Shelix head in Jet JWP-15

[Jon Endres]

Hi All,

I am considering replacing the standard cutterhead in my Jet JWP-15 planer with a Shelix head. Aside from the initial cost of the head, is there anything else that I should be aware of when doing the replacement? Do I need to concern myself with replacing bearings, belts or other hardware? Do the Shelix heads come with good instructions? I have looked online, and information about the conversion is somewhat scarce. Also, for those that have done this, how do you find the cut quality to be, compared to a standard straight knife, and how often do you need to rotate or replace the little inserts?

[Jack Lilley]

I replaced mine about 2 years ago. It's an easy job, took about 2 hours. I replaced the seal but not the bearings. I have put about 7 or 800 bdft of hardwood through and the finish is still great, still sharp. The finish is very smooth, much better than the straight knife finish, no comparison really. The planer is much quieter when running which is nice. I would do it again.

[Chris Jarl Hanson]

I have a Shelix head in both my planer and jointer. To echo Jack's comments, the installation process is straightforward and painless. The finish quality is excellent but does require additional prep prior to finishing. The cutting inserts have a slight radius that results in a (very minor) scalloped surface across the width of the board. Nothing a scraper or smoothing plane can't handle in a few seconds. I mention this because I have read some bad reviews about the Shelix heads not leaving a perfect finish. At the end of the day, its a milling tool and leaves a much better surface than nicked straight knives. I have had mine in service for 2 years and recently decided to rotate the inserts to see if there was any noticeable difference in performance... There wasn't, and I rotated the inserts back to their original position. Great upgrade all around.

[Curt Harms]

How about feed speed? I have a Jet JJP-12 with straight knives. I've considered swapping out the head but I know that my machine planes at 20 fpm, the helical head feeds at 12 fpm. I think the reduced feed speed is due to greater power requirements for the helical head. Would this be an issue with the JWP-15?

[Matt Day]

If you’re in there you should at least replace bearings and do an oil change. Belts are easy to access and change later on if need be.