# A worthwhile upgrade



## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

I am one of those who made the change on a Ridgid planer, and I have some tear out when I have none on my 8" Powermatic jointer and which I also replaced the head, but overall I am very satisfied.
I also bout my head from Holbren and I also has a discount ( around $100.00 I believe)


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

I have a jet 8" jointer. Starting to think this would be a great Christmas present for myself.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I have one in my 13" planer, and am really impressed with the new head. Like you say, it will save you from causing tearout and that saves time and money. The surface left behind by the Shelix head is vastly smoother than my straight-knife jointer or tablesaw. I have started edge-planing all boards to clean up the tablesaw blade marks. Works great.


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Interesting, May have to take the pluch on my 8 inch jointer. Thx for the info.


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## playingwithmywood (Jan 10, 2014)

> Interesting, May have to take the pluch on my 8 inch jointer. Thx for the info.
> 
> - Ken90712


you will not reget it I put it in my 8" jointer and dewalt 735 planner


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## Oldwest (Sep 22, 2010)

I got a Byrd SHELIX cutter head for my Dewalt 735 planer and love it.

Great investment and very low maintenance.


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## McLeanVA (Dec 30, 2008)

Great review.

For those of you who turn wood with Easy Wood Tools, these cutter heads are a perfect match for the EWT Easy Roughers. I started buying these Byrd Shelix heads as a MUCH cheaper alternative to the EWT "disposable" blades. Easy to sharpen with a diamond card as well.

Just thought I'd toss that out there in hopes it saves some fellow LJ's some money.


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## abie (Jan 28, 2008)

our wood shop, after a year of research and search for an installer, bot the Helix from grizzley for our 20 inch planer.
quiter, nice cuts and smooth results
worth the wait and expense.


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## Jarrhead (Mar 15, 2009)

UPDATE: So, the owners manual for my Jet planer states the "minimum thickness" for planing is 1/2". There is a reason for that, learned by me the hard way. When the wood gets thinner than that, it's structural integrity is limited. As the thin board passes through the cutterhead it can start to tear the board apart. it is not pretty when that happens, and it isn't good for your cutters either. I had a thin board blow up on me in the planer, and the sound was sickening. After I got the machine shut down, I took the cover off the cutterhead to inspect it. Sure enough, several of the carbide cutters had chipped edges. The good news is, all I had to do was break out the torx bit driver, and rotate those chipped cutters, and I was back in business in about ten minutes. Love that feature!! So, after 6 months of frequent use, I am still convinced this is a great shop investment.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

I might just see what a cutter head would cost me for my 8 inch jointer. Thanks for the review.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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