...chips flying (planer pics)

[Walt Caza]

Good Day Fellow Creekers,
Finally got my 15" planer hoisted into loft shop and running.
Features I like are the built-in wheels with locks, slide-out handles,
return rollers on top, mag switch and big cast tables.
Enhancements are the Wixey digital height guage (gold) and the
Byrd Shelix head (golden) with 99 carbide inserts.

I have been playing with QSWoak with zero tear-out, feeding one way,
and then the other. She runs quiet enough that you can talk without
having to shout over the machine. I ran a new homerun circuit 12/2 on a
20amp 240volt breaker. Just need to get her hooked into dust collection.

pics are: on the forks, face shot, gaping mouth with a peek at anti-kickback pawls, and as David E. did, a gratuitous action shot

My thanks go out to David Eisan once again, for helping me push
my little shop yet another step forward...great service, even better guy!

thanks for looking,
Walt
:)

[gary Zimmel]

Walt

Congrads on the new planer !
Did you have to install the new head or did the machine come ready to go? If you don't mind me asking what did the head upgrade cost.

Thanks

[Ken Garlock]

Walt, that surely is a nice looking machine. I sure wish I had one. :D

Those Shelix heads are really nice, I put a set on my 8" jointer, and the difference with amazing, both cut quality and noise reduction.

Nice Machine, Walt.:cool:

[Bill Huber]

Great looking planer, the table on that thing looks like the runway at the airport.

I really like that last shot with the chips flying...

Congrats.......

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

She runs quiet enough that you can talk without having to shout over the machine.

Which is saying something~!!

[Randy Denby]

Which is saying something~!!

Ohhh....but wait until he installs the dust collection !

[Jim Kountz]

Hey look, its snowing wood in your shop! Cool!!

Congrats on the planer and let us know more on the Wixey mod too, Ive been looking at that since Im so happy with their digital fence gauge.

[Walt Caza]

Happy Holidays Fellow Creekers,

I just wanted to add some pics for anyone who might want a peek at
a Byrd Shelix planer head. It was installed by the dealer.
Randy is right, the dust collection roars pretty good, but I still find myself
surprised with how quiet the planer runs, even while hogging...
which is not the normal way I dress stock, but is a fun experiment.

Well Jim, I gotta say I am pleased with the Wixey height guage.
Calibration is quick and easy, works as advertised and I just walk away
because it shuts itself off after a bit. The instructions say turning it off
does not extend battery life, as it holds calibration even when turned off.
If I had my "I'drathers", I would wish for a higher resolution than the
5 thousandths, but I am glad to have it. I just gotta learn to quit bumping
into the darn thing, especially with stock. uggh
It is great for matching newly planed stock to previously planed stock,
say if maybe you made a mistake ... could happen !
Also, it quickly lets you know how big of a bite you are taking. (inch decimal)

the pics are of Shelix head, carbide inserts (note the scallop), the Wixey,
and a blurry pic of the guage which better shows how I see the readout
(the camera really makes it look lousy, but it is well legible in the shop)

Thanks for your kind words,
and thanks for looking,
Walt

ps this machine was a birthday gift from my wife for my 40th
:)

[Gary Keedwell]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/evsac/Video/perfect10.gif I am totally jealous. Did I hear a price? But if it is a gift, she might not want you to know?;) Just one question. Do the inserts come in just one grade or do you have a choice. Just curious , because I know in machine shop you can get different grades of carbide, different radius on the edge and sizes of the chip breaker?

Great set-up:)

Gary

[Carroll Courtney]

Now that is one HD planer,nice Kreg stuff also.

[Brian Weick]

had his first meal apparently? so tell me - how did it handle what you shoved in his mouth? - looking at your pictures , I would have to say that it's a very healthy machine! They all spit it out like that- :D- Your going to like that planer- it eats wood for pleasure and does a great job on the finish - very nice General planer Walt!
Brian:)

[Don Bullock]

Nice score Walt. Yes, I'm green with envy over your new green machine.

If you plane some birch or light maple it will lok like it's snowing in your shop.;)

[glenn bradley]

Love the gratuitous flying chips shot. You made my day.

[Jim Becker]

Congratulations on getting your new planer into the shop!

[Alan Schaffter]

Really nice setup!!!

Walt, you might want to take a look at your manual- if that orange plate on the bottom half of the pic is plastic, I believe you are supposed to remove it if you are connecting to a DC- at least that is the way it was with my Delta 15"


Speaking of 15" planers with Shelix heads, here is a nice Delta DC-380 with Shelix for sale on the Raleigh Craigslist. (http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/517086562.html)

[Walt Caza]

Hi again,
and thanks for all your kindness and enthusiasm,
Gary, the Shelix head uses a single standard size and shape carbide insert.
I did the homework, but did not purchase the spiral insert head from General
because the inserts where smaller, and arranged in a spiral but without
the crucial shear angle, which makes all the difference.

Alan thanks for your tip, but to clarify, that orange plate is not just for shipping
and subsequent removal.
The top of the orange photo shows the infeed side. The upper orange plate
is a robust metal chip breaker that rides on the stock just before the cutterhead.
It forces the chips raised to break-off instead of tearing out ahead of the cut.
The bottom of the orange photo shows the outfeed side. The lower orange plate
is a robust metal pressure bar that pins the stock firmly to the table.
This prevents the end of the board from lifting once it moves past the
serrated infeed roller, in an effort to eliminate snipe.
These features help larger planers to feed faster than the so-called lunchboxes.
This unit also has bed rollers and table locks.

Portable planers use rubber rollers for infeed and outfeed. They do not have
chip breakers but minimize tear-out with shallow cut, high rpm and slow feedrate.
They also do not have a pressure bar, which contributes to snipe problems.

I selected this planer because it has a fixed head and moving tables.
On planers where the cuttinghead moves up and down, the table is fixed and
you can build shop-made extensions. Since my tables go up and down, this model
has big tables that do not need extensions.

The 15" planer is in a 'no-man's land' between lunchboxes and big machines.
Some say it is foolish to buy them, instead go 20". But this is the right machine for my loft shop.
I am hoping to get good mileage out of the new planer. I used a 2 blade
Craftsman for about 14 yrs. Some dreams take a long time...
take care,
Walt
:)

ps I am drowning in hardwood chips ...