# Shelix Replacement Head Too Small in Diameter



## guyswoodshop

Hey Tom, I had one of these installed in my DW735 right after I took it out of the box. And you're right, it is slightly smaller. However I have not had the issue with the feed rollers or snipe. I have my in/out feed tables angle up maybe 1/32" and it works well. Just thicknessed some 8' 6" long boards today, and again no snipe. Have you tried calling the folks at Byrd yet?


----------



## greatview

I'll call Byrd on Monday but I'm not sure what they can do to resolve this. The drive rollers are fixed and the cutter diameter has been reduced. In order for the head to cut it has to be brought down to the wood which causes the drive rollers to get compressed resulting in snipe.


----------



## ToolCaddy

I had a shelix head on my DW735 for about 6 years. It worked beautifully - no snipe and a super smooth finish. I milled 500+ bdft of birdseye with no problem. Is it possible that Byrd sent you the wrong head? I hope you are able to resolve this issue.


----------



## pintodeluxe

I noticed that the Bryd head is very slightly smaller in my 735 as well. It will cause your material removal gauge to be off by 1/32". It will say you are removing 1/32" when it actually should read zero. You can correct this by loosening the three #1 phillips screws on the gauge, and sliding the silver tab upwards. If it won't slide far enough you may have to slot the holes a little further, or perhaps file the top edge of the silver tab to get the gauge to read correctly.

I don't get any snipe with the Shelix though. Adjust the tables so the far edges are 3/32" higher than the planer bed (extension tables form a shallow "V" shape). In my experience 1/16" is not enough. As you approach 1/8", you will see the snipe disappear. Support boards longer than 4' with infeed and outfeed rollers.

Wax the planer beds to minimize friction.

For me the Shelix was a 5 star upgrade. No longer dealing with tearout in figured white oak has been fantastic. 
I think once you get the planer dialed in with the table height you will be quite happy with it. 
Keep us posted.


----------



## johnstoneb

I had no snipe with the shelix upgrade. I believe there was a statement somewhere in the installation booklet to the fact that the head was slightly smaller than the original cutter head. That and the fact that you had to take blades off the original to get it out but didn't on the shelix is a pretty good indication that there is a difference in diameter.


----------



## 280305

I see a review on Amazon that agrees with your experience:
… the cutters must be more than slightly smaller, that is, my depth guage was reading 1/16 " deep cut when actually it was more like 1/64" (quarter turn). This causes more pressure from the feed rollers which may explain the snipe I have never before experienced with this planer.


----------



## Dutchy

It would be great if there was a way to adjust the cutting head in relation to the drive rollers but I can't find any. I don't know this machine but normally with a thickness planer you can adjust the in- and outfeed rollers. In my opinion adjusting the rollers is the only way to solve your problem.


----------



## pintodeluxe

Were you able to resolve the issues?


----------



## greatview

I'm working on rebuilding the stand so that I have better control over the in feed and out feed tables. I just came back from the lumber yard and am about to make some sawdust. I'll post the results in a day or two.


----------



## greatview

OK, I've adjusted the tables and brought the snipe down to .005". I did some more fiddling by adjusting table height and reduced the snipe to .002 - .003". Not perfect as that amount of snipe will show when a finish is applied but maybe more aggressive sanding or the use of a card scraper will remove the snipe.

I'm still not satisfied with the reduced diameter of the cutting head as it reduces the effective maximum cutting depth. The maximum cut is now about 1/16" where before the change I could probably manage 2 to 3 times more depth. I use a fair amount of rough cut cherry and sometimes you simply have to remove a lot of material. The 1/16" max is fine for finish work.

I believe that my Sheli3 is of the proper diameter as it was a close fit through the bearing seating area. The head came with a thin sheet of clear plastic that barely made it. One of the reviews I read said the plastic sheet should remain in place during installation to protect the head.

I did hear from Garry at Byrd and I will communicate with him.


----------



## playingwithmywood

I have a byrd head also and it has been great no issues

the Wixey digital height gauge is a great upgrade also

do you have the factory infeed outfeed tables ??? more photos of your setup might help others help you


----------



## splintergroup

I don't own the DW735 (I have a Delta), but with my Delta I was able to tweak the roller positions to fine-tune the down pressure.
Looking at the diagram for the DW735, it looks like you could shim the roller brackets up as needed. You would still loose some of the minimum cut height, but it should help with the excessive roller pressure.

YMMV


----------



## KarnWoodworks

I love my Dewalt DW735x.


----------

