Originally Posted by
brent stanley
Hi Julie, I've seen many different discussions about the power issue but the results are all over the map. It's my feeling that it's semantics because it doesn't ever make any difference that anyone would actually notice. I swapped out a 3-knife for a Byrd head and even if there is a difference in power demands (and I personally have never measured) it didn't actually make any difference in the practical, real world.....and that's what matters. Any discussion about affects on power is marketing wank in my opinion.
Hi Brent,
When I first heard about helical cutter heads, my first thought regarding power consumption is that it would consume less power than straight knife heads. In my mind's eye I saw tiny cutters contacting the wood, compared to a long straight knife, as the reason for reduced power consumption.
Stumpy states the tiny fraction of a second between knife cuts gives the motor a free moment of rest and a chance to increase RPM. But once that knife hits the wood again, wouldn't that put a much greater load on the motor than a single insert? That seems a reasonable assumption.
One could argue the RPM of the head creates a load on the motor similar to several inserts chopping away at the wood simultaneously but it would never equal the load created by a single knife, at least not on wider stock.
When I was having issues with the DW735, I considered installing the Byrd head because I reasoned it would be easier on the motor and thus the planer would perform better. But, IIRC, there were some here who said after installing a helical head they had to take lighter passes because the theory Stumpy presented was in fact true. On the other hand, somewhere in the cobwebs of my mind, I think I remember someone taking an amp-meter to their planer before and after installing a helical head and the helical head drew less amps.
Yet the concern I hear most often about cutter heads is the time it takes to change knives vs. inserts. So it seems power consumption ranks, at best, second when choosing what cutter head one prefers. But probably much lower than that. The load a cutter head puts on the planer motor is only an issue when your planer is struggling to do the job you need it to do.
Last edited by Julie Moriarty; 09-17-2018 at 9:30 AM.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain