HELICAL VS: SPIRAL CUTTER HEAD

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
Boy do we ever love a good rip-snorting debate. Want to start one right now. I'll give you the magic word "Sawstop". :D

PS: I have both straight & Byrd. Everybody talked about the cut, but the big difference is the small chips work better with dust collection.

Pop
 

gmakra

New User
George
Well pop I'm not going to debate a youngster like you and your Bluetooth connected to everything.

Heck I remember when hand saws didn't cost that much and it took muscle to operate .try sync that to your Bluetooth
 

Charlie

Charlie
Corporate Member
I will add my .02 by first saying that I have an 11 year old 15" planer and an 8 year old 12" jointer with Byrd Shelix cutterheads and have not yet needed to turn the cutters. That says that I should get at least 40 years from a set of cutters since they can be rotated 4 times. I guess I won't have to worry about that at 74 yo. Lol.
I never pay attention to grain direction when milling material because I know there will not be any tearout.
With straight knives, whether 3,4 or 50, it is required to hold the board down onto the table because of the "chopping" action. With the Bryd Shelix shearing action the board is actually pulled down to the table. I have demonstrated this many times to shop visitors and they are amazed. (Obviously, I do hold the board down for control purposes).
As far as "tracks" or "grooves", if there are any that are really noticeable then there is something wrong with the setup.
In an earlier post .001" deep grooves were shown. 2 swiped with a ROS and 180 grit sandpaper and they are gone. I have never applied a finish to any material straight from a planer/jointer without sanding first.
I feel that the Byrd Shelix design is so great that they should come standard on all machines.

As for spiral, helical, shelix, etc. controversy, the following attachments are info from Sheartak Tools Ltd who make all types of cutterheads, so I think they have an idea on what is what:

Again, just my .02, but I will never own another straight knife machine.
 

Attachments

  • Helical Cutterhead with Straight Edge Knives.docx
    196.5 KB · Views: 838
  • Spiral Cutterhead.docx
    178.8 KB · Views: 662

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Thank you Charlie, the differences in terminology are clearer to me. BTW, I've seen your shop and the Byrd Shelix cutter heads.

I've considered putting a Byrd Shelix on my DeWalt 12" planer but $300 for a Byrd is hard to justify for a seldom used planer.


I will add my .02 by first saying that I have an 11 year old 15" planer and an 8 year old 12" jointer with Byrd Shelix cutterheads and have not yet needed to turn the cutters. That says that I should get at least 40 years from a set of cutters since they can be rotated 4 times. I guess I won't have to worry about that at 74 yo. Lol.
I never pay attention to grain direction when milling material because I know there will not be any tearout.
With straight knives, whether 3,4 or 50, it is required to hold the board down onto the table because of the "chopping" action. With the Bryd Shelix shearing action the board is actually pulled down to the table. I have demonstrated this many times to shop visitors and they are amazed. (Obviously, I do hold the board down for control purposes).
As far as "tracks" or "grooves", if there are any that are really noticeable then there is something wrong with the setup.
In an earlier post .001" deep grooves were shown. 2 swiped with a ROS and 180 grit sandpaper and they are gone. I have never applied a finish to any material straight from a planer/jointer without sanding first.
I feel that the Byrd Shelix design is so great that they should come standard on all machines.

As for spiral, helical, shelix, etc. controversy, the following attachments are info from Sheartak Tools Ltd who make all types of cutterheads, so I think they have an idea on what is what:

Again, just my .02, but I will never own another straight knife machine.
 

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