WATCH THIS before buying a carbide helical (spiral/segmented) jointer/planer cutter head

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[Tool-Meister]

First some words of wisdom: “Buy once, cry once”. Now my personal experiences: I purchased my Jet 12” jointer/planer combo machine with a factory-option Shelix cutter head in 2010. I STILL haven’t had to rotate any cutters. This is all the better when you realize over 800 bd ft of white oak and 1, 200 bd ft of western cedar were jointed and thickness planed in just 2 projects. I was concerned the Jet has only 1 feed speed on the planer. My fears were for nothing. I’m a happy camper with the Jet combo and especially the Shelix cutter. I use the large, 5 micron, Jet Vortex dust collection without a single problem. The 3 hp planer motor seems to be easily handling the load. I’d happily recommend both! The first time you joint a 10” board, you’ll ask yourself, why didn’t I make this investment sooner!

[Campbellite]

Right now whenever I have questions, these videos always seem to pop up and give me great information. Thanks.

[paulrichmond]

You certainly got all the pros and cons right on this. My Shelix head doubled the overall cost of my Dewalt 735 but I no longer have to replace those hard rubber knives that Dewalt sells. I couldn’t get 1000 sf of hardwood through them before they had to be changed out. The surface coming out of the helical head is smooth as a baby’s bottom. Good job on the review.

[roymoneyhun]

James, thank you for not only this video but for them all. "Explaining" is a valuable skill that not everyone possesses, but you've got it abundance. Your videos are always extremely informative and easy to follow. Keep it up!

[fazmanicg]

I replaced my cutterhead on my Dewalt planer with a Shelix. One of the best decisions I've made. - When I bought a new jointer, it was the Powermatic with Helical head. SO glad I spent a few extra $$$. Great overview Stumpy!!

[Podchynok]

I’m not a high production furniture maker or miller by any means but I bought my helix one year after purchasing my Dewalt 13” thickness planer.
I went through 3 sets of blades at $89.00 CAD/ set and made a move!
I had my helix for over 5 years planing oak, hickory, zebra wood as well as soft woods and to sum my impression of this cutter head- WORTH EVERY PENNY, at least in my case.
Before when thinking about any project, budget in particular, if I didn’t have $89 for new blades I tended to stay away from figures woods and even then dull blades were issue, when blade doesn’t cut- it chisels!

[BL-suwt]

Not sure why anyone would give this video a thumbs down. I found it to be very helpful, clear and concise, and well presented. Thank you for posting>

[kdibaba]

The way this guy explains .... just legendary!

[richardsutton]

Thanks to your very helpful videos on the helical cutters, I replaced the knives on my Delta TP305 planer with the Shelix helical cutters from My Wood Cutters. Not cheap but a great product. Although it took me most of the day to just disassemble my planer, the new cutter head went in seamlessly. (Other YouTube videos were also very helpful.) Thank you for your helpful advice on the Shelix.

[inspectr]

100% true, have had my Powermatic 20" HH for over 5 years now and its still on its original set of cutters and I process all my own wood directly from my bandsaw mill once its air dired about a year. Handles tigermaple, curley cherry, flame birch and crotch walnut very exceptional, more efficiently and much quiter than my original planer with HSS knives. Now the decision is to spend over $500 to retrofit my Delta DJ20 jointer.

[AirwolfCrazy]

The Shelix planer head I ordered just arrived last week. I have enjoyed it's performance. At work, we have helix cutters in the jointer and planer and I was happy to finally upgrade my home planer.

[ryankoch]

Great review, came back to it just before buying my helical head for a refresher. Maybe I missed it but the cost savings are more than just the cost of the individual knives. While it matters most if you're a business but the cut quality results in a huge savings down the road for other things like sandpaper and labor even the hobbyist. The fact that it leaves a smooth finish alone is enough to justify the upgrade. Because NOBODY loves sanding lol

[ducttape]

very informed discussion on the two types of cutters for Jointer...and Planer.

[danieldeshone]

I sometime work in a friends shop he has a huge planer when he switched from straight knives the noise reduction was great, and the cut was much smother good talk Stump

[johnconklin]

I put a Shelix head in both my jointer and planer and have found them both to be worth it. Quieter, less maintenance time, better quality... all worth the money. If I ever get a larger jointer, I'll order a another one ASAP. I did have to wait about 3 months for the head for my 6" Delta jointer.

[lokisullivan]

TIP: If you knick your straight blades, on most planers/jointers, you can swap out just one blade and eliminate the lines.

On some like the Dewalt, the blades are also reversible. Flip one blade and your back in business.

[daveboyt]

Thanks for the great video. On the cost savings, you missed the cost of the wood destroyed by a straight planer, and the value of the time it takes to sand out tearout from a straight planer. Factoring that in, it pays for itself much more quickly.

[labrat]

I upgraded my Jet planner/thicknesser with a helical head and had a couple of issues when I needed to rotate the cutters. I over tightened the screws by only a couple of pounds and had a number of them break. I was supplied a box of ten 15 x 15 x 2.5 x R100mm labelled as Byrde but they were not, some how there has been a substitution of 14.8 x 14.8 x 2.5mm cutters. I had a step on the surface where the new cutters were not cutting to the full depth. I purchased some new cutters and installed them problem solved.. It is worth running a digital calliper or micrometer over the cutters before installation. Do not trust that some creep has not tried to pull a fast one and swapped out some cutters.

[WigWagWorkshop]

The $550 helical cutter investment for my DeWalt planer, was one of my best upgrades I ever made. On another note, those carbide cutters, also make for a great low cost lathe tool.

[tharemyhopkins]

Honestly, before this video, I wasn't aware that a replacement head was available for my planer or jointer, so I really appreciate you sharing the site. I had thought I would just need to save up for a new jointer with helical head. Besides once a year when my father-in-law asks for cedar planer shavings for woodduck house bedding, the long ribbons are indeed a pain for the dust collector. I'm in the camp of only replacing my blades once or twice a year, but personally, I'd consider the dust collection improvements worth some $. The noise factor with kids sleeping is also something I hadn't thought about. Table saw and sanders can be run when they are asleep no problem, but I usually get "the look" when planing at night. Thank you for the video!