The March issue of Wood Magazine has a jointer review. As part of the article they say that the striaght cutterhead is preferable to the spiral because it gives a flatter cut. They say the spiral leaves waves on stock face. If this is true, why are the spiral cutterheads considered an upgrade?
-
David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment. -
IMO... because the sprirals will give a slightly better cut on maple and a few (emphasis on few) exotics. So.. if all you use is maple you are good to go. And because changing knives can be a PITA if you don't know how.. so it takes the work out of re-calibrating which is a god-send to a mechanically challenged or lazy person.
And again IMO.. you are not "in" if you don't spend a bunch of dollars and get one even though the same cut on maple can normally be obtained by skewing your stock on a jointer or planer. So.. it leads me to the conclusion you should rush out and spend a ton of cash for one but.. keep your straight knife jointer to use on normal stock and use the new addition spiral head for maple. That way you have all covered and are "in" the "in crowd and meet the latest WW fad. Well.. not the latest but one of them....
Am I having a little fun here or being serious.. well.... a little bit of both as I have run straight knives for 36 years and gotten excellent results. I don't have any plans to change that and simply won't. The reason is that the spiral leaves rippled and wafflely cuts and I didn't just read that in Wood.. I hate the surface it leaves, franklly
Last edited by Guest; 01-11-2009, 05:29 PM. -
David,
A few years ago, I purchased a replacement cutterhead for my 6" Rigid jointer. I got it from a company called Sunhill
http://sunhillmachinery.com/Spiral%2...Conversion.htm
It's not the type with a bunch of carbide squares, (see photo)
, its just 3 thin razor type blades. I've used it on stock from Pine to Macassar Ebony and have never had a bad surface. And the best part of it is its price $150.00.
BTW, I'm still on the orig. set of blades and i've must have run at least 300 BF of hard woods thru the jointer.
Check it out.
Bruce"Western civilization didn't make all men equal,
Samuel Colt did"
Comment
-
They are also significantly quieter. They shear the wood instead of chop, reducing tear out.Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas EdisonComment
-
I got mine primarily for noise reduction. I conduct business in a subdivision that doesn't allow you to conduct business so it (and a lot of free wood works) keeps the neighbors happy. It's also economics ..... My Dewalt DW735 flew through blades and I was lucky if I got through 200 BF before having to turn the blades. I have gone through a little over 1000 BF of cherry on the carbide cutters on the Byrd head and there is absolutely no problem. At $60 a set, it doesn't take long to get your money back. You aren't going to go to finish without sanding no matter what kind of cutter you have.Comment
-
Having just purchased the Ridgid 10 days ago, that article actually made me look like I knew what i was doing (proving, once again, that it's better to be lucky than good
) At $430, it was named the Top Value among the 10 jointers tested, and I only paid $325!
All gloating aside, I found the two jointer articles to be quite informative."I know it when I see it." (Justice Potter Stewart)Comment
-
Opps... the heads I was referring to are the "square jobbies" that Bruce mentioned. I suppose they might be called the helical as I am not familiar with the actual name. But the one's I referred to don't spiral around the head as Bruce mentioned his did. I have not used those so I cannot comment on them.
Sorry bout that...Comment
-
The technical name for the "square jobbies" is a shelix, which is the typical "byrd" cutterhead that is sold for hobbyist machines.Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas EdisonComment
-
I hate to argue with you Crocket, but I am reading the exact opposite. It says the straight leave the wavy cut and the spiral are preferred.
Oops, my bad. I was looking at Woodsmith magazine. It does say the opposite though. Wierd.Comment
-
I'm dreading the day I have to change the knives on my Delta jointer (or on my planer for that matter). The knives on the jointer were getting dull when I read somewhere, perhaps in the instruction manual, that I could hone them with a stone (in my case, inexpensive 600 grit diamond honing tool). Same number of strokes on each cutter and with the stone parallel to the bed.
The results have been satisfactory. I do have two sets of replacement knives, purchased from Brian Holbren, but since neither Bruce nor Sarge live close enough by to help me the first time around, I'm procrastinating as long as I reasonably can 
Comment
-
The major reason I switched to a spiral cutterhead was blade changes on the jointer. Even with the magnetic jig I bought, I still couldn't get the suckers lined-up correctly.
Between that and getting cut handling the knives and cursing loud enough to be heard in New Jersey, I'm now a happy man. And so are my neighbors.
Bruce"Western civilization didn't make all men equal,
Samuel Colt did"Comment
-
I don't plan to upgrade mine anytime soon. I was just curious that the spiral or helix was considered an upgrade but wood magazine was saying the cut is not as good. Maybe I will upgrade the first time I have to change the knives on mine.David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.Comment
-
There is no doubt that the wood finish directly off the machine is lacking with the Byrd head but like has been said, the reasons for changing are multiple. A quick sanding with the ROS takes care of any defects for either head but the difference in noise is pretty substantial which means a lot in a HOA subdivision. Not to mention the difference in time between blade changes and like Bruce said ...... Put the cutters on and tighten them down and you are done. My Yorkcraft jointer was a pain in the rear to get the knives set.Comment
Comment