Terminus Jointer heads, Mag-Set?

[Chris Damato]

Hello,

Does anyone have any feedback/experience with Terminus cutterheads for their jointer? I was just on the phone with Bill at woodtechtooling and he was saying how impressed he was with these heads. We were discussing the pro's/cons of the Byrd cutterhead which they carry in stock as well. He also mentioned a jig called Mag-Set which he said really helps in setting jointer knives. Has anyone used this knife setting jig? You can see it at http://www.woodtechtooling.com/ and type Mag Set in the search area to see what I am referring to. Thanks in advance for any info supplied.

-Chris

By the way (if it matters)...the jointer these questions are in reference to is a DJ20.

[tod evans]

tersa. at cg schmidt.......02 tod

[Chris Damato]

Tersa makes a cutterhead for the DJ-20??

[Chris Damato]

Hello,

I was just informed that Tersa has a cutterhead they make for the DJ20 for $450. I am surprised I have not read anything about anyone having this on their DJ20. So I have narrowed it down to the Tersa or the Terminus head. I am not educated in this area enough to know which would be the better route. The technician I spoke to made me feel as if changing the cutterhead on the DJ20 can be very tedious if your not very mechanically inclined, so I am a bit nervous about that. He also mentioned that when putting new bearings on whichever cutterhead I decide to go with, I must heat them up? Evidently neither cutterhead comes with installation instructions.

Thanks,

Chris

[tod evans]

chris, it`s kind of like putting 2k worth of wheels and tires on a vw bug, ya still gotta bug........i think tersa is fantastic, so amazingly simple and effective, but is it worth it to you to put the time and money into that joiner? there`s a couple of companies that offer "quick-change" knifes for your existing head but if it where me i`d stick with what the factory supplied untill it`s dead in the water and then decide if it`s worth fixing.....02 tod

[John Miliunas]

While fearing the wrath of pro's like Todd E., as well as others with the Tersa, I'll try and tread lightly in these waters! :eek: IMHO, while the ease and speed of knife changes with both, the Tersa and apparently the Terminus goes without saying, I'll still stand by my decision to go with the Shellix. Ease of changes? Yes. Absolutely. No setting of knives. Speed? Nope. Probably not any faster than plain old knives and then putzin' with them to get the depth adjusted properly. So, at this point, in a production environment, points go to Tersa and Terminus. You could add the other outfit (forget the name now) with the quick-change knives here, as well.) :)

In my way of thinking (and I've never been accused of having too many brains!), there are still several other points to consider. At the forefront is the tear-out issue. I don't believe that, with any of the non-Shellix solutions above can you reliably put figured wood on the bed and expect them to come out the other end without tear-out. This is important to me. Yes, if you have a 16" jointer or similar and your material width is significantly narrower, you can indeed minimize it by skewing the material over the cutters but, I still believe you have a higher percentage of tea-rout culpability with ever-changing grain directions of some woods.

Now, as I understand it, some of the above solutions do indeed have carbide knives available for them at a substantial price. The Shellix cutters only come in one form: Carbide. I've run mine on one side now for nearly a year and am just getting ready to turn them to a fresh side (4 cutter sides available) for the first time! No, I'm not a pro, nor do I even play one on TV but, I've run a fair amount of some grungy looking material across these cutters!!!:rolleyes: The other thing to consider here is, although I've not had to do it, if'n one does get a bad scoring on one of the cutters, simply rotate or replace the cutter(s) and you're back in business.:)

For installation, I don't know who's trying to tell you what, but the replacement is really NOT difficult! Heating up the parts???? I should think NOT!!!:eek: I'm not certain on the Tersa but, the Terminus appears to be aluminum, which in that case, some type of "special" consideration may be necessary but, for my Shellix, it was totally an in-shop installation and, by someone who is not all that mechanically inclined!:rolleyes: (yours truly, of course.)

In the final analysis, there are obviously a number of possible solutions to eliminate the tedious knife setting procedure. OTOH, others using the Mag-Set can do so remarkably quickly, while others can do so and have never laid hands on one! I'm not so good, so I went with the solution which I felt suited me the best and was a "fix" for more than one problem. Good luck in your final decision, Chris and I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with whichever way you choose to go!:) Keep us posted.:) :cool:

[tod evans]

john, no wrath to fear here:) i`ve never even snarled on this forum let alone bit anyone....tod

[J.R. Rutter]

Hey John - How well does the Shelix work for edges? I run a lot of HARD wood through my shop, so I was initially concerned about the very slight scalloping you get with a Shelix. Is it enough to throw panel parts out of plane if 2 edges end up together the "wrong" way? For lighter woods, this seems pretty inconsequential, but uncompressible woods (at least at hand clamp level) might be different?

I run a Shelix head in my planer and really like it, and I'm getting tired of sharpening jointer knives every couple of weeks!

[John Miliunas]

JR, in all honesty, I'd have to say that 95% of the time, you'll be just fine. I'm leaving 5% "open", not having done all the hardwood I have that way. I've done Ash, Maple and Cherry primarily with no ill-effects. However, two things to note: First, the scalloping you refer to is indeed real BUT, I note that is more prevalent after the cutters are worn quite a bit. Hence my earlier comment of wanting to finally rotate them. Secondly, I still have a bit of "Neander" in me and, when I'm super-concerned about joint-ability, I'll take a continuous swipe with an appropriate hand plane prior to gluing it up. However, most often, if the stock is only 3/4" to an 5'4" thick, (or less) I find the final cut off my WW II to be plenty smooth and seamless once glued. I'm truly so impressed with the Shellix that my intention is to install one on my planer as well.:)

I just ordered a 1/4" torque wrench to be sure I get my cutters exactly at 50"/lbs. As soon as it comes in, I'll make the switch and try to remember and let you know how the edges look then. If I remember correctly, with fresh cutters, there's virtually NO noticeable scalloping going on!:) :D :cool:

[J.R. Rutter]

Thanks John. I suppose I could always set the fence to center the scallop in 3/4" stock. That would probably be ideal from a glue line standpoint anyway - to have a very slight concavity along the edge. I noticed the effect right off the bat on my planer, so I don't know if sharp inserts are a cure...

I need to rotate my planer inserts for the first time as soon as I have the chance - starting to trip the mag switch thermal reset on wider boards. Looks to be a long job... You will love the head in your planer. I now leave it set on the faster speed all the time. I just wish there was a gentler way to install the head. All that pounding probably damages the new bearings.

[John Miliunas]

I just wish there was a gentler way to install the head. All that pounding probably damages the new bearings.

Yeah, I know what you mean! If/when I get one for the planer, I plan on finding someone with a bearing press for the two minutes it would take to do it properly!:) :cool:

[tod evans]

Yeah, I know what you mean! If/when I get one for the planer, I plan on finding someone with a bearing press for the two minutes it would take to do it properly!:) :cool:

try heating them like was suggested earlier in this thread:)

[Wayne Ashing]

Hi everyone I a new poster long time lurker. Great Forum new guys don't get beat down like when joining a gang or some other forums!

Anyway just my .02 cents, but have you ever tried freezing the unit (cutter head) before installing the bearings ? I used this method when installing a bearing inside bearing housings and even "U" joints on drive shafts.
In my old oilfield days mechanics would drop bearings in liquid butane to shrink a bearing for insallation the principal sound but please don't try this at home!