Sunhill Spiral (not Shelix) Jointer Head

[Pete Brown]

Has anyone looked at this?

I have an inexpensive 6" Ridgid jointer, and I hesitate to upgrade it with a Shelix head that cost as much as the jointer as I'd like to get a larger jointer if/when I get more room. The HSS spiral head (http://www.sunhillmachinery.com/Spiral%20Cutter%20Conversion.htm) looks like it could an interesting compromise, though.

The article I saw in one of the magazines (FWW?) some time ago didn't go into much detail.

For anyone who has one, was the install relatively easy? Do the blades hold up to figured wood, or (being thinner than regular HSS) are they even worse?

I'm not interested in adding junk. If this isn't worth it, that's a good answer too :)

Thanks.

Pete

http://www.sunhillmachinery.com/Spiral%20Cutterhead.jpg

[Frank Snyder]

Pete - That looks similar to PM 15S cutterhead. It should perform better than straight knives on figured wood in theory. I don't think they can be resharpened, so you might want to look into replacement knife costs.

If I were you, I would keep saving your money until you're ready to upgrade to a bigger jointer with a Shelix head. They're worth it.

[Travis Hirst]

I too have a cheaper Delta 6" jointer and was looking as these yesterday. The replacement knives are only $19.00 which seems like a great deal if they hold up long at all. I was also thinking this would be a nice upgrade to the straight knives on the cheaper Delta. I would be interested in any info from people that have them installed.

Travis

[Ed Kowaski]

I have one of these "spiral" heads in a 10" blue Oliver jointer. It's excellent

[Douglas Brummett]

Has anyone looked at this?

For anyone who has one, was the install relatively easy? Do the blades hold up to figured wood, or (being thinner than regular HSS) are they even worse?

I'm not interested in adding junk. If this isn't worth it, that's a good answer too :)

Thanks.

Pete



back from the dead...

I actually purchased this hss spiral head from Sunhill a week ago. Obviously I can't comment on longevity, but the installation is pretty basic. They utilize a bolt instead of the threaded post/nut that my delta had originally. I had to remove the jointer from the base to install due to safety features on my jointer. Once tightened down it was just a matter of aligning the pulleys and outfeed table to the new cutter.

Cut quality looked very smooth to me, but new blades don't hurt that quality any ;)