Carbide inserts, jointer planer

[kevin nee]

Hello, I have a Grizzly 12 inch jointer with a Byrd head and a Powermatic 20 inch planer with a Powermatic installed head.
I talked to Powermatic and they said the inserts are the same size as Byrd. I have a broken insert on the Grizzly with no spare Byrd carbide cutters . I do have Powermatic cutters. Any issues with using different cutters if they are the same size.
Any suggestions on a supplier of carbide inserts.
Thanks in advance, Kevin

[Orlando Gonzalez]

If you are looking for Byrd replacement inserts go to Holbren Cutters at holbren-dot-com. He carries them at a good price. Also check out his/Byrd's instructions on how to seat them. You are going to need a T25P torx head bit and a torque wrench/screwdriver in inch/lbs (set to 45 in/lbs) not in ft/lbs. Although you can get away from getting a torque wrench/screwdriver, I would recommend it.

[J.R. Rutter]

Last time I replaced the inserts on my Global Tooling moulder heads, I went direct to the source via alibaba. It took a little while to nail down the exact specs, but I was able to get them from the carbide manufacturer for quite a bit less vs Global. Overall a fairly easy process once the alibaba account was set up. Obviously not the way to go if you just need a couple of inserts, but maybe when it is time for a full replacement...