutters are $175. Also, I like the idea of not having to futz with blade height adjustments.

 

[Oldwood]

I Have a Byrd shelix head in a 20" planer & think it was a great investment. The tear out is greatly reduced saving money on boards that would have been wasted. Any planer leaves mill marks but I find the marks from the shelix head are easy to sand out. The planer is also so much nicer to work with because of the reduced noise.

Gerry

 

[jacko9]

I have to admit that the reduced noise is very important but, the even bigger improvement was hooking my Powermatic 12" planer up to my Oneida V-3000 dust control system and being able to mill any material without chips or dust.

Jack

 

[canadamike]

I have the Shelix cutter in a 15" General planer. I have run over 3000 ft for trim and doors (walnut, oak and cherry), with vitually no tear-out. I have not rotated any blades yet. On my older knives, I would have had to change or sharpen them.

I do notice on very light cuts that the scalloping is more pronouced. But like most people have said, anything needs to touched up after the planer anyway. The planer runs much quiter also. I am thinking of changing my jointer knives for the Shelix.

 

[jmarkflesher]

OK. I've read enough. Now where to order from, the Byrd site in Kentucky who has a terrible site but are the manufactures or a site in Canada (mywoodcutters.com) who has an excellent site. Anyone? MARK