Replies

1. 
   reinvent | Apr 26, 2005 01:26am | #1

   How much are they? Tersa heads are faster to change over. Also those type of heads can leave slight lines where the edges of the square knives dont exactly line up.
   Also you should post this at Knots. These guys tend to spend more time in the field and less in time in well equiped shops. Not to say you wont get some opinions here tho.

   
   

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   Edited 4/25/2005 6:30 pm ET by reinvent

1. 
   donpapenburg | Apr 26, 2005 05:47am | #3

   I had the privelage of useing Armin's spiral cutter headed jointer . One of the smoothest quietest cuts I ever did on a jointer . Not to mention the easiest feeding ,because it was not slapping the board three times every revoution.

   I would change over as soon as I could. I plan on a new jointer with spiral cutterhead soon .

2. 
   alias | Apr 26, 2005 01:30am | #2

   grizzly got a option package with them. been droolin' over the 8" with a i think 74 " bed.... nice jointer

   "expectations are premeditated resentments"
3. 
   KeithNewton | Apr 26, 2005 06:11am | #4

   Gene, I have seen a lot of discussion over in woodweb about them in the solid wood machining section. Here is a link.
   http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/swmf.pl?read=397484

   I like how much quieter they are. I should get one for my 12", it is a killer.
   I don't think you can get as fine a sharpness angle with them, which is fine for hardwoods, but it may cause some crushing in softer woods.

4. 
   BillBrennen | Apr 26, 2005 09:03am | #5

   Gene,

   Nope, none of those, but I have fitted two PM 60's and an old Delta 37-315 with the Byrd "Shelix" helical heads. The inserts are slanted at about a 10? shear angle, which gives a slicing cut, and is even quieter than the spiral heads. The Delta is at the college where I teach, and we just ordered a second head for another 8" Delta today. The students form a line to use the old Delta and ignore the Tersa headed SCMI in the same lab.

   Go to http://www.byrdtool.com and check it out. Only $449 for most 8" jointers. This head does for an old jointer what pneumatic tires did for the early bicycles. And no, I do not work for them.

   Bill