Jet Jointer/Planer Byrd head

[Curt Harms]

I was curious as to the status of Byrd heads for the Jet JJP12 J/P so I Emailed Byrd. There is one available, it appears to be the same cutterhead as a Jet 310(whatever that is). They have sold several and are unaware of any problems with them. The price, however is a bit north of $1,000 so I don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon. I imagine the answer to anyone wanting a J/P with a spiral head is to either go with another manufacturer or wait for the Jet version to appear. The Byrd head is more than half the cost of the machine. I'm sure for some users it's worth the cost. For me it's not.

HTH

Curt

[Nathan Conner]

I guess that's good news. I certainly wouldn't ever spend those kind of bucks on a cutterhead, but I've never used one, so maybe it makes a significant difference.

For future reference, the 310 seems to be the European reference number for the JJP-12. They call it a Jet JPT-310. So it seems they're saying it's the same cutterhead. Duh? But maybe I don't get the reference, either.

When the price on one drops below $400, I may get interested. :)

[Andy Pratt]

It might be worth checking with the JET guys first, last I spoke with them they were aware that the byrd cutterhead fit, but said there were issues in actually using it at the correct speeds. I'm spouting off stuff I don't remember perfectly from a few months ago, but it's probably worth a phone call to check.

[Curt Harms]

That makes sense. I believe this machine has been available in Europe for some time.

I guess that's good news. I certainly wouldn't ever spend those kind of bucks on a cutterhead, but I've never used one, so maybe it makes a significant difference.

For future reference, the 310 seems to be the European reference number for the JJP-12. They call it a Jet JPT-310. So it seems they're saying it's the same cutterhead. Duh? But maybe I don't get the reference, either.

When the price on one drops below $400, I may get interested. :)

[Curt Harms]

but that would be the thing to do before dropping mucho dinero. I wonder if it's an issue with feed speed. Byrd didn't know of any issues so who knows. Certainly the drive pulley for the planer feed is not commonly available, I don't recall the rest of the planer feed drive and I'm not interested enough to take the covers off and peruse the change of feed speed possibilities if indeed they're required.

Curt

It might be worth checking with the JET guys first, last I spoke with them they were aware that the byrd cutterhead fit, but said there were issues in actually using it at the correct speeds. I'm spouting off stuff I don't remember perfectly from a few months ago, but it's probably worth a phone call to check.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

It would make sense for Jet to come out with an indexed spiral head. That's probably the most sought after option theses days on planers and jointers.

It's probably also a function of how well Jet is doing in sales with the new combo machine. It's probably a hefty tooling investment for them and perhaps some re-tooling.

I'll say this. If Jet does come out with a spiral head, that would be all that's needed for me to breakdown and buy a Jet combo.

-Jeff :)

[jason lambert]

From what I understand it is in the works. I do not knwo a ETA eithor but need one ASAP my joiner went. Hopefully it will be soon or I may just give up on jet. I will not buy the current machine if they are redesigning it.

Also anyone know how to adjust the tables if they go out. I was looking at one yesterday at the dealer and we couldn't figure it out. For example the tip of one needs to be brought down a little.

[Curt Harms]

[quote=jason lambert;915670.....
Also anyone know how to adjust the tables if they go out. I was looking at one yesterday at the dealer and we couldn't figure it out. For example the tip of one needs to be brought down a little.[/quote]

This (http://content.jettools.com/manuals/708475_m.pdf) might help:)

Curt

[Don Abele]

When I was researching for my J/P purchase earlier this year I was seriously considering the Jet. I did, however, really want a shelix head.

Not only is the Byrd head amazingly expensive, if you contact Jet they will recommend against putting it on. They said not only would it void the warranty, but it WILL cause irrepairable damage to the machine. They said the speed and balance are completely different and you couldn't just swap it out.

At that time they also indicated they were working on the helical head version of their J/P but that it was going to be "quiet some time" before it was released as it was still in testing/evaluation. Apparently they had to make some serious changes to the original unit for the helical head to work properly. Once it was completed, they seem to hint that it would be 3-6 months afterwards before it would hit the market.

So based on that I started looking elsewhere as I don't want to drop that kind of money now knowing they are changing the machine within the next year or so. Thankfully I fell into an awesome deal on my Hammer.

If/When they release the helical head version, it will be an awesome machine, I'm sure. The non-helical version already is.

Be well,

Doc

[John Stevens]

I'll say this. If Jet does come out with a spiral head, that would be all that's needed for me to breakdown and buy a Jet combo.

If it's as quiet as the Byrd head on my 8" jointer, I'll do the same in a heartbeat.

Regards,

John

[Neal Clayton]

I guess that's good news. I certainly wouldn't ever spend those kind of bucks on a cutterhead, but I've never used one, so maybe it makes a significant difference.

For future reference, the 310 seems to be the European reference number for the JJP-12. They call it a Jet JPT-310. So it seems they're saying it's the same cutterhead. Duh? But maybe I don't get the reference, either.

When the price on one drops below $400, I may get interested. :)

blade changes are minutes instead of an hour +, chatter is impossible, and if you break a blade on a knot or a nail or other such thing, you just shrug your shoulders and toss it, a screwdriver fixes the broken blade in seconds.

those alone make spiral heads worth it if you value your time, imo.

[jason lambert]

I spent alot of time looking at this machine with my dealer and we noticed one big flaw why the byrd head will not work probably why they are redesigning it.

There is no way to level or adjust the bottom table. This is really stupid, and such a easy thing to build in, after calling jet they want you to align the blades to the bottom plainer table then adjust the joiner tables to match. After looking at this we couldn't pahntom adjusting the blades upside down by guess work. then realigning the joiner table if we had to change blades. If you had a hericial head this would be impossable.

[Samuel A. Livingstone]

I have had a Byrd cutterhead on my jointer (Martin 20 ") for 6 months and would never go back to straight knives or even spiral knives. The cut in wild grain is absolutely no tearout.

You might look at other brands who have cheaper Byrd heads already in stock such as Powermatic. Grizzly heads are inferior as the cutters straight on, rather than sheared at angle because they did not set the individual cutters at angle. Byrd and Grisley are not equal despite Grisley's advertising.

[Rick Fisher]

Investing $1200 in a martin machine is a different story..lol

Doesnt Grizzly have a machine like this with a Helical head cutter?

[Curt Harms]

I spent alot of time looking at this machine with my dealer and we noticed one big flaw why the byrd head will not work probably why they are redesigning it.

There is no way to level or adjust the bottom table. This is really stupid, and such a easy thing to build in, after calling jet they want you to align the blades to the bottom plainer table then adjust the joiner tables to match. After looking at this we couldn't pahntom adjusting the blades upside down by guess work. then realigning the joiner table if we had to change blades. If you had a hericial head this would be impossable.

http://content.jettools.com/manuals/708475_m.pdf
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