Spiral cutterhead for my Grizzly jointer...

[Harold Burrell]

I am looking to purchase a spiral cutterhead for my Grizzly G0452. I have narrowed it down to these:

https://www.grizzly.com/products/6-Shelix-Cutterhead/H7764

https://www.grizzly.com/products/6-Indexable-Spiral-Cutterhead/H7653

Do you think one is better than another???

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Harold,

I haven't used the Byrd head but I have the other one on my GO490X. It leaves a great finish on the wood. I don't think there would be a significant difference.

[scott vroom]

I was gifted the 8" Byrd for my G0454 and love it. I've read favorable reviews here on both products...I don't think you can go wrong either way. Make sure to replace the bearings when you install the new cutter even if they're new. Good quality aftermarket bearings are supposed to outlast the China stuff shipped on the Griz, Jet, etc..

[Harold Burrell]

I was gifted the 8" Byrd for my G0454 and love it. I've read favorable reviews here on both products...I don't think you can go wrong either way. Make sure to replace the bearings when you install the new cutter even if they're new. Good quality aftermarket bearings are supposed to outlast the China stuff shipped on the Griz, Jet, etc..

Where would I find bearings that would fit other than the Griz ones???

[David Nelson1]

My vote is for the H7653 6" Indexable Spiral Cutterhead has everything you need. drop it adjust the pulley and index the outfeed table to the cutter and your done! Shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Harold,

Almost all bearings have a reference number on them. Take the bearings to a local bearing store and they can cross them to a better grade bearing. Because we have several lumber mills and a paper mill in the area, we have a good bearing supplier and several industrial machine supply houses here in little old Lewiston, ID.

Even when I had one that didn't have a reference number on them, the bearing supply house was able to measure the inner and out diameters and after I gave them an explanation of it's use, they were able to provide a better replacement.

[Harold Burrell]

My vote is for the H7653 6" Indexable Spiral Cutterhead has everything you need. drop it adjust the pulley and index the outfeed table to the cutter and your done! Shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

Yeah...but you get the cool screwdriver thingy with the Shelix! ;):rolleyes:

[Jon Nuckles]

I would probably go for the Byrd head for an upgrade. The inserts are set at a slight angle for a shearing cut, while the Grizzly inserts are square to the wood being fed over them. I had been using a Grizzly jointer with a grizzly spiral head until a couple weeks ago, and thought the finish was ok, but not great. My new Grizzly jointer is being delivered tomorrow. It also has the Grizzly spiral head, because you can't order them with a Byrd head installed and I am too cheap to order it with the straight knives and then upgrade. If it was an upgrade situation for me, I would have given the Byrd a shot. I hope to be pleasantly surprised with the cut quality on the new machine.

[David Nelson1]

Trust me you get one with the grizzly as well. i used the 8 inch version for my jointer. no regrets and I double checked everything with no muss or fuss.

[Cary Falk]

I have a Byrd in my 8" jointer and a Grizzly in my Grizzly 15" planer. I actually get less tearout on my planer. It might be the feed rate on my jointer. I don't know. Either should be fine.

[Jim Andrew]

I have the Byrd cutterhead on my G0609 jointer, it has the angled cutters and I lost about 1/4" cutting width on the jointer, and the rabbeting option. Think I would go with the Grizzly cutterhead as it has straight cutters and you don't lose any capacity.

[Harold Burrell]

I have the Byrd cutterhead on my G0609 jointer, it has the angled cutters and I lost about 1/4" cutting width on the jointer, and the rabbeting option. Think I would go with the Grizzly cutterhead as it has straight cutters and you don't lose any capacity.

WHAT??? Oh wow...with a 6" jointer, I don't have a lot of 1/4"s to spare! :eek:

[glenn bradley]

Yeah...but you get the cool screwdriver thingy with the Shelix! ;):rolleyes:

You will use a torque wrench on either. I was able to use a Griz and a Byrd side by side prior to buying my machine and could see no difference. This led me to get the G0490X with the head already installed and it has been great. You are going to install your head so the labor savings don't factor in. I imagine you will be happy with either. Replacement cutter cost would be my deciding factor. The Griz takes readily available cutters that can be had for a much better price than Griz sells them for. I do not know about the Byrd but, assume this is the same(?).

Byrd owners reported cracking inserts back a ways but, this seemed to be due to contaminated seats which would cause the same problem on any head. When changing or rotating inserts, there is a simple procedure to follow for success. Not keeping things clean and improper torque are the only causes that seem to lead to failure. Different folks report different levels of scalloping when talking about one head or the other (shearing versus not). But, anyone who states that a surface comes off a machine that uses a jointer's geometry (insert head or not) is "finish ready" isn't looking close enough :). I'm sure most of us do something to a surface coming off a machine before we apply a finish. eh? AS I said, I think you would be happy either way unless replacement insert cost is significant. JMHO

[Peter Quinn]

I'm in the both are about equal camp. Can't go wrong on this one....I'd buy the one made in USA all else being equal. I have installed byrd heads in both jointer and planer, excellent results.