anybody have a cutech "spiral" head planer?

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BKHam

Bradley
User
My situation:
I would like to have a helical spiral head on at least a planer for all the reasons that anybody else would get one...quieter, easily replaceable, less tear out. I have the Dewalt 735 with straight knives. I have a older powermatic 8 inch jointer as well.

i could sell both machines and that would be a good start toward buying a 12 inch combo machine but i'd still be in for quite an investment.

i don't mind my jointer and so i've considered spending the money for the upgrade to a spiral cutterhead. however, my planer is a little older and i worry about putting the entire value of the machine into it.

so i started searching for lunchbox style planers with helical heads. There are not many out there. rikon makes one (i don't think it actually spiral, just segmented) and i found one from cutech. its not a company i hear about. you can find one of their higher end models here: https://www.cutechtool.com/product-p/40200hc-ct.htm

anybody have one of these? thoughts?
 

frankc4113

Frank C
Corporate Member
I never owned a "Cutech" planer nor any of their other tools and don't know how many of their planers or other machines are around or what their track record is for quality as well as repairs and availability of parts if necessary. For the most part I'm skeptical of reviews, good or bad but if you read them all, they could paint a picture.

Occasionally there are helical head planers with decent prices on Craigslist but those are few and far between, especially good ones. It's just my opinion but I think I might wait until someone from NCWW sells one or you spot one that really looks good, is priced right and has better brand recognition.You just have to be ready to act immediately if you spot a good one.

I recently saw an 8" jointer on Craigslist for a good price and called the seller almost immediately. He was nice enough to wait until I got there before he let anyone else look at it. It was in almost in new condition and of course, I bought it. By that time he had a list of people a page long to call if I turned it down.
 

danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
My situation:
I would like to have a helical spiral head on at least a planer for all the reasons that anybody else would get one...quieter, easily replaceable, less tear out. I have the Dewalt 735 with straight knives. I have a older powermatic 8 inch jointer as well.

i could sell both machines and that would be a good start toward buying a 12 inch combo machine but i'd still be in for quite an investment.

i don't mind my jointer and so i've considered spending the money for the upgrade to a spiral cutterhead. however, my planer is a little older and i worry about putting the entire value of the machine into it.

so i started searching for lunchbox style planers with helical heads. There are not many out there. rikon makes one (i don't think it actually spiral, just segmented) and i found one from cutech. its not a company i hear about. you can find one of their higher end models here: https://www.cutechtool.com/product-p/40200hc-ct.htm

anybody have one of these? thoughts?

I am in the same position. I have the same planer DW735 and I am about to order a spiral head with bearings pressed on. If you go the Byrd spiral head route, you have 2 choices: one is easy to install(smaller diameter) the other requires you to remove all 40 cutters to fit the head in the hole.

I have found the head and bearings on Amazon for the best price. I don't plane a great amount of wood and I am pleased with my DW735 so I am going to make what I think is a worthwhile upgrade. Its a choice I guess??

If you decide to get another planer, let me know. I'm in the market for another DW735 -- used.

https://www.amazon.com/Byrd-Tool-Sh...pID=31SMT4ysx6L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
 

BKHam

Bradley
User
after doing some more research, i found someone describe the cutter head......cutech is using the term spiral in a bit of a misleading way. it is segmented so it uses small 2 sided cutters. however the cutters are oriented perpendicular to the feed direction, not angled. they are placed on the cutter head in a spiral shape but are still effectively straight knives.

so this planer will give you some advantage in the replaceable insert but does not give you the shearing advantage that buying a shelix or helical will give. that keeps me from going with this product.

i guess i'm back to considering the DW735 upgrade again.
 

patlaw

Mike
Corporate Member
Has anyone researched alternatives to the DW735 that come with a Helix head already installed? The 735 with the Helix is over $1000, not including labor to convert the cutter.
 

BKHam

Bradley
User
Has anyone researched alternatives to the DW735 that come with a Helix head already installed? The 735 with the Helix is over $1000, not including labor to convert the cutter.

hey Mike, that is what i'm doing and there just isn't anything out there as far as i can tell. there are no lunchbox style helix out there. it seems like an untapped market to me. rikon and cutech make them with replaceable cutters but they are not angled to the feed direction.
 

Grimmy2016

Administrator
Scott
Just FYI, the Dewalt will be 10% off this weekend and Klingspor and you can get a cart to hold if for $50 more.

I am also in the market for a planer and went in to talk and they notified me of this deal.

after doing some more research, i found someone describe the cutter head......cutech is using the term spiral in a bit of a misleading way. it is segmented so it uses small 2 sided cutters. however the cutters are oriented perpendicular to the feed direction, not angled. they are placed on the cutter head in a spiral shape but are still effectively straight knives.

so this planer will give you some advantage in the replaceable insert but does not give you the shearing advantage that buying a shelix or helical will give. that keeps me from going with this product.

i guess i'm back to considering the DW735 upgrade again.
 

danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
Has anyone researched alternatives to the DW735 that come with a Helix head already installed? The 735 with the Helix is over $1000, not including labor to convert the cutter.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/13-...MImPy42s2h3QIVBozICh23XgPkEAQYAyABEgKv__D_BwE

Grizzly has it on sale 499 with outfeed panels.
Amazon has the Byrd head for 350

Not sure about labor? You have to do the conversion yourself.


I am looking into contacting the refurb facility for DW. I am trying to get one with no cutter head and no panels. If I get lucky I'll post a word.

From what I can tell, the Byrd head looks like the one to have.

The DW735 has a pretty good reputation and there a quite a few users here on the site who have worked on them. I bought mine used and I have done a good bit of repairs so I think I know the machine pretty well. I would recommend it over any lunchbox typeI have seen so far.
 

woodworker2000

Christopher
Corporate Member
I don't know what Amazon is charging but Holbren (www.holbren.com) has the Byrd shelix head for the DeWalt 735 (both versions) for $435 w/bearings. "WoodNet10" usually gets you 10% off on the site but I'm not certain if it applies to the Byrd shelix head. Holbren is operated by the owner (Brian) so if you call, he will likely be the one to answer. Holbren carries all of the Whiteside router bits and usually has good prices.
 

Grimmy2016

Administrator
Scott
I don't know what Amazon is charging but Holbren (www.holbren.com) has the Byrd shelix head for the DeWalt 735 (both versions) for $435 w/bearings. "WoodNet10" usually gets you 10% off on the site but I'm not certain if it applies to the Byrd shelix head. Holbren is operated by the owner (Brian) so if you call, he will likely be the one to answer. Holbren carries all of the Whiteside router bits and usually has good prices.


When trying to use the discount code I get the following message. Just FYI

- Entered promo code is expired, cannot be used with your order or is invalid
 

danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
I don't know what Amazon is charging but Holbren (www.holbren.com) has the Byrd shelix head for the DeWalt 735 (both versions) for $435 w/bearings. "WoodNet10" usually gets you 10% off on the site but I'm not certain if it applies to the Byrd shelix head. Holbren is operated by the owner (Brian) so if you call, he will likely be the one to answer. Holbren carries all of the Whiteside router bits and usually has good prices.

https://www.amazon.com/Byrd-Tool-Sh...94835&sr=8-3&keywords=shelix+cutterhead+dw735

Here is the new Byrd shelix head that fits in the machine without removing the cutters. The price is 349.00 with free shipping. Holbren will not come down and there's a shipping fee. If you want the cutter, I think this might be as good as you'll find.

Dan
 

old-delta

Wes
Senior User
Does anyone know the advantages or disadvantages of using the smaller (for ease of install) Helix head for the DW735 VS the OEM size?
I've had the 735 for four years and want to convert. I'm done with changing the disposable knives.
 
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BKHam

Bradley
User
Does anyone know the advantages or disadvantages of using the smaller (for ease of install) Helix head for the DW735 VS the OEM size?
I've had the 735 for four years and want to convert. I'm done with changing the disposable knives.

There are a bunch of posts related to this on this site but if you'll allow me to over simplify.....your chances of snipe are greater with the smaller head but as far as i can tell, people don't mention it much. i assume the diameter of the head vs the rollers is different than the manufacturer intended. the smaller is 100$ cheaper and easier to install. so its a balancing act. i think most who do this get the smaller head and are happy with it. snipe on this machine is still better than snipe on nearly all other lunchbox machines.
 
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