Brent Grooms
10-21-2008, 5:11 AM
Installation is very straightforward and should only take ~1hr depending on the bearings on the existing head. I have had this machine for about 4yrs and getting the bearings out of their seats was a bit of a challenge, this took the better part of an hour. If ordering one... get the bearings installed. For ~$19.00, its cheap peace of mind not having to worry about salvaging the bearings when removing the old head.
One note... the instructions on the Byrd website (tech section) have the helical gear being removed from the old head after its removal from the machine. I believe this to be a bad thing waiting to happen. On WN, a fellow installed his byrd head earlier this past week and decided that it was better to remove this gear prior to removing the old head. I would have to agree. This is too small of part to be beating on to unseat the bearings from their races. Also, the cutterhead lock will not be re-installed. It will not fit. I did call Byrd and mentioned these two items. I do not know if they will be modifying their installation instructions.
After buttoning things up and quick power-up check ( no loud bangs or un-natural noises ) on to the stack of boards that have been waiting for this heads installation. I am working on the Heirloom bed plans from Workbench magazine. I had chosen some rustic birdseye that I had purchased previously, for the panels in the headboard and footboard. I have used some of this stash previously and had problems with the planing as the wood has combinations of curly and birdseye (terrible tearout) and had even pulled out some eyes in a couple of instances. Light cuts with fresh knives were a must on this wood and tearout was going to happen no matter what (I am not a fan of wipeing wood down with anything prior to planing).
Noise reduction - Not really any difference in level but the pitch (and perhaps the intensity) when planing is decreased definately. I will still wear my earmuffs.
Quality of cut - Impressive to say the least. I sent about 15bdft of 4/4 birdseye down to 5/8. There were a few boards with knots in them that, while there was some minimal tearout, came out far better than I had experienced previously. Otherwise, there was no tearout on any board regardless of grain orientation or feed direction. The sheet included with the byrd head states that there will be lines/ridges left on the stock after milling. This is the only time I have had a byrd head do so. At most, they are only a couple of thousands in height and I attribute them happening due to the spacing the cutterhead has between inserts. I am guessing this is due to the small diameter of the head. In anycase, I do not consider fresh off the planer as being finish ready.
Machine operation - I will have to change my approach to milling. I am typically fairly agressive in planing stock to thickness. I cannot do this any longer. The Byrd head makes constant contact with the stock and has a direct affect on the motor operation. I do not have a ampmeter but it does change the load on the machine while planing. I did not think to change the feedrate to the "finishing" speed, so I don't know how that will change things. Most of the wood I planed is ~6in wide. 1/16in cut is the most I could get away with. I did have a 3 occurances where I tripped the units circuit breaker. I have never had that occur previously.
Would I buy it again? Yes, I am completely sold on the quality of the cut obtained by this byrd head. I would say in all honesty that this head change pushes the DW735 to the limit of its operation envelope. I, as an owner/user now need to be mindful of that limit.
One note... the instructions on the Byrd website (tech section) have the helical gear being removed from the old head after its removal from the machine. I believe this to be a bad thing waiting to happen. On WN, a fellow installed his byrd head earlier this past week and decided that it was better to remove this gear prior to removing the old head. I would have to agree. This is too small of part to be beating on to unseat the bearings from their races. Also, the cutterhead lock will not be re-installed. It will not fit. I did call Byrd and mentioned these two items. I do not know if they will be modifying their installation instructions.
After buttoning things up and quick power-up check ( no loud bangs or un-natural noises ) on to the stack of boards that have been waiting for this heads installation. I am working on the Heirloom bed plans from Workbench magazine. I had chosen some rustic birdseye that I had purchased previously, for the panels in the headboard and footboard. I have used some of this stash previously and had problems with the planing as the wood has combinations of curly and birdseye (terrible tearout) and had even pulled out some eyes in a couple of instances. Light cuts with fresh knives were a must on this wood and tearout was going to happen no matter what (I am not a fan of wipeing wood down with anything prior to planing).
Noise reduction - Not really any difference in level but the pitch (and perhaps the intensity) when planing is decreased definately. I will still wear my earmuffs.
Quality of cut - Impressive to say the least. I sent about 15bdft of 4/4 birdseye down to 5/8. There were a few boards with knots in them that, while there was some minimal tearout, came out far better than I had experienced previously. Otherwise, there was no tearout on any board regardless of grain orientation or feed direction. The sheet included with the byrd head states that there will be lines/ridges left on the stock after milling. This is the only time I have had a byrd head do so. At most, they are only a couple of thousands in height and I attribute them happening due to the spacing the cutterhead has between inserts. I am guessing this is due to the small diameter of the head. In anycase, I do not consider fresh off the planer as being finish ready.
Machine operation - I will have to change my approach to milling. I am typically fairly agressive in planing stock to thickness. I cannot do this any longer. The Byrd head makes constant contact with the stock and has a direct affect on the motor operation. I do not have a ampmeter but it does change the load on the machine while planing. I did not think to change the feedrate to the "finishing" speed, so I don't know how that will change things. Most of the wood I planed is ~6in wide. 1/16in cut is the most I could get away with. I did have a 3 occurances where I tripped the units circuit breaker. I have never had that occur previously.
Would I buy it again? Yes, I am completely sold on the quality of the cut obtained by this byrd head. I would say in all honesty that this head change pushes the DW735 to the limit of its operation envelope. I, as an owner/user now need to be mindful of that limit.