Shelix head

[alex penner]

Question form a wannabe woodworker. I have a 10" Oliver jointer with a spiral balde and a 15" powermatic planer also with a spiral blade. I work almost exclusively with western maple which has a fair bit of curl in it as it costs me nothing other than elbow grease. (numerous large maples on my place 100+ yrs old )

Tear out is a problem and it usually happens at or near the desired thickness (Murphy's law). The blades i get from Sunhill don't seem to stay sharp very long and am thinking of converting to a "shelix head" for one of the above machines,, but which one?? Those heads are not cheap.

Any thoughts on where i would get the best value for $ ?

Thanks

[Matt Day]

Without a doubt the planer is where you should spend your money. After you use the jointer, you go to the planer right? Use the planer on both sides and you should have a nicer finish.

[Myk Rian]

How about putting the money into a drum sander?
I have a Shelix on my DW735 and it does great on figured wood, however, the difference between a spiral and a Shelix may not be that great.
A drum sander can be used for a lot of things.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I would start with Grizzly as a reference and check other places from there. They list two Shelix cutterheads for a 15" Powermatic and have the reputation for being the best value. The 15" cutterhead lists for only a few dollars more than the 10". If you don't have a catalog a quick check to their website or a phone call should tell you what you need to know.

[Brad Shipton]

Any reason you do not want to go direct to the people that came up with the idea? Byrd is very good to deal with.

What is the diameter are the heads on these machines and how many blades do they have? What blades have you been using? There are some better blades that might help your problem. Western maple is by no means a difficult wood for planing or jointing. I am not sold that the shellix is a worthwhile investment for this wood. Before I put on my shellix my 12" J/P the stock head worked wonderfully with all sorts of domestics woods. Now I can chew up the awfullest looking crap and it turns out pretty darn good, but there are times I miss the straight blade.

Brad