Shelix (Byrd) planer head. Grizzly sells it but is there a difference?

[Nick Sorenson]

Seems like I've read that they're the same planer or jointer head. But I've read on lumberjocks some conversation that they thought Grizzly's cut better. Is this just nonsense or is there a difference? With machinery there's always a lot of room for user error so I know that can come in to play. Also, I'd love to see a picture of what to expect with the Byrd head. Anyone have a picture or know of one that's been posted of a planed board?

[Myk Rian]

Pine after and before Byrd in a DW735.

Fixed due to heckling by other members. :p

[Derek Gilmer]

FWW tested the helical cutters in this months article. The byrd I think was #1 but the grizzly wasn't far behind.

[Peter Quinn]

Well, I bought one Byrd head from Byrd, another byrd head from grizzly, and they both cut pretty much the same. Same manufacturer, but for some reason at time of sale grizzly had a better price. The Byrd head was cheaper than the equivalent size grizzly head, so I went with the Byrd, and cut qualitynis excellent.

[Matt Meiser]

Pine before and after Byrd in a DW735.

Its a shame it took that nice smooth board and put that really rough finish on it. :D

[Myk Rian]

Stupid forum software can't tell the difference between pictures. :confused:

[Jim Stewart]

I have a byrd on my grizzly 8" jointer and a byrd on my 20" powermatic planer. both do an incredible job.

[Nick Sorenson]

Its a shame it took that nice smooth board and put that really rough finish on it. :D

Ha ha! I was thinking the same thing.

[Kent Chasson]

Just to be clear, Grizzly sells Byrd cutters but they put their own cutters on their machines. Grizzly cutters are straight and perpendicular to the rotation. Byrd are curved and set at an angle parallel to the helix to offer a shear cut. I have to believe they cut a bit better but I've heard enough good things about the Grizzly heads that I don't think it's a big difference.

I've also heard that some original Byrd cutters have more rows of cutters than the Byrd cutters that Grizzly sells but I have not verified that at all. Would be worth checking into.

[David Kumm]

The info about number of cutters for a given size wold be great to know. The price per cutter is pretty relevant. Back in the old days, Whitney Newman made a planer for Delta. They used their famous spiral type head but reduced the rows and cutters. Those Delta planers are more sought after than the regular ones. R 63N I believe. Dave

[Bob Direso]

I have a DW735 and considered this kind of cutter head but was told by a friend it would cost more than $1,000. The planner cost me $500.00 about four years ago. I'm trying to justify how this much of an investment is worth it, which is equal to about 20 sets of two sided blades which equals about 40 blade changes. I purchase about two or at most three sets of blades per year. A $1,000 is about 7 to 10 years of blade replacements for me. Please make me understand how this cutter head is worth the investment?? Thank you, Bob.

[Cary Falk]

I have a byrd head on my 8" Shop Fox jointer and a Grizzly head on my 15" Grizzly planer. I actually think the Grizzly head does better but that may very well be due to the fact that I am manually feeding the jointer and the planer is feeding itself. Neither is a finish ready surface but neither is a straight knife planer. The marks/ridges it does leave can be removed quickly with a ROS.

[Cary Falk]

I have a DW735 and considered this kind of cutter head but was told by a friend it would cost more than $1,000. The planner cost me $500.00 about four years ago. I'm trying to justify how this much of an investment is worth it, which is equal to about 20 sets of two sided blades which equals about 40 blade changes. I purchase about two or at most three sets of blades per year. A $1,000 is about 7 to 10 years of blade replacements for me. Please make me understand how this cutter head is worth the investment?? Thank you, Bob.

I thought the head was about $600. If it is $1000 it wouldn't be worth it to me. I would sell your DeWalt for $350-400 and add that to you $1000 and be real close to a G0453Z that would last several lifetimes. It would be much quieter also. I have heard other people that have added a Byrd to their DeWalt and not regretted it.

[Matt Meiser]

Actually it's $447 http://www.holbren.com/byrd-shelix-head-for-dewalt-dw735_planer.html

These aren't about saving money on knives. They are about the incredibly good cuts even on figured lumber.

[Matt Mackinnon]

There are also other cost considerations. For me, took the general route of selling the Dewalt and putting the money towards a cast iron planer. You might be correct in that the number of blade changes on average makes it harder to justify. But haw many times have you changed a blade and the next board that you ran though had a hard spot that nicked the fresh blade?

For me the deciding factor was based on two items:

1. Time and hassle on getting the blades and replacing them. I'd rather be woodworking than fixing things.
2. Exotic wood. As much as a fresh blade helped in eliminating tareout. That only lasted about 30-40bf. After that you are on your own.

Carbide just about eliminated both issues. Remember that your carbide blades have 4 sides so the likelyhood of needing to replace them are slim. I have a Byrd head in my jointer, and went with a Grizzly planer. I'll see if the different style head actually makes a difference.

Matt.

[Charlton Wang]

Just to be clear, Grizzly sells Byrd cutters but they put their own cutters on their machines. Grizzly cutters are straight and perpendicular to the rotation. Byrd are curved and set at an angle parallel to the helix to offer a shear cut. I have to believe they cut a bit better but I've heard enough good things about the Grizzly heads that I don't think it's a big difference.

I've also heard that some original Byrd cutters have more rows of cutters than the Byrd cutters that Grizzly sells but I have not verified that at all. Would be worth checking into.

I know this is true for the G0490x but it's definitely not true for the G0634xp j/p. It has an insert orientation similar to Byrd's. It's rotated and cambered. There aren't enough inserts on the G0634xp in my opinion and as it is, I can't really see any performance difference between the G0490x's head and the G0634xp's head.

[Myk Rian]

Actually it's $447 http://www.holbren.com/byrd-shelix-head-for-dewalt-dw735_planer.html

Cheaper with the SMC discount. I paid $405.

[Jack Lemley]

Cheaper with the SMC discount. I paid $405.

Myk,

How do I get the SMC discount? Is there a coupon code or do I need o order by phone?

Thanks
Jack

[Myk Rian]

At the time it was SMC10 in the coupon box. Not sure if it is still offered.

[Matt Meiser]

That's why I didn't mention it. I haven't seen anything about it in a while.

[Daniel Berlin]

That's why I didn't mention it. I haven't seen anything about it in a while.
There is also a woodnet discount code if you are on that forum :)

I used it in the past week to get a byrd cutter head.

[Mitchell Garnett]

At the time it was SMC10 in the coupon box. Not sure if it is still offered.

I just checked and the discount is still good. I was so tempted to pull the trigger but I'm not sure I deserve an early Christmas present so I emptied the cart and left. :D

[Bob Direso]

Thanks for the feedback Matt. I guess the cost information I had received was way off. At $447 I could be tempted, although that still represents about 4-5 years of regular blade changes for me. I generally don't use much in the way of difficult figured woods, but you have me thinking. Thanks again, Bob.

[Daniel Berlin]

Thanks for the feedback Matt. I guess the cost information I had received was way off. At $447 I could be tempted, although that still represents about 4-5 years of regular blade changes for me. I generally don't use much in the way of difficult figured woods, but you have me thinking. Thanks again, Bob.

For me it was also an exercise in reducing frustration. Even carefully orienting grain, etc, i would still get occasional tearout planing nice maple or cherry (even with *incredibly* light cuts), and always right as i was getting near final thickness.

I no longer worry about this, or properly orienting boards for that matter :)