Retrofit Byrd head in PM 8" jointer?

[Mark Carlson]

Alan, I did a google with this string "putting a byrd head into a jointer" and found the Wood Whisperers, a couple of others on youtube and a Fine Woodworking one. I did mine so long ago I just used written instructions from the byrd website. I bought my head with the bearings already installed on the head. It also came with a set of longer bolts that fit the head. The other thing I needed was some brass shims to put under the cutter head in the rear so it was level with the outfeed table across its width.

~mark

[Darcy Warner]

How does the price of the Hermance heads compare to the Byrd?

About 5% more for a custom head, but under 8 weeks to get vs. 11 months for Byrd.

[Darcy Warner]

Darcy, Do you know if the inserts the same on the Hermance as the Byrd? Are they readily available?

Thanks

Hermance uses a 15mm x15mm straight edge insert. The most common, readily available insert on the Market.

Byrd uses a 15x15 but they are slightly curved and more expensive.

[Ben Grefe]

I put a Byrd head into a grizzly 8 inch jointer from 1992, it’s amazing. I can’t compare it to other insert heads, but I’m very happy with the upgrade.

I though my bearings were were fine until I took the head off. Turns out one of them was entirely shot.

[John Kee]

Chris, the design virtually eliminates any scalloping, better insert registration with the head, more inserts for longer overall cutter life. Each head is balanced to completely eliminate vibration. Personally I always try to find the best quality for the money I'm willing to spend and my research indicated that Byrd just had too many not good enoughs. Also in talking with Hermance, when we were picking up 3 heads we found out, years ago they were installers of the Byrd until they had issues with quality. You can take that for what it's worth. Compare the 2 heads yourself and decide what works for you.

[Andrew Hughes]

I had a Bryd head in a 8 jointer. I sold it after the second set of inserts my desire to work exocits or dirty woods has passed. I have a jointer with straight knives but still have a planer with the Bryd head.
Alan you should keep the OEM head wrapped in a good coating of grease. Someday you might want to upgrade the jointer back to the straight knifes. If you could also find the time to measure the knife pockets for the hook angle and share the number here I'd appreciate it. It can be done with the head out of the machines. Just trace the outline out on a piece of paper it's much easier to measure. Sorry for the homework ,I will owe you a Daniel Webster Cigar.

[Alan Heffernan]

. . . . . . . If you could also find the time to measure the knife pockets for the hook angle and share the number here I'd appreciate it. It can be done with the head out of the machines. Just trace the outline out on a piece of paper it's much easier to measure. Sorry for the homework ,I will owe you a Daniel Webster Cigar.

No problem. When I pull it, I will post up the info here.

[Brian Branesky]

Mark, did you add the Byrd head to a pj882 that you put the brass shims in? I purchased a new to me Pj882 with a Byrd cutter and am having a difficult time getting the out feed table to match the cutter head along the cutter head so was thinking I may just have to shim one side. Thanks

[Andrew Hughes]

Brian are you sure the table are coplaner. I run into this several times first order of business tables match then cutter head.
Its easy to get lost in what should be a very simple machine.
Good Luck

[Allan Speers]

I've had issues when rotating cutters.

You have to take them completely out and make sure the seat surface is dust free.

You also have to tighten them with a socket wrench, not the screwdriver they supply.

Actually, you should tighten them with a TORQUE wrench, but otherwise, this advice is spot on. Dirt, or incorrect / uneven tension, are known causes of a wavy finish. Many users have reported eliminating this problem after a good cleaning and a proper torquing.

Also, of course, buy a quality head. IMO, Shelix is the only game in town.


And yeah, here come the jokes about "A proper torquing."

[Darcy Warner]

Actually, you should tighten them with a TORQUE wrench, but otherwise, this advice is spot on. Dirt, or incorrect / uneven tension, are known causes of a wavy finish. Many users have reported eliminating this problem after a good cleaning and a proper torquing.

Also, of course, buy a quality head. IMO, Shelix is the only game in town.


And yeah, here come the jokes about "A proper torquing."

Shelix is the cheapest, mass produced head.

The best head made is a Newman quiet cut, but one of those costs as much as a car, but with surface a million + feet of lumber before you had to replace inserts.

Gladu, hermance, global, and numerous others are making commercial quality heads.

[lee cox]

I did just so I wouldn't have to adjust knives ever again. Easy to do. Takes an hour or two. Lots of videos on how to do it. I dont see any scalloping on my jointer or my jointer/planer both with byrd heads.

I also hated adjusting jointer knives. I found an

Oneway Multi-gauge for adjusting jointer knives which makes it real easy and fast. To me the difference is like adjusting a table saw by eye vs using a dial indicator. Using the

Oneway Multi-gauge I can get within .002 when setting my blades. Setting the blades by hand I was never closer than .007 and that was my best job. With only .002 out my jointing is real smooth. There are very small knife lines but no scalloping or anything like that.

[Jeff Bartley]

Shelix is the cheapest, mass produced head.

The best head made is a Newman quiet cut, but one of those costs as much as a car, but with surface a million + feet of lumber before you had to replace inserts.

Gladu, hermance, global, and numerous others are making commercial quality heads.

Doesn't Hermance make a head for Newman? Or maybe they just put one of their heads in some of the newer Newmans?

Was here that you posted pictures of the Hermance head you installed in a big planer? What I got from that was the Hermance head was designed also to direct chips into collection chute.

I need to replace the bearings in my Newman 600 and have been trying to decide if I should replace the head too. When/if that happens it'll be from Hermance.

[Allan Speers]

Shelix is the cheapest, mass produced head.

The best head made is a Newman quiet cut, but one of those costs as much as a car, but with surface a million + feet of lumber before you had to replace inserts.

Gladu, hermance, global, and numerous others are making commercial quality heads.

Well, I just learned something new. Back when I was looking, Hermance didn't yet exist, or wasn't well known.

I wouldn't knock Shelix though, It's a fine head and much nicer than the straight-aligned Grizzly heads, and much better carbide quality than other heads coming from overseas. They also use top quality Japanese bearings. And if you use a torque wrench, they provide a consistently flat finish.

As for the number of cutters, for my PM100, Shelix has Hexihead beat by a mile: 80 knives, vs the Helihex's 60.

From what I can see, the biggest plus (possibly the ONLY plus) for a Hermance is that they are dynamically balanced. That probably doesn't even matter most of the time, but it eliminates the possiblity of a slightly off head, which Shelix does not. Their 8" head is only about $150 more, so it does seem like a good choice, but I like the extra number of heads on the SHelix, and the numbers of problems I've read about, with Shelix heads being out of balance, is exactly ZERO. It probably happens, but how often?

And a final word about marketing bull: Hermance doesn't really make "custom heads for every machine." I just talked to the guy, and when I mentioned my PM100, he said, "Oh yeah, we've done a few of those. I think we used the Hxxxx model." So they make a certain number of styles, then pick which one will fit a given machine.
- And so does Shelix. They can supply a head / bearings for virtually any vintage machine, if you ask.

Anyway, thanks. It's good to have options.

[Mark Carlson]

Brian, I have a PM54a which is a 6 in jointer with long beds. After intsalling my byrd head I used a dial indicator to measure the height of the cutter across the width and found that the head nearest the fence was low so I just lossened the bolts holding the cutterhead in place and slipped in a shim to raise it a couple of thousands. Note this jointer has dovetail ways so I'm limited in adjustments on the outfeed table. That was 7 years ago and I still haven't rotated the cutters although I'm thinking about it. I have a larger jointer that I use more often.

Mark, did you add the Byrd head to a pj882 that you put the brass shims in? I purchased a new to me Pj882 with a Byrd cutter and am having a difficult time getting the out feed table to match the cutter head along the cutter head so was thinking I may just have to shim one side. Thanks