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Thread: Shelix head for DeWalt 735

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    After you get it installed, let us know how it works. I'm interested in hearing from someone who installed the larger cutterhead.

    Mike

    got it installed and buttoned up so its ready to go. Will run some boards through it tomorrow. Biggest pain was putting all the cutters back on.





  2. #32
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    How hard was the swap over? Any problems you want to pass on to us?

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    How hard was the swap over? Any problems you want to pass on to us?

    Mike
    Mike, the only issue I incurred was a stripped screw head. The lock tab that holds the old cutter head from turning doesn't go back in with the new cutter head. That said it has Phillips screws that have blue loctite on them. I destroyed the head on one and had to ultimately use vice grips to get it out. No worries, no longer needed.

    Tips - the OEM sized one comes with same instructions as smaller one and they say to wrap cutter head with plastic sheet before inserting into machine to protect blades. This cutter head will not fit without removing blades so don't try to force it with the plastic wrapped. I'm assuming the smaller one will though.

    For instructions I googled and found some good picture by picture guides for disassembly. It made a big difference and helped the process go quickly as my dewalt instruction manual didn't have instructions or schematics. https://shelixheads.com/installation...lDewalt735.pdf

    Make sure you have a snap ring tool on hand. Lowes/HD carry the channel lock one which works great. You'll need to both compress and expand rings on this disassembly and reassembly.

    Last tip is to lay parts out in logical way as it makes it easier to reassemble without guessing which way they went on. Notice my one picture as I tried to keep items grouped but also together like the chain and pulley assemblies.

    Information on says to torque cutter blade screws to 45 in-lb. you will find that you can't get the torque wrench to move enough without using an extension to bring the wrench up out of the machine. When you do that be sure to find a conversion calc to reconfigure the torque setting with the extension. For my length torque wrench and extension I ended up with a setting of 30.4 in-lb.

    after I was finished and tried running it this morning there was a squealing sound not previously there. A little diagnosis lead me to the main pulley that the rubber belt turns. At first I thought I might have gotten grease on it during the install but it turns out the upper pulley that is hidden by the shroud was not aligned. The groves belt was one grove off up top. Once I moved it over one it aligned with the lower pulley and the squeal and heat on the belt stopped.

    Process took about 2 hours but I probably spent an hour putting the cutter blades back on.

    Ill run run some boards through in a bit and circle back again.
    Last edited by Greg Parrish; 11-04-2017 at 9:46 AM.

  4. #34
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    Initial impressions are that it cuts beautifully. It's quieter during cut but you'll still need ear muffs as the machine itself is screaming away loudly. Probably the fan and motor.

    Immediately I am noticing a smooth cut whereas my dewalt straight blades always left lines running down the wood due to micro sized blade chips. Time will tell if these hold up longer but at $55 per set the factory blades add up quickly enough that I've just been living with the aggravating little lines.

    Ive only run some softer pine and cedar scraps through to test but will get some hardwood in it later. Note that a 1/16" cut on an 8" to 10" board certainly shows the motor struggling a little. Much safer to take smaller cuts but that's ok if you have time to wait.

    On on cedar I notice less tear out than on straight blade at the board ends. But on a short piece I still get the little barely visible snipe line as I did on the factory blades. These are boards short enough to to fit on the bed without touching the feed trays.

    Will keep updating as I use it more but I'm happy so far.

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Parrish View Post
    Information on says to torque cutter blade screws to 45 in-lb. you will find that you can't get the torque wrench to move enough without using an extension to bring the wrench up out of the machine. When you do that be sure to find a conversion calc to reconfigure the torque setting with the extension. For my length torque wrench and extension I ended up with a setting of 30.4 in-lb.
    What kind of extension were you using? If you're referring to a straight socket extension that just moves the socket wrench away from the bolt vertically, you shouldn't need to adjust anything. The extension formulas for torque wrenches are only necessary when you're using something like a "dog bone" or "crow foot" type extension that makes the handle of the torque wrench effectively longer. I can't see how anything but a normal socket extension would be needed in this case.

    --Dan

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Schocke View Post
    What kind of extension were you using? If you're referring to a straight socket extension that just moves the socket wrench away from the bolt vertically, you shouldn't need to adjust anything. The extension formulas for torque wrenches are only necessary when you're using something like a "dog bone" or "crow foot" type extension that makes the handle of the torque wrench effectively longer. I can't see how anything but a normal socket extension would be needed in this case.

    --Dan
    Its just a normal extension but I was under impression that lengthening the pivot point away from the socket still affected the torque output. Based on your comment it would imply torque remains consistent even if I applied a 50' long extension. Hmmmm.


    edit: did some searching and common wisdom seems to support your comment so I need to retorque. Thanks.
    Last edited by Greg Parrish; 11-17-2017 at 4:47 PM.

  7. #37
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    So I've had some time to use the planer head and a few observations. It works great on soft wood like select pine boards. On hard wood like walnut and the like, it does ok but you can't take much of a bite on a wide piece. I was running some walnut slabs through that were highly figured and 13" wide at the widest. A 1/4 turn of the wheel didn't really even register as a significant cut on the scale but it will bog down easily. It also leaves some cut lines on the highly figured areas but they should sand out. The best thing is I can tell a huge reduction in noise. Overall it seems to work well and I'm still getting used to it.


    The the above said but the shelix I put in my powermatic 54A jointer is not cutting square to the bed. I've double checked everything that I can, including the fence and as best I can tell the cutter doesn't sit level for some reason. Not sure why but I'll have to consider shimming the cutter mounting blocks I guess if I can't find another reason for the slight out of square cut I'm getting. It's only a few degrees but it's not square.

  8. #38
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    Since you cannot set the inserts level with the outfeed table like straight knives you'll have yo figure out how much to shim the whole head. Hopefully your tables are coplaner. This can get tricky since there are no round spots on the Bryd head to referance from.
    This is one of the reasons I don't like a HH in a jointer. There's still no free lunch always a trade off.
    Be sure to have a precision or reliable straight edge before trying to adjust anything or you will be chasing your tail.
    Good luck
    Aj

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Hughes View Post
    Since you cannot set the inserts level with the outfeed table like straight knives you'll have yo figure out how much to shim the whole head. Hopefully your tables are coplaner. This can get tricky since there are no round spots on the Bryd head to referance from.
    This is one of the reasons I don't like a HH in a jointer. There's still no free lunch always a trade off.
    Be sure to have a precision or reliable straight edge before trying to adjust anything or you will be chasing your tail.
    Good luck
    Thanks. I need to spend some time with it tonight to see if by chance it was the wood I was using but I'll take my time to run through options. It just doesn't make sense to me that it could be out of alignment since the spindle is centered on bearings in fitted blocks. Makes me think I don't have the blocks fully seated or that the head isn't perfectly cylindrical. Who knows but I'll do some diagnostics to narrow it down some.

    i started a new thread on the jointer so as not to muddy this one up.
    Last edited by Greg Parrish; 12-11-2017 at 7:57 AM.

  10. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Parrish View Post
    ...but you'll still need ear muffs as the machine itself is screaming away loudly.
    If there's anything I dislike about the 735 it's that. All the great R&D they did on that machine and they left it jet engine loud. I need ear plugs AND muffs when it's running.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  11. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Parrish View Post
    So I've had some time to use the planer head and a few observations. It works great on soft wood like select pine boards. On hard wood like walnut and the like, it does ok but you can't take much of a bite on a wide piece. I was running some walnut slabs through that were highly figured and 13" wide at the widest. A 1/4 turn of the wheel didn't really even register as a significant cut on the scale but it will bog down easily.
    Considering the issues I've discussed recently here, I began to once again consider the Shelix cutterhead. I went back on this thread and read what you wrote, Greg. Maybe the reality is this planer simply can't handle certain woods at its max. Now that I own it, it is better to go with the Shelix for surfacing quality and cost of cutter replacement or buy carbide knives or just keep buying HHS knives? I wish I had that sailboat...
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  12. #42
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    It’s funny. I’ve since gotten comfortable running the planer without ear muffs with the shelix. It doesn’t seem as loud unless I’m really running wide stock or tough items. The other thing I’ve found invaluable is the drum sander to take the scallop marks out of some woods after planing. I still think the shelix head makes this planer better but it certainly is a compromise to a floor model. I’m dreaming of the day I can upgrade to a real one with a 3 to 5 horse motor, even if it has to be a combo jointer unit.

  13. Info on DeWalt 735 Shelix heads from the company

    This is a reply from Shelixheads to my request for information on the cut quality and power usage for the OEM and Undersized heads for the DW735.

    Brad Ritter

    -------------

    Bradford,
    The quality of the cut is the same with both versions. The power requirements are also the same if your cuts are the same. With the reduced diameter head, you can only remove 1/16" per pass maximum. With the OEM diameter head, you can remove up to 1/8" per pass. If you set this to remove only 1/16" per pass, the power requirement is the same as with the reduced diameter head. If you do remove 1/8" per pass, there are higher power requirements but this is not fair to compare as the other head does not allow such deep cuts.
    The SHELIX head does require more power than the original head. If you cut stock up to 13" wide, you may only be able to remove 1/32" per pass without the machine bogging down. In this case, it does not make a difference what head version you use. If you cut narrow stock (roughly up to 4" wide), you can remove up to 1/8" per pass in respect to power requirements and that would only be possible with the OEM sized head.


    Best Regards,
    Steffen Morning
    info@shelixheads.com
    Toll-Free: 1-855-699-6635
    Local: 250-589-5879
    https://shelixheads.com

  14. #44
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    I bought the OEM sized head from Holbren about four months ago. It was a great upgrade and have planed sapele down to little less than a tenth of an inch with no issues.

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