Poll: Jointer Cutter Head: Straight Blades or Helical Segmented ?

[Orlando Gonzalez]

Byrd head on my PM 50

[Cary Falk]

I have a Bird in my ShopFox 1781 8" jointer. Less noise, no setting of knives, I haven't rotated the inserts once yet and I have had the jointer for probably 8 years. I don't have any knicks in the inserts. I put a knick in the knives the first day when I had steel knives.

[Matt Day]

I have a Bird in my ShopFox 1781 8" jointer.

Wow, that thing must hate it in there and make a lot of noise when you run a board over it.

[Alex Zeller]

I was all set to buy a powermatic straight blade jointer new the next time they had a sale when an almost new used one with the helical head showed up on facebook with a mobile base for hundreds less than what the new one would cost. I like that I don't have to set knives and the inserts seam to last for ever (they never have been rotated on the jointer I bought and still have plenty of life in them) but if given a choice of saving $500 and dealing with HSS blades I would have saved the money.

[Ray Newman]

In 2002, I purchased a JET 8" jointer. A short time after I installed the Tersa HSS blades and satisfied with the cut results and ease of blade change.

If I was starting over, I would seriously look a Bryd/Shelix cuter head.

[Andy D Jones]

Hammer A3-41 16" combo jointer/planer with helical carbide head.

The only thing I have to compare it with is my old Ryobi AP-10 10" planer, and an ancient Craftsman cast iron 4" dovetail-wayed jointer, neither of which is even close, though both did a decent job for me (and the jointer for my grandfather before me), within their limitations (power and capacity), and except on difficult grain.

I haven't yet had a chance to try out the A3-41 on any difficult grain, and while I expect it will do a better job, I'm not expecting any miracles.

Apart from the capacity, I'd much rather rotate/change inserts than fiddle with aligning straight blades.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Derek Cohen]

Hammer A3-31 helix segmented carbide inserts

You really do not want to be sharing straight blades frequently, as I would owing the the local abrasive hard woods.

Very fine performance and probably the most inexpensive option over time..

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Robert London]

I would never get anything less than a spiral/helical cutter on a new jointer. Especially a planer. It’s a superior cut, far less noise, runs smoother, and it’s actually cheaper in the long run.

Some are just old school and like straight knives, though. If you keep them sharp, join reclaimed or old wood for fear of nails or other objects, straight knives can have some merit. The larger you go, the noisier knives get.

I would consider a used jointer that had Tersa as there is no setting and replaced in minutes. The carbide tersa blades can get very expensive though. Some manufacturers aren’t even making new equipment with straight knives anymore, so there is a reason because what people are buying.

[glenn bradley]

Glen there is two of these poll threads.
Yours is still on the other one.

Doh!!!

10 characters

[Mike Kees]

Not sure why anyone wants a segmented head on a jointer,this is a machine that gives you a flat face and square edge to work from. If I spent money on a helical head it would go in my planer where closer to finish surfaces are produced in my shop.

[Andy D Jones]

Not sure why anyone wants a segmented head on a jointer,this is a machine that gives you a flat face and square edge to work from. If I spent money on a helical head it would go in my planer where closer to finish surfaces are produced in my shop.

Except when your jointer and planer are the same machine, with the same cutter head...

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Cary Falk]

Not sure why anyone wants a segmented head on a jointer,this is a machine that gives you a flat face and square edge to work from. If I spent money on a helical head it would go in my planer where closer to finish surfaces are produced in my shop.

The reasons have been stated throughout this thread(and many others) by different people. Did you not read the thread? Sometimes I need the jointed surface(especially highly figured wood) to be as close to the finished surface as possible.

[Mike Kees]

The reasons have been stated throughout this thread(and many others) by different people. Did you not read the thread? Sometimes I need the jointed surface(especially highly figured wood) to be as close to the finished surface as possible.

Yeah Cary I read the the thread. I have a 16'' jointer with T1 HSS steel knives and a 100mm diameter cutterhead it works very well as is. Would it work better with a helical cutterhead ? Maybe,but I am not going to drop more money than I paid for my jointer to find out. Like I said before for me and the work I do ,I would consider changing the head in my planer long before I would do my jointer. I plane both sides of wood that has first been flattened on my jointer,so see no need to have a helical head on my jointer. YMMV.

[Ben Helmich]

Inserts if you can swing it financially. I hate installing and adjusting knives.

[Will Boulware]

I'm a straight knives fan.

Crescent 24" jointer, babbitt bearings, belt drive
4 knife Crescent cutterhead

I use it because I've got it, but the stock cutterhead leaves such a good finish on everything that I wouldn't consider changing it out. Knives last a LONG time because you can spread the work out over the width of the tables, and after you change them once and figure it out, it's just not that big a deal to swap them out. I have 4 of them to change, and if I'm taking an inordinate amount of time, it's a 2 hour job. Usually takes about an hour, and I usually get a few years out of them once they're on there.

I've used other smaller, lighter-weight machines with 3 knife heads and the surface finish was notably different. If you're looking at a smaller imported machine, I'd spring for the insert head. If it's a good heavy machine, give the stock head a chance first.