Byrd helix and 20" planer

[Harold Tinling]

We have a 20" steel city planer and have installed a Byrd helix cutter head in it. The cut on figuired maple is wonderful, clean, smooth with no tear out or snipe. The probem is we get a strange noise and a sort of bumping feeling when running a board through. We have set the rollers and other requirments very carefully
of course we had no problems with the old knives same old story .
Can anyone throw some light on this issue? Thaks. Harold

[Kevin Jenness]

Just a couple of thoughts. Is the new cutterhead an exact match in cutting circle to the old one? If not, that could lead to problems making adjustments (chipbreaker, pressure bar & feed rollers) depending on the machine design. Were the bearings replaced? If not it's possible they were damaged in translation or worn by prior use and need replacement.. Are the feed and bed rollers clean? Resin/dust buildup can cause problems there. Were any feed components removed/ replaced in the transition? For instance, if the feed rollers are driven by the cutterhead, there may be a gear sprocket or belt sheave on the cutterhead shaft that is missing a key or has not been tightened properly. Is the bumpy feed printing out in the work surface?

[glenn bradley]

I assume the bumping feeling is slow and evenly spaced which would indicate feed mechanism. The strange noise I will assume is not just the whirring that the insert heads make. Can you be more descriptive?

[Mike Heidrick]

Chain tension need checked or drive belts need changed?

[Harold Tinling]

Thanks for the responses. I think It's under control now. Harold

[Ian Scofield]

Thanks for the responses. I think It's under control now. Harold

What was the culprit?