Shelix chips and chip clearing

[John Piwaron]

For those of you that use a planer with a shelix cutter head, Byrd or other, does it make a lot of small chips that are easily cleared away?

I ask because with my current planer with a lot of woods, maybe most, when the knife makes its chip, it is one long piece. However wide the board is, that's how long the chip is. That's a problem. It tends to clog the dust collection hood on the planer, along the hose and the entry point to the dust collector.

Buying a new machine is a lot of money to spend without any assurance that a shelix head will make small easy to clear chips.

So, anything you can tell me would be welcome.

[Mikail Khan]

Small chips. No problems with plugging.

MK

[Mike Henderson]

I have a head like that on my jointer and I get small chips. But I also have a DeWalt 735 planer, which has three straight blades, and I get small chips on that, also.

Here's what the head on my jointer looks like:
366225

And here's what the chips from the jointer look like:
366224

And here's what the chips from my DeWalt planer look like:
366226

I was doing some jointing and planing earlier today so these are fresh.

Mike

[John Piwaron]

I have a head like that on my jointer and I get small chips. But I also have a DeWalt 735 planer, which has three straight blades, and I get small chips on that, also.

Here's what the head on my jointer looks like:
366225

And here's what the chips from the jointer look like:
366224

And here's what the chips from my DeWalt planer look like:
366226

I was doing some jointing and planing earlier today so these are fresh.

Mike

Sometimes the chips off my planer (DeWalt DW733) look the ones you show, but not always. It seems to depend on the wood. Cherry, yes. Hard Maple - a definite no. And now I've begun planing Alaskan Yellow Cedar. Even worse than the maple. Not only are chips big, but they're kind of light and fluffy plus they're a bit resinous.

So I'm considering my options. I doubt that I'd put a Byrd type head in my jointer but I'm thinking that modifying my planer or buying a different one might be worthwhile. If I can find the money.

[Paul Tubergen]

I change my old Delta 13" to a Byrd and it eliminated the plugging in the chip chute. I get much smaller chips but also get a lot of "fines" laying around the base of the machine.

[David Kumm]

Long stringy shavings are pretty normal for a decent straight knife planer. A Byrd head will cut chips that are easier to collect but will also need more motor power- not a lot but some. If your collector won't keep up with a straight knife head you should upgrade that. Just because smaller chips pick up better doesn't mean that fine dust will be. DC should cover the worst case scenario. Dave

[John Piwaron]

Long stringy shavings are pretty normal for a decent straight knife planer. A Byrd head will cut chips that are easier to collect but will also need more motor power- not a lot but some. If your collector won't keep up with a straight knife head you should upgrade that. Just because smaller chips pick up better doesn't mean that fine dust will be. DC should cover the worst case scenario. Dave

I think the long chips simply hang up in the corrugations of the hose and again when they reach the X shape at the inlet of the dust collector. Breaking these chips into small pieces would eliminate that problem.

But it's still a lot of $ to fix this problem.

[David Kumm]

Unless you put chunks through the impeller, take out the X on the inlet. If the shavings are sticking in the flex you don't have enough cfm. Flex creates static pressure which reduces cfm. You use as little of it as possible. Dave