Wood Prep Tool Advice

[Nailed IT]

Planer and stand arrived yesterday along with the Wixey. 

I certainly forgot how much I really don't care for the DeWalt stands.  Really miss old steel.  The new zinc garbage that most things are made of really sucks. It was also funny how the stand was modified to only use one bolt per leg for attachment to the bottom frame.  Cost cutting I guess. It's together and has wheels so all is good.

[attachimg=1]

Next to unpack the planer, set it up and install the blades.  Hoping to have all my fingers when I finish!  Having watched a bunch of YouTube set up vids, if anyone has any setup recommendations please chime in!

Thanks again!

Bill

 

[ear3]

[member=60648]Nailed IT[/member] Are you going to go with the Shelix?

 

[Nailed IT]

[member=60648]Nailed IT[/member] Are you going to go with the Shelix?

If everything works out ok (unit works, it functions in my space and I am adequately adept at using it at all), I would plan to keep it and upgrade the cutting element sure!  I was looking that the Shelix and the Lux Cut.  I would be all for the benefits of cut, noise and maintenance.

 

[ear3]

As I said above, the Shelix is absolutely amazing in terms of performance, cutter life extension and noise reduction.  First time you chip the OEM knives you'll see what I mean.  I don't know however how the Shelix compares to the Lux Cut.  The only downside of the Shelix is that it does reduce the amount of material you can hog off per pass on wider boards, and it raises the minimum thickness you can plane down to from between 5/32 and 11/64, rather than 1/8.  I have never found this to be a huge inconvenience though.  Maybe the Lux Cut does a better job in those areas?

 

[Nailed IT]

As I said above, the Shelix is absolutely amazing in terms of performance, cutter life extension and noise reduction.  First time you chip the OEM knives you'll see what I mean.  I don't know however how the Shelix compares to the Lux Cut.  The only downside of the Shelix is that it does reduce the amount of material you can hog off per pass on wider boards, and it raises the minimum thickness you can plane down to from between 5/32 and 11/64, rather than 1/8.  I have never found this to be a huge inconvenience though.  Maybe the Lux Cut does a better job in those areas?

I have heard great things about the spiral cutter upgrades.  Although, there was mention of the original Shelix being of a smaller diameter to allow for installation without removal of the individual cutter blades, but they now offer a "full" size that does require  blade removal. The Lux Cut was supposed to be a bit more rust resistant as well as a bit easier to seat each of the cutters.

Here is one of the videos I ran across that explains those differences. 


Ironically the Lux Cut seems to be a bit more expensive now than the Shelix.  I would assume with proper care the Shelix would likely be fine.  These decisions are hard to make from looking at pictures.  You usually have to purchase and find out by experience.

Bill

 

[Cheese]

The reason I purchased a Byrd Shelix was because they were the original OEM supplier to several of the machine tool manucfacturers. Also their products are made in the USA...Kentucky.

Just as an example they make Shelix cutter heads that fit everything from a 6" Delta jointer to a 36" Buss planer. Byrd manufactures over 300 different combinations so they are a known commodity, they'll be around for a while.  [big grin]

There's free shipping and if you sign up for the news letter, you'll receive 5% off.
https://byrdtoolexperts.com/product-category/dewalt-planers-and-jointers

I ordered mine from Holbren with new bearings and a few extra inserts. Free shipping also.
https://www.holbren.com/byrd-shelix-for-dewalt-planers/

 

[rvieceli]

Byrd makes two heads for the DeWalt 735. One is the smaller size head and one is the same size as the original head.

My understanding of the problem with the oem size head is that the holes to insert the head into the machine are sized to just accept the head then the knives are installed.

So in order to get the bigger Shelix head to fit you have to remove all the inserts then reinstall them.

The smaller diameter Shelix fits without having to remove the inserts.

Ron

 

[ear3]

Huh, is this a recent development?  I did not see two options when I purchased mine (by process of elimination I got the smaller one, as I did not have to remove the cutterheads).

BTW [member=60648]Nailed IT[/member] I found a torque screwdriver very useful for rotating and/or changing out the cutters, since the specs call for 45lb/in. tight.  I got the Wera one.  I initially balked at the price, since prior to this I didn't really have a need for finely torqued driving, but it has definitely proved its worth for just this application.

Installing the Shelix was definitely a full morning's worth of work, but I found the instructions in this pair of videos to be an indispensable supplement to the manual



In particular, it soothed my nerves in the last stages when it confirmed the extended hammer tapping it takes to get the head fully seated. 

Byrd makes two heads for the DeWalt 735. One is the smaller size head and one is the same size as the original head.

My understanding of the problem with the oem size head is that the holes to insert the head into the machine are sized to just accept the head then the knives are installed.

So in order to get the bigger Shelix head to fit you have to remove all the inserts then reinstall them.

The smaller diameter Shelix fits without having to remove the inserts.

Ron

 

[rvieceli]

[member=37411]ear3[/member]

Here you go Edward.
https://shelixheads.com/SHELIX_for_dewalt_13_inch_Planer_(DW-735)

Ron