Northfield #7 - With Helical Head - Downsides?

[Chris Stormer]

I've been looking at a Northfield #7 planer for a few days that has Helical heads. Two questions.

1. Can any #7 be retrofitted to use Helical Heads (I'm assuming yes).

2. Are there downsides (besides cost) to this specific machine being fitted with Helical heads (hard to work on, adjust, ect).

[Rick Fisher]

That is a really nice planer. Super heavy duty. I personally would not choose one for my planer but they are top notch.

For high end planers, you can go Northfield, Oliver or some other old Iron.. Or Euro. SCM, Griggio, Felder etc. I would prefer Euro to old Iron but that's just me ..

[Mark Wooden]

The Northfield is a great industrial planer. If it has the factory helical head, it should also have the grinder with it. If you want to go with the insert helical head I'm sure that one of the manufacturers can supply one, and pretty sure it will be big $. Call Northfield and get their recommendation.

[David Kumm]

Great planer and the Northfield head will require a grinder. i have a 299ITCH which is very similar. Great finish but there is a learning curve to grinding. Too heavy to move easily so you need to plant it permanently. I would call Jeff with the serial # to make and get details. Some Northfield planers had problems with feeding and needed an upgrade. I'm not into Northfield so I may have the details screwed up so best to check. I know the need to watch the serial# on Oliver as well and avoid certain 299's made in the early 70s. Dave

[Peter Kelly]

The Northfield is a great industrial planer. If it has the factory helical head, it should also have the grinder with it. If you want to go with the insert helical head I'm sure that one of the manufacturers can supply one, and pretty sure it will be big $. Call Northfield and get their recommendation.Why would the helical head version come with the grinder?

[David Kumm]

Why would the helical head version come with the grinder?

Helical or insert heads are not new technology. Whitney- Neuman, Oliver, and Northfield have had them since the 1960s or so. They were always reshapened in place. The disposable four sided Byrd type head is much newer. Commercial shops were pretty astute at grinding and didn't dread the job like we do so just lengthening the duration was a good deal. A head ground on the machine is guaranteed to not leave ridges or witness lines so most planers came with an onboard grinder, even the insert heads. Dave

[Rick Fisher]

Built back in the days when people would save for a year to buy a machine and expect it to last a lifetime once they owned it ..

[Keith Hankins]

I have the north field #2 18" version and its a monster to say the least. If you want to know for sure call them. When I bought mine off ebay, I called and they transferred me to a guy that gave me the history of my planer. It was built in the 60's and he had all the records. I inquired about retrofitting mine, and it would cost 4 times what i paid for it.

I instead replaced the HSS blades with new ones from a vendor he recommended and have never looked back. Never found anything it could not do with HSS knives. Only On highest feed rate, it can take a board and spit it out in a heart beat. It can take a lot off in one pass as well. Only think it's loud and spits wood chips at a high rate. but hey thats what muffs are for. They sent me the original manual and decals for my rehab project but I've never taken it down to repaint so I still have the decals. I had them fabricate a hood for it, and bought their toolset for setting the blades. Great documentation and my model has not changed so I can still get parts. At this point I don't see the justification for what it would cost to upgrade to the helical head. I would not trade mine for nothing. Good luck.

[Mark Wooden]

Why would the helical head version come with the grinder?

It's listed as a required buy on their website-

http://www.northfieldwoodworking.com/singlesurfacers/no7.htm

It's not the helical head with insert knives that are becoming so popular a a retrofit, more like an ITCH head