Jointer cutter head options

[Randall Houghton]

I have a General 480 8" jointer that currently had the stock head(straight knives) installed. The knives are newer with little wear and work ok but not great on interlocked grain. Are there other options available besides a segmented head? Should I just stick with straight knives and experiment with a back bevel?

[Andrew Hughes]

Well do you know what hss steel the knives are? T1 will hold a very keen edge as well as m2. These are the two hss I use and get very good surfaces on everything I work with.
Just a micro facebevel will help but your going to feel the added feed pressure. The real key is to get all the knives set within a .001 when they are freshly sharpened form a professional service.
I will some times pass boards back over my jointer after the planer that has a Shelix Head.

Good hss, freshly sharpened, set very close as possible so they all cut the same.Thats my mantra

[Mel Fulks]

Andrew is right on. Only thing I can add is that if you ask mfg. what steel they use they will probably say M2 "or its a steel with same hardness as M2". Translate that "as cheapest stuff we can find" . I have never seen a new jointer arrive with
high grade knives.

[Wayne Lomman]

If you regularly use timber with interlocked grain, the best solution is an insert head. That is expensive. Next best is tungsten carbide tipped straight knives. Any other grade including those listed above will require frequent maintenance.

As an aside, Australia doesn't grow many species that aren't interlocked. When Northern hemisphere invaders first came to Australia they discovered that their woodworking tools developed over centuries did not work. Nothing they had could keep its edge. Cheers

[Randall Houghton]

Andrew I be interested to know what your using to set your knives. The knives are whatever HHS General was using when the machine was built around 2002. This jointer had about 10 hours of use when I purchased so the knives are the original and do not look like they have ever been sharpened. I am guessing T1 is HHS with a carbide edge.

Mel I am sure you are correct about the quality of the knives. My manual also has a section about jointing the knives with the machine under power using a fine carborundum stone.
Have you ever tried this? If so how effective do you think it is?

Wayne The insert head is under consideration. So far I only looked at Byrd and am wondering what other insert heads are available.

[Darcy Warner]

Hermance Helix heads

[Andrew Hughes]

Andrew I be interested to know what your using to set your knives. The knives are whatever HHS General was using when the machine was built around 2002. This jointer had about 10 hours of use when I purchased so the knives are the original and do not look like they have ever been sharpened. I am guessing T1 is HHS with a carbide edge.

Carbide tipped knives and t1 are two different knives. I used to have a 8 inch jointer with a insert head and I got rid of it and bought a planer with a bryd head.
For the work I do and woods I use hss is great. I’ve gone months without changing knives but also had to change knives twice in one month. The more I do the better I get
I use a dial indicator with a round bottom.

[Randall Houghton]

Andrew What was the problem with the 8' jointer with the insert head?

[Van Huskey]

You might try skewing the cut, though an 8" doesn't give much room to skew. Skewing is ONE of the reasons people like really wide jointers 20"+.

[Andrew Hughes]

Andrew What was the problem with the 8' jointer with the insert head?

Its no longer fair that I point out the short comings of a inserts in a jointer for my work. Since my woodworking crafts are without parallel. But one that rings true for all of us is to have very little or no sanding after the milling process.
Good luck

[Wayne Lomman]

Interesting. The only insert head I use creates a better finish than the knife head. However it is not a Byrd head. Byrd head design leaves a bit to be desired. We just don't use that style of tooling. Cheers

[brent stanley]

Interesting. The only insert head I use creates a better finish than the knife head. However it is not a Byrd head. Byrd head design leaves a bit to be desired. We just don't use that style of tooling. Cheers

What make of insert head are you using?

B

[Randall Houghton]

Thanks for all the comments and information. Darcy it looks like Hermance is the best option so far. Van my shop is not large enough for a vintage planer although I did train on one fifty years ago and think they are now a great value. Wayne is this Aussie voodoo or just a better design? I'd really like to know what head your using so if you do not want to post an answer how about sending a PM? It might be someone I've heard of since I've done some business with some people in Australia.
Regards Randy