Quality of Cut: Byrd vs. Grizzly spiral

[John Pennisi]

I'm looking for any input on how the quality of the Grizzly brand spiral head (either jointer or planer) compares to the Byrd. I have read that the Byrd is angled so it shear cuts, while the Grizzly seems to not have the angled cut. Anyone with experience using both types?

Basically I'm trying to figure out whether or not it's worth it to buy the G0453 planer and G0490 jointer and install the Byrd heads rather than going with the Grizzly brand spirals (G0453Z and G0490X). I don't mind the work of installing the Byrds myself as long as I know it's going to be worth it. Thanks..

[alex grams]

Not sure I can answer your question, but it is odd that grizzly seems to stock the byrd heads but does not include them as the standard spiral cutterhead on their jointers.

My approach to the problem was to buy the 490 and will add the cutterhead later. With the MS cashback offer you can save more money that way anyways as opposed to buying them as a complete set, and you get the byrd head.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Basically I'm trying to figure out whether or not it's worth it to buy the G0453 planer and G0490 jointer and install the Byrd heads rather than going with the Grizzly brand spirals (G0453Z and G0490X).

Buy them preinstalled with the Grizzly heads. You will be happy!

[Don Abele]

John, I have a Jet 6" jointer that I added the Byrd head to (bought it from Grizzly) and it's an awesome upgrade. The significant decrease in noise and ultra smooth finish is amazing (not to mention how fast it is to fix a nicked blade).

With that said, I also had the opportunity to work with an 8" Grizzly jointer that had their helical head in it. The only difference is in the orientation of the cutters. On the Grizzly version, they are straight inline with the feed direction. The Byrd has them angled to produce more of a shear cut.

Did I see an appreciable difference between the two - NO. I've heard that in really figured wood the shear cut you get with the Byrd Shelix can make a big difference, especially in preventing chip out. I, however, don't work with stuff like that so can not comment on it. In my use of both the Grizzly helical head and the Byrd Shelix head they produced the same awesome results.

I have no problem recommending either of them. They are both going to give you excellent results. The difference in performance over standard blades is amazing. I wish I could get a helical head for my Hammer A3-31 J/P.

As for price, buying the standard version and upgrading to the Shelix is going to cost more and the upgrade for the jointer alone takes a couple of hours and requires a bearing puller. No sure about the planer but I can't imagine it going any quicker.

Be well,

Doc

[Rick Fisher]

I think Byrd will make a custom cutterhead for almost any machine. I have a friend who is having one made right now, they asked for his stock head to be sent to them.

I have a non Byrd head and think its great. It isnt angled, but it doenst scallop.

If I where you, I would buy the Grizzly with the Grizzly head. The only time it could be a hassle is if you get another tool with a different head. It would be nice if your inventory of extra cutterheads was common to all tools.

[Gary Click]

I have one of each. A Grizzley head in my jointer and a Byrd head in one of my planers. They both work very well, produce less noise both running and cutting, eliminate tearout, produce a good finish and produce a light fluffy chip that are easy to manage.

I plane and joint some woods that have high silica contents (Ziricote, Azobe) and refuse to use knives that are not sharp. Grizzley's head in the jointer will outlast a dozen sets of HSS knives and are a snap to index, there is no setting of knives; just loosen, clean, rotate and tighten. I have not had the Bryd head long enough to form an opinion of the insert life but I expect it to be as good. Both heads also seem to be immune to gaps from knots and the resulting ridges.

The Byrd head may produce a slightly slicker finish than the Grizzley but both are better than average and on a par with sharp HSS knives. The finished surface left by the Grizzley head is flat as the insert are set square on the helix with a straight edge insert (no shear). The Byrd head finish may have a slight scallop in the surface (not noticable by touch but sometimes appears if sanded very lightly) caused by the insert being set on the helix and raked on an angle using an insert with a large radius edge (generates shearing action). I think this might make a difference on hard to plane brittle woods that tend to tearout.

I think that for general purpose work the Grizzley is fine and it is less expensive. The biggest PITA is that the two heads DONOT use the same insert although it looks similar.

gary

[Don Abele]

I think Byrd will make a custom cutterhead for almost any machine. I have a friend who is having one made right now, they asked for his stock head to be sent to them...

You're right Rick and what I should have said was, "I wish I could get a helical head for my Hammer A3-31 at a REASONABLE price." The quote I got from Byrd was almost $2000 for the head alone :eek: - No Thank You.


...The biggest PITA is that the two heads DONOT use the same insert although it looks similar...

Gary, I should have mentioned that as well. When I bought my Byrd head from Grizzly I ordered the wrong inserts. Thankfully I noticed it upon receipt and was able to exchange them. That would have sucked when I "needed" to change an insert and found they didn't fit.

Be well,

Doc

[Jack Briggs]

I have a Byrd cutter head in my Grizzly shaper, which I use to shape the periphery of guitar bodies. Their shear cut and angled inserts help to cope with tearout and burn.

I would consider the Byrd head if buying a new planer; not for a jointer, however. Their profile is slightly convex or thumbnail in shape. For glueup straight off the jointer, I'd go with the Grizzly helical cutter head. My $.02.




Cheers,

[Larry Rasmussen]

I put a byrd head on my GO453 Planer, bought the Byrd from Grizzly on sale and the planer was down to $675 if I remember. With that in mind if I could go back I would buy a planer with head installed. I'm not an experienced machine guy although I had no trouble following the instructions. It took a weekend worth of time for me.
Larry R,
Seattle

[Don Abele]

Larry, that's exactly what I posted above about my jointer. From start to finish took about two hours...but...I knew how to get everything apart. I had to completely disassemble the jointer about a year previous to get all the rust off from it being in storage. So the disassembly/reassembly went quickly because I was familiar with it. The hardest part was changing out the bearings. Even using bearing pullers, it was quite difficult to get them off and that alone took probably close to 45 minutes. It doesn't help that whole while you have to move extremely slow and careful while handling the head with all those knives installed. I was pretty sure a planer would take much longer as there seems to be more in the way and more to be removed/replaced. Thanks for that data point.

Be well,

Doc