Dealing with Tearout - Byrd Head or Drum Sander?

[Frank Snyder]

I'm in the process of milling some Yellow Birch for some interior doors and I'm getting a lot of tearout while planing each board on my PM209 planer. I've slowed down the speed to 24 FPM and I'm only taking down 1/64" per pass. I can change out the gearing and bring the speed down to 16 FPM if anyone believes that will help. I've also tried skewing the board, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. The grain on this Birch changes quite a bit across its length and even its width. I guess you could almost call this figured Birch. No matter which direction I feed it, I get areas of tear out. The planer and the knives are brand new. I ran some Cherry and Mahogany through the planer to compare, and they came out with a mirror-like finish with zero tearout. The Birch looks like my dog got a hold of it.

I believe Brian Hale had this same problem a while back and picked up a Performax drum sander to deal with this tear out (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13593). Not that I want to spend any more money, but if one had to choose between a Byrd Head or a drum sander, which would you consider to be a better investment? The nice part about the Byrd head is that it won't take up anymore space than I have, whereas the drum sander will. However, the drum sander would eliminate any tearout problems I might encounter down the road.

I'd be grateful for any opinions or advice on dealing with this tearout or recommendations on another capital investment.

[Jim Becker]

Well...drum sanders are not great for "real thicknessing" of stock. They could deal with your tearout problem if the divots are shallow and you don't need to take off much for finished thickness after planing to "almost there". But you also need to know that the stock is likely going to need more manual sanding before you will be happy with it than off of the planer.

Suggestion...if you have a friend, neighbor or aquaintance who owns a "lunchbox" planer like the popular Delta or Dewalt units, try running some of that birch through them and see if you have the same problem. The higher cutter speed (especially on the Delta 580 or Dewalt 735) may give you a better cut with less tearout than your stationary planer. Also try wetting the surface slightly before sending it through on your final passes. That sometimes helps on difficult wood. And if none of that works....consider a drum sander or rent time on a wide-belt sander at a local cabinet shop. The latter will be much faster than a small drum unit will be. (I know...I own one and it takes a gazzillion passes to work on difficult stuff)

[Frank Snyder]

Jim - Thanks for the information. I still have my Ridgid 13" lunchbox I could try...I don't know why I didn't even think of trying that :confused:.

I didn't try wetting the surface. Does this make it necessary to clean up the cutterhead afterwards (potential rust)?

Thanks again.

P.S.

FYI...The PM209 cutterhead has 4 knives, runs at 5,000RPM and delivers 20,000CPM.
The Ridgid 13" Lunchbox I have has 3 knives, runs at 9,000RPM and delivers 18,000CPM (from their website...how do they figure that?)

Would just the cutterhead speed alone have that much effect on figured woods?

[Joe Jensen]

I'm in the process of milling some Yellow Birch for some interior doors and I'm getting a lot of tearout while planing each board on my PM209 planer. I've slowed down the speed to 24 FPM and I'm only taking down 1/64" per pass. I can change out the gearing and bring the speed down to 16 FPM if anyone believes that will help. I've also tried skewing the board, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. The grain on this Birch changes quite a bit across its length and even its width. I guess you could almost call this figured Birch. No matter which direction I feed it, I get areas of tear out. The planer and the knives are brand new. I ran some Cherry and Mahogany through the planer to compare, and they came out with a mirror-like finish with zero tearout. The Birch looks like my dog got a hold of it.

I believe Brian Hale had this same problem a while back and picked up a Performax drum sander to deal with this tear out (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13593). Not that I want to spend any more money, but if one had to choose between a Byrd Head or a drum sander, which would you consider to be a better investment? The nice part about the Byrd head is that it won't take up anymore space than I have, whereas the drum sander will. However, the drum sander would eliminate any tearout problems I might encounter down the road.

I'd be grateful for any opinions or advice on dealing with this tearout or recommendations on another capital investment.

I have a Byrd head in my Powermatic planer and I just did a large run of 5A curly maple. Zero tearout. With the drum sander, I think I've read that 1/64 is the most you can take. I'd go with the Byrd head based on my experience...joe

[Frank Snyder]

Thanks for the feedback, Joe. After the planer, what kind of sanding do you do?

Okay..this I don't get...the replacement from Byrd is $1195 (Generic 4-post planer which the 209 is). Powermatic offers the same head as a replacement part for $2000. That's quite a margin for PM. Am I missing something here?

[lou sansone]

did you have the same problem with this stock when you face jointed them? I am wondering if your knives are dull in the planer.
I don't have a byrd head, but a lot of guys really love them. My planer has a pretty large cutting circle that tends to reduce tear out ( ~ 5" diameter cutting diameter, where a lot of imports are in the 3 inch range ).

I have a wide belt that definitely handles figured stock without any tear out. I normally surface figured stock with my planer and then touch it up with the wide belt. another machine will take up more space though. it would be nice if someone in your area has a similar planer and could pass some of the birch through their machine to see how much the cut is improved.
Lou

[JayStPeter]

The Ridgid 13" Lunchbox I have has 3 knives, runs at 9,000RPM and delivers 18,000CPM (from their website...how do they figure that?)


The Ridgid has 2 knives, so it makes sense.

My experience with the Byrd on my jointer is good. It definitely reduces tearout, especially when the grain changes direction and feed direction, skewing, water, etc. don't help. On the jointer, I never have to worry about what direction I feed the wood.
Every so often there is a little bit of tearout, but definitely sandable. I plan on getting a planer with a helical head to replace my Ridgid.
That said, I still desire a drum sander to help with veneer, flatten panels, and be the final pass on really curly wood that might have a little tearout even on the helical head.

[Frank Snyder]

Lou - This stock I have was purchased surfaced on one side and was 10+ inches in width, so with an 8" jointer, I didn't try flattening one side. I've got some shorter pieces I will try on the jointer just to compare.

Is it typical to receive dull knives on a new planer (but not the jointer)? I did inspect the knives and they certainly felt sharp enough to cut me. I believe my cutterhead is in the 3" diameter range.

Jay - You're right. I swore it said 3 knives, but there are only two. I definitely think the drum sander has its place in the workshop, but if I can get the planer to behave on figured woods, I'd be happy.

[Joe Jensen]

Thanks for the feedback, Joe. After the planer, what kind of sanding do you do?

Okay..this I don't get...the replacement from Byrd is $1195 (Generic 4-post planer which the 209 is). Powermatic offers the same head as a replacement part for $2000. That's quite a margin for PM. Am I missing something here?

After the Byrd head in the planer I go to 120 grit orbital. Zero tearout so it's little sanding...joe

[Joe Jensen]

did you have the same problem with this stock when you face jointed them? I am wondering if your knives are dull in the planer.
I don't have a byrd head, but a lot of guys really love them. My planer has a pretty large cutting circle that tends to reduce tear out ( ~ 5" diameter cutting diameter, where a lot of imports are in the 3 inch range ).

I have a wide belt that definitely handles figured stock without any tear out. I normally surface figured stock with my planer and then touch it up with the wide belt. another machine will take up more space though. it would be nice if someone in your area has a similar planer and could pass some of the birch through their machine to see how much the cut is improved.
Lou

I have a Terminus (Tersa like) head on my jointer. I face joint all boards before planing. I had a ton of trouble with the curly maple. Even with fresh knives I had plenty of tearout. With non-figured stock, the fresh Terminus knives give a fabulous surface. But, but after only a few hundred feet wood, I start to get knicks in the knives. I'm going to switch to a Byrd head in the jointer too...joe

[J.R. Rutter]

The first step I would try is a back bevel on your existing knives. Before I got the Shelix head for my planer and facing jointer, I had my local sharpener put a 10 deg bevel on the flat face of my knives. This changes the cutting angle similar to using a steeper angle in a smoother plane to reduce tearout. It worked very well, but ultimately I went with the Byrd head for noise, carbide durability, and even lower tearout on difficult wood.

Lou makes a good point on cutting circle as well. The small heads on the newer machines don't do as well. One of the reasons I picked up a discontinued floor model 8" Grizzly "Ultimate" jointer was the 4" circle as opposed to the 3" (+/-) on their newer machine. I still run back beveled steel knives in this machine with great results for edging.

-JR

[JayStPeter]

Jay - You're right. I swore it said 3 knives, but there are only two. I definitely think the drum sander has its place in the workshop, but if I can get the planer to behave on figured woods, I'd be happy.

I hear ya. I plan to get a helical cutterhead when I upgrade my planer. Based on what I've seen from the jointer, it will probably make you happy. I plan to get a drum sander sometime, but only after a planer upgrade.

[Frank Snyder]

Joe - Thanks for the information. It sounds like your planing/sanding routine is the same one I'd like to use.

J.R. - Thanks for the sharpening advice. I will keep that in mind for my jointer as it still has a traditional cutterhead.

I bit the bullet (yet again) and ordered a Byrd head from Brian at Holbren this afternoon. It should be here next week. I look forward to spending a full day getting it installed :rolleyes:. Until then, I'm putting my door project aside and working on something else (like some Melamine shop cabinets...).

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm sure the Byrd head will live up to my expectations.

[Martin Gerber]

Frank,

it would be appreciated if you could give an update once you have completed your conversion to the new head. It would be interesting to hear how the conversion went and if it resolved your tear out problem. Thanks.

[Frank Snyder]

Martin - Will do. I will document the process and post a follow up to this thread. Expect it late next week.

[Frank Snyder]

I spent most of yesterday performing open heart surgery on my planer. I can say that it was a complete success and worth the trouble and expense. I followed the instructions from Byrd's website for a generic 15"-20" 4-post planer. A few of the steps were a little more challenging than they made it sound (like removing the pulley with your bare hands...I had to use a bearing puller) but the instructions were comprehensive enough to keep the ball rolling.

The Byrd head arrived in a wood crate and in excellent condition. There were no additional inserts and the instructions made note of a protective cardboard sleeve, which was not present on mine. I should mention here as well that the head did NOT come with any instructions and that I had to print them from Byrd's website.

54327

The first few steps involved removing the dust shroud, the top cover and the pulley guard.

5432854329

The instructions also claimed there was no need to release the pulley tension for this next step, but I think it would've made it easier, plus I still needed to put the pulley and belts back on at the end, so in hindsight, I would've released the tension. I also had to use a bearing puller to remove the pulley as it was on there tight! Also, you need to make sure you don't lose the keys on these axles, so put them in a safe place.

5433054331

cont'd...

[Frank Snyder]

The next step involved removing the gear cover. There were two little auxillary protective plates which needed to be removed prior to removing the main cover. Again, the instructions clearly indicated this.

543405434154343

Once the main cover was removed, I removed the gear bolts, release the chain tensioner, and carefully pulled all three gears off at the same time (keep an eye on those keys).

5434454345

cont'd...

[Frank Snyder]

To support the cutterhead (journal as its called), the instructions said to use 6 2x4 cutoffs, but all I had handy was some 2" foam insulation and a scrap of hardiboard. It worked fine. The bed is lowered all the way down, supports installed, then the bed was raised until it made contact with the journal. there were 4 allen head bolts to remove at the top, which dropped the gearbox, then I used a mallet to drive the journal and its bearing from its cup from the pulley side. Once driven, the cutterhead and gearbox could be extracted. I did need to adjust the height of the bed a bit for this operation so the journal could clear itself.

5434654347

The next step involved draining the oil from the gearbox. 50W oil is pretty thick so it took about 30 minutes to drain completely. I then removed the 5 bolts holding the cover on the gearbox, then carefully separated the cover using a screwdriver and a mallet.

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The gears overlap each other inside the box, so it was a little tricky to get them out together. Once removed, it looked like this...

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There was another bolt to remove which held the helical gear to the journal. Once removed the gear came off. All that was left to do at this point was to pull the gearbox and bearing off of the journal. I used a bearing puller for the pulley end, and a rubber mallet to remove the gearbox.

At this point I could begin working with the Byrd cutterhead. I pressed the pulley-side bearing on using the pulley and a block of wood as described in the instructions. Pressing the gearbox and bearing on required me to use a scrap 2x2 and a mallet to drive the bearing and gearbox onto the journal. Once the journal end was flush with the bearing, I reattached the helical gear.

54350

Cont'd...

[Frank Snyder]

The next step was a bit more tricky than I expected. Getting the gears and bearings sync'd with their respective cups took some skill, but the instructions also included a schematic of the gearbox which helped tremendously.

I would emphasize that the seal between the gearbox and its cover needs to be in perfect placement before tightening the 5 bolts. I found that the seal would creep inside the gearbox while tightening, and I went ahead and refilled the gearbox with oil only to find it leaking from where the seal crept. I had to drain the gearbox once again, remove the 5 bolts and realign it properly. There are holes in the seal for each respective bolt to help with placement, but I ended up having to use (of all things) some dental floss to pull the seal outward while tightening the bolts. I could then pull the floss out and finish tightening the cover bolts. This time the seal set perfectly on its intended mating surfaces and it didn't leak upon refilling.

The last of the tricky steps was to reinsert the new journal and gearbox back into the planer. This is where that protective sleeve would've been handy. Instead. I just wore some thick leather gloves and went extremely slow guiding the journal back in without coming into contact with surrounding surfaces. There's not a whole heck of a lot of clearance and I should also mention that the journal and gearbox were heavy and this step was a bit of a strain. Once the pulley-side bearing lined up with its opening, I used a rubber mallet to tap the gearbox and journal into position while supporting them. The four bolts which attached the gearbox to the planer served as my depth guide, so once they dropped into their threads, the depth was good.

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All that was left to do was reinstall the gears, pulley, belts and covers. By this time I had invested about 6 hours into this project, and it could've been half that if I had better luck with that gearbox seal.

I didn't adjust the outfeed roller or pressure bar, and I wanted to see if this was necessary first, so once everything was back together I ran a test piece of figured Birch through the planer and look what I got...


Tearout! :eek::eek::eek:
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But the other end where the grain direction was going the right way was pristine...

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cont'd...

[Frank Snyder]

So what happened? The feed speed was set at 31 FPM...waaaay too fast for a finish cut. I changed the speed to 24 FPM and there was still tearout, but not as much. My 209 also included a reduced gear and chain, so I quickly swapped it out to get the slowest feed rate at 16 FPM and this did the trick...no tearout anywhere.

543555435654357

The feed speed was really the culprit here. I will emphasize here as well that the finish of these cuts is really something to marvel. I had expected some scalloping or diagonal marks left in the wood, which is what I saw on a test piece of Curly Maple fed through a PM209HH a few weeks back, and for whatever reason, I did not see that on this Birch. I would say that even the final 220 grit sanding would be optional...the finish here is pretty darn impressive. I did get a longitudal streak you can see in the picture, but I think that is being caused by some schmutz on my outfeed roller or pressure bar.

Another thing that is also worthy of mentioning is the noise, or rather, lack thereof. This Byrd cutterhead has cut the sound level that my planer used to make to half (or even more). It's about as loud as my table saw now, whereas before, it screamed like a jet engine. I'm also looking forward to not having to deal with aligning the knives...ever. Feed speed is an issue, even for a helical head, so bear that in mind if you ever go through this experience yourself.

I would say that spending most of a day installing this cutterhead really wasn't that bad, and the end results were well worth it. The cost was a bit to choke on, but I think you have to look at it in the long run...these carbide inserts should last many times longer than traditional HSS knives, plus you get to multiply that by 4. A knicked knife is no longer a big deal and the time saved in rotating an insert instead of dealing with a knife will add up over time.

I would highly recommend this aftermarket cutterhead.

[Russ Massery]

Thanks Frank, Great tutorial! I've been looking into one of those myself. First the jointer, Then the planer, my Yorkie has 30ipm and 16ipm setting good to know based on your experience.

[Jerry White]

Frank, an excellent presentation and tutorial. Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.

[Mark Marzluf]

I've had a byrd head on my 15" ShopFox planer since the first week I bought it.. I would recomend it to anyone. My feed rates from the factory are 24 and 16 fpm so I've never noticed the tearout that you had with the faster speeds.

Now to the OP...

I think your decision making should be based more on what type of woodworking you do. If you're making a bunch of furniture where you're primarily milling lumber to 3/4 and 1/2" then I would be calling Byrd right now to order the head...

However.... if you do a lot of hand made veneer work, inlays, raised pannel doors etc, I would go with the drum sander. The byrd head will make the biggest difference in eliminating tearout for the planer, but the sander will allow you to do things that the planer won't.

As mentioned as well, the lower noise level with the Byrd head is a super bonus. My old 12" lunchbox kept me from planing after hours in my garage shop - but the new planer with byrd head is barely noticable from outside (insulated garage doors) and it allows me to work into the wee hours of the night without worrying that I'm upsetting the neighbors.

[Jim Becker]

Great pictorial, Frank!

[Brian Gumpper]

Glad the head arrived safely. That is some great info you posted as well. If you don't mind I'm going to refer people to your post that may have questions or concerns about the install. There are always a lot of question pre sale about what's involved in the process for both jointers and planers.

[Frank Snyder]

Russ & Jerry - Thank you and you're welcome.

Mark - I was orignally running the planer at 31 & 24 FPM and experiencing the most tearout at those speeds. I think it also depends on the species of wood you're working with. Birch has a bad reputation with its unruly grain patterns when it comes to surfacing. Tearout is pretty common with this species.

I agree with your asessment as to which type of woodworking you do dictates the ideal equipment. Anything thinner than 1/4" stays away from the planer. Though, I've been able to make raised panels without needing a drum sander. I'm not a patternmaker, and I try to steer away from veneer and inlay work, so I think the planer makes the most sense for the type of work I do. I used to avoid figured woods as well, but the Byrd head should open up this door for me.

[Tom Ruflin]

Frank,

Great pics. I just ordered a 15" Yorkcraft with a byrd cutter head and am going to install it my self, this could be interesting.

[Russ Massery]

Tom, Not to worry I have the 15" Yorkcraft also. I'ts basically the same machine. Most of the 4 post planers are put together this way. Follow the way that Frank did his. ;)

[Todd Solomon]

So what happened? The feed speed was set at 31 FPM...waaaay too fast for a finish cut. I changed the speed to 24 FPM and there was still tearout, but not as much. My 209 also included a reduced gear and chain, so I quickly swapped it out to get the slowest feed rate at 16 FPM and this did the trick...no tearout anywhere.


Hi Frank,

So I'm not the only one who has experienced tearout on a Byrd head- You are the first that I've seen that has ever mentioned tearout on a Byrd head, besides me. I have a 22" Oliver planer with a Byrd head. I initially didn't see a lot of tearout, but as the new-tool euphoria wore off and I made more projects, I'm finding that I get tearout on occasion. Less than a straight-knived planer, but not a lot less.

I was told to run the Byrd head with the fast feed rate, by either Oliver or Byrd (don't remember which). But it's interesting that you eliminated tearout by slowing down your feed rate. I got some two nights ago on walnut, which was not particularly figured, at 20 fpm (my slowest setting). I'll leave it at that setting from now on to see how things improve.

Just so everyone that's thinking about a Byrd head has all of the perspectives, it's not a no-brainer to buy one, in my opinion. In my case, it added $1800 to the price of the planer. If I were to do it over, I'd get the Esta Dispos-a-blade system for quick-change knives, and save the cash by forgoing the Byrd head.

Todd

[Frank Snyder]

Hey Todd,

I'd be willing to speculate that there are several different dynamics involved with the overall cut quality of this product, from the idiosyncracies of planer models to the species and figuring of the wood involved.

To say that this product did not eliminate tearout on brand "x" planer does not necessarily mean that it won't do a better (or worse) job on brand "y" planer. There are just too many little dynamics unique (diameter of journal, RPM, feed rate, chip removal, etc...) to each make and model of planer which, in my opinion, affects the final outcome of cut quality.

I think to make an accurate comparison with an aftermarket product like this one, one would need to test it on a large representation of available planer models before coming to the conclusion that doesn't do what it supposed to. And even then, I would want to see what the outcome was on each and every single planer before I accept that conclusion. In my case, specifically on my make and model of planer, I saw an elimination of tearout on the same board by reducing the feed rate to 16 FPM. Even with the tearout using the Byrd head at 31 FPM, it was still less than what I was getting with straight knives.

Overall, I think the advantages of the helical head design (less if not zero tear out, less noise, facilitates better chip removal, easier knife changes, long lasting carbide, etc...) outweigh the advantages of a quick-change straight knife system. Of course, this is just my opinion as well and I'm sure to get some grief for it ;).

[Mark Marzluf]

Frank....

When I mentioned raised pannels, I was meaning that after you make a raised panel with rails and stiles surrounding, it's nice to be able to run the door through a drum sander to level everything to the same plane.

[Todd Solomon]

All good points, Frank. Before buying my cutterhead, I spoke with several happy Byrd owners. A couple of these guys have larger cutterhead diameters than my 3" diameter (and more rows of inserts), and they suspect that cutterhead diameter is my culprit. But I've heard that Byrd demonstrates their Shelix at woodworking shows on a 15" generic 4-post planer, with a 3" diameter head, and it's an impressive demo. In any case, mine has not performed to the level that I had hoped, but I am glad that you and others are acheiving better performance.

Todd

[Frank Snyder]

Mark - Ah...I see. I've never tried that. I thought the raised panel was supposed to stand proud of the door frame. Thanks for the clarification.

Todd - I'm sorry your Byrd head isn't living up to your expectations. I would be outspoken as well if I had paid that amount and the results were less than advertised. May I ask, what is the diameter of your cutterhead? Have you discussed this with the people at Byrd, and if so, where they of any help?

[Todd Solomon]

Todd - I'm sorry your Byrd head isn't living up to your expectations. I would be outspoken as well if I had paid that amount and the results were less than advertised. May I ask, what is the diameter of your cutterhead? Have you discussed this with the people at Byrd, and if so, where they of any help?

Fairly typical specs:
3" diameter
5000 RPM
20 or 30 FPM

I did not discuss this with Byrd, but they were helpful on a previous issue. A number of inserts were chipped on the head, either by Byrd or by Oliver during install. Without hesitation, Byrd shipped me a bunch of new inserts. I was pleased with their responsiveness.

The other weird thing is that a number of inserts have been cracking in half and falling out, in between uses. My guess is that Byrd had over-torqued the inserts. I have not called them about this. I have a torque wrench and am going to loosen and re-torque all inserts, to see if I can eliminate this problem.

So my experience with their cutterhead has not been good from the start. It sounds like I'm the exception, as everyone else I talk to is pleased with their Shelix.

Todd

[Frank Snyder]

Todd - Your specs, other than the faster feed rate, are the same as mine. Given that you might have some damaged inserts, I would be inclined to remove them all, inspect each one under a magnifying glass, then reinstall the good ones to the proper torque (anyone here know what it is?).

Better yet, if you're feeling really proactive, I'd get on the phone with Byrd and explain the problem and see if they will replace all of the inserts given the condition you received their product and the problems you are experiencing. From the sounds of it, I would venture to guess that they would step up the the plate for you. You could also see if Oliver offers a reduction gear for your planer to slow the feed rate down even further...just an idea.

[Todd Solomon]

Todd - Your specs, other than the faster feed rate, are the same as mine. Given that you might have some damaged inserts, I would be inclined to remove them all, inspect each one under a magnifying glass, then reinstall the good ones to the proper torque (anyone here know what it is?).

Better yet, if you're feeling really proactive, I'd get on the phone with Byrd and explain the problem and see if they will replace all of the inserts given the condition you received their product and the problems you are experiencing. From the sounds of it, I would venture to guess that they would step up the the plate for you. You could also see if Oliver offers a reduction gear for your planer to slow the feed rate down even further...just an idea.

Removing all the inserts would be a big task- this is a 22" planer. Loosening and re-torquing should do the trick. You can pretty easily see a cracked insert. But I agree I should call Byrd to give them the opportunity to make this right. I need to do this anyways, because I'm going to sell the planer in a few months. I can't, in conscience, sell it before doing everything I can to ensure it'll treat the next owner as well as possible. Regarding slowing down the feed rate, 20 fpm is pretty slow already. I would think this would be sufficient. I doubt Oliver offers a reduction gear, because this is a big industrial beast, and is produced in much lower volume than yours.

Thanks for the ideas, I'll let you guys know where it ends up. And I also would be interested in you posting again in 6 months or so, and let us know if you still see excellent tearout performance.

Todd

[Russ Massery]

Frank, I remember seeing this on Byrd's website. Look like it's 50inlbs.http://www.byrdtool.com/bt-9.html (http://www.byrdtool.com/bt-9.html)
Being a machinist sounds about right.
Russ

[Frank Snyder]

Thanks for the info, Russ.

[Rob Lee CT]

Yes, I know - it's old, I dug it out of the posting graveyard - but between this post and the Byrd "generic 15" planer install instructions" changing the head was straightforward. Only advice I'll add is, order the new oil seal from eReplacements.com or wherever when you order the head, so you don't have to stop and wait for it in the middle of the operation.

I didn't have any issues with the gear box oil gasket as has been reported elsewhere; the plastic seal on my new (old) Powermatic Model 15 was thick enough to stay in place and I had no leakage.

Kudos to the OP. Much appreciated and very helpful post.

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a Terminus (Tersa like) head on my jointer. I face joint all boards before planing. I had a ton of trouble with the curly maple. Even with fresh knives I had plenty of tearout. With non-figured stock, the fresh Terminus knives give a fabulous surface. But, but after only a few hundred feet wood, I start to get knicks in the knives. I'm going to switch to a Byrd head in the jointer too...joe

Joe, does Terminus offer carbide? I switched my Tersa heads to carbide, the cut is I believe better in most woods I use and the last a very long time. I had a stack of M42 knives that I burned up before switching to carbide. I get around two years out of a set of carbides. Just a thought..........