DW 735 Spiral cutter head

[Nicholas Lingg]

I just purchased a spiral cutter head for may DW 735 planer. Who has changed one of these and what should I look out for?

[Nike Nihiser]

there are numerous youtube videos on this.

[Nicholas Lingg]

I've watched them and they show removing the blades from the cutter head. There is my problem, I can not remove the screws from the blade holder, I've broken 2 Allen wrenches so far.

[Bill Dufour]

I've watched them and they show removing the blades from the cutter head. There is my problem, I can not remove the screws from the blade holder, I've broken 2 Allen wrenches so far.
Sounds like it may be a good idea to first loosen each screw and then tighten them before install. That way if you break any you can return it before you have to remove it one more time. Do they have any locktite on the threads, if so heat will help. If it is too hard you may have to shatter the insert to remove the screw.
Bill

[Joe Spear]

I changed to a Byrd head in my 735 a few years ago. It did a good planing job. However, after a while the drive belt broke. I replaced it. That one broke. I replaced it again, and that one broke also. I don't know if it had anything to do with changing the head, but I sold the machine cheap to somebody who wanted to work on it. If I had it to do all over again, I would have just kept the three-blade head and gone with carbide blades when the originals wore out.

[Randy Heinemann]

If you are using regular allen wrenches and they break, maybe determine the size and buy a heavier duty one. I don't know about allen wrenches available, but I'm sure an auto parts store would have types used in auto repair which I would guess should handle almost anything. Sometimes the standard allen wrenches are not very strong.

Also have you tried some penetrating oil which might loosen the screws up.

Just general suggestions because I do not own the cutter head.

[Earl McLain]

The instruction sheet on Byrd's web site is spot on. The only thing i'd watch for, though obvious, is the cutters themselves. Carbide is brittle, and doesn't like impact. And--those things are sharp, can't feel a cut on your hand/fingers...but the blood pools quickly. Yes, there is a reason I know that!!
earl

[Mike Dodson]

Hey Nicholas,
You might need to get an allen wrench that attaches to a socket. If necessary you can drill the heads off the screws to remove the blades (a must do when changing the cutter head). The rest of the install is not bad at all. I think you'll be very pleased with the results!

[Tony Leonard]

I don't remember any gotchas when I did mine. I do remember those little screws were way harder to remove than they should have been! I don't know if it was the black oxide coating or what, but I ruined several before I switched. I had to order a new bag to have spares.

As for the new head, don't over-torque the cutters. I did that and broke a few while using the planer. I set my torque wrench back a bit and that seemed to help. I still break one now and then, but not often.

Anyway, just take your time. It wasn't that difficult as I recall. The first time you slide a gnarly piece of wood through it and it comes out nice and clean, you'll get a big grin on your face and be glad you did it! Now, I don't get the glass smooth new knife surface and there are very small "ripples," so be prepared for that. These are sandpaper ripples. Oh, and sometimes I get small ridges (scraper). but, the other day, I ran a glue-up of several different species with grain every which a way and it came out nice and smooth, so the minor surface issues are worth it to me.

Tony

[Jack Lemley]

I put a Byrd head on my 735 5 or 6 years ago an it still cuts very smooth. I did not remove the inserts for install just used a pair of thick leather gloves. no blood letting and no nicks in the inserts.

Jack

[Bill Dindner]

Would love to upgrade my Dewalt, this project looks beyond my abilities/interest.

Anyone in NYC interested in installing it for me (for a fee)?

[Nicholas Lingg]

I stopped by the DeWalt center today and they said they have to heat them from time to time

[Nick Decker]

Twice, on different Dewalt tools, I've had to resort to extreme measures to remove factory-installed screws. They need to adjust their robots' torque wrenches.

[Adam Merritt]

I've watched them and they show removing the blades from the cutter head. There is my problem, I can not remove the screws from the blade holder, I've broken 2 Allen wrenches so far.
Are you trying to remove the stock blade or the cutterhead blades? What brand cutter head are you using for replacement? Byrd heads should use a Torx T25P Torx Plus. It is different than a standard T25.

[Mike Dodson]

Since you won't be using the old head, try drilling a few of the screws out. I think you'll find that the ones next to the drilled one will come out easy. Please be very careful using heat on them. The new cutter head will go right in, nothing to remove on that one.

[Gary Muto]

Planers seem to uniformly have bolts super tight. I remember changing blades on an old Ryobi 13" and my DeWalt 735 and having trouble. In this instance percussion is your friend. A 12 volt or larger impact gun will help get the bolts loose. just be sure you are using really good bits that fit very tightly in the screw heads. I bought a nice set of bits for this specifically and all the bolts came out without stripping.