Shelix Helical Cutter by Byrd Tool Co.

I'll never go back to straight blades. The helicals are so much quieter, the blades last forever.  I believe I can take more off the board per pass if I need to.  You get four sides per carbide cutter! No depth setting, less snipe, the list goes on and on.  I don't miss my straight blade joiner and planer a bit.
 
Who cares in a jointer?  A jointer is used to get a board flat so it can go through the planer.  Insert heads are not worth the expense of change over in a jointer.

I don't like them in a planer either, but for different reasons. 
 
I really use my 6" jointer 50% for glue up edges and 50% for flattening one side of a board. For glue up I get a joint that is usually perfect. Will the Byrd be as good for glue up joints? MARK
 
jmarkflesher said:
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
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Mark,

My cutters came from the US manufacturer, but I looked at the Canadian site you posted - they claim to offer the best pricing and the cutters will ship direct from the US to you. I would have bought from them if I knew about them at the time!

Just a note on swapping out the cutters - it is a bit of a job, but very doable if you have a bearing puller and take your time. There are a few u-tube videos that go over the process.

Mike
 
Limestonemike, I had it all figured out. I already took mine apart ( I have bearing pullers ) and checked the bearings and they were OK. I found once the bearing holders were released by unscrewing the bolts you could tip it enough and take the belt off the pulley and then slide the whole unit out in one piece. I would get the Byrd cutter with new bearings and buy two new bearing holders and be able to swap back and forth as needed. Problem: Two bearing holders from ereplacementparts.com are $500.00 delivered. I guess I'll use one set of bearing holders. MARK
 
Same as you Mark, I too alwAys use the jointer for jointing edges.  Here's the definition of a jointer from Webster "The jointer derives its name from its primary function of producing flat edges on boards prior to joining them edge-to-edge to produce wider boards. The use of this term probably arises from the name of a type of hand plane, the jointer plane, which is also used primarily for this purpose." Getting boards flat is done for me by my helical planer.  Now with the beauty known as the ts55 and TS75, my jointer sees little use, as it leaves an edge suited well for immediate glue up, many times better than my cabinet saw.
 
A planer will not make a board flat.  It will make two faces parallel and the board thinner.  Planing a twisted or cupped board will just make a thinner twisted or cupped board.
 
It sure does and always has, I don't put severely warped wood through it though, as it will continue to warp. Plane-flip, plane-flip, you got a flat board. It's been proven in my shop every day.
 
You will not get truly flat lumber just shoving rough sawn lumber through a planer.  I can get stuff close enough for out side trim, but even with adjustable bed rollers and a high yield chip breaker, it still won't be dead flat. 

Now if you are using skip planed lumber that has been through a facer, then for the most part.
 
I mill my own lumber with my sawmill, dry it in my kiln and make furniture with the wood I produce.  Making cabinets now for my tenant apartment. You have methods that work for you, my methods produce perfectly flat results and work wonderfully for me.  It's not wrong or producing shabby work, just different method and produces perfect results.
 
Jaybolishes said:
I mill my own lumber with my sawmill, dry it in my kiln and make furniture with the wood I produce.  Making cabinets now for my tenant apartment. You have methods that work for you, my methods produce perfectly flat results and work wonderfully for me.  It's not wrong or producing shabby work, just different method and produces perfect results.
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Being up in Vt where there are tons of older woodworking machinery makes me wonder, what kind of planer do you have?  I have the Powermatic Model 100 12" planer and I can't get straight wood with surfacing it on the jointer?

Jack
 
The grizzly GO453Z which came with the spiral head, 15" planer.  I can't praise it enough, I usually don't go cheap but this planer exceeded my expectations.   I planed all the boards I milled for  my house flooring with it after I first bought it and have done many projects since and I'm still on the same cutters.  The chips from my EWP boards are great bedding for the chickens, perfectly sized shavings.
 
Jaybolishes, not to beat a dead horse but I'm curious.  How do you manage to get straight and flat boards without jointing a side.  If the board has a twist in it and you run it through your planer on one side, flip it, and then run it through the planer on the other side, are you saying that this method produces straight and flat boards?
 
I don't use twisted stock, cupped stock I plane cup down first. But I'm talking very slight cupping. If it's really cupped, that's a bad piece of wood I don't want to use.    It's really advantageous to have a wood pile to choose my straightest pieces for my nicest projects.  I try to get quartesawn wood which stays stable.  If you have twisted stock,  that twist is embedded in that piece, if you get it flat, it still will want to twist as time goes, and that goes for cupping as well. Plane a twisted board straight, make a cabinet door frame and the door may not stay flat and warp.  Milling thousands of board feet has taught me that twisted boards are the junk boards. So if you use twisted wood, you may want to try other methods, as I'm not sure what woodworkers do with twisted wood.  I avoid twisted material all together. If I buy stock at the lumber yard, I'm buying oversized wood I plane down, and I don't buy wood if it's twisted. Twisted wood is fire wood to me.  Cupped wood planes flat no problem.
 
Twisted wood is a problem but, with a Jointer and patience you can get a good finished product most of the time.  I have straightened twisted wood, reaction wood where the tree twists as it grows and imparts stresses that resist straightening and if your patient you can "tame it".  Australian Black Wood almost drove me crazy with just very fine cuts on the jointer, it would move again almost every time.  I started with 4/4 rough stock and was finally able to get straight 5/8" material.

Most of us don't have the wood supply to "burn" problem wood, we have to deal with it.  So, as to the issues with the original poster, a jointer is necessary to produce "normal" straight wood.

I just wish that I had your supply but, I moved from Upstate N. Y. to California where most of the trees are soft wood.

Jack
 
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