LUX vs Shelix Cutter Heads

[tim walker]

LUX ships in a few days; $549

Sheliix 10-12 months shipping: $423

Has anyone used the LUX III heads? If so, how long to replace the kit on the DW735 13" planer? Even though I could save $126, I might go thru enough DeWalt blades to justify. You random thoughts? BTW, Stumpy Nubs has a good review and he likes both of them.

[Randy Heinemann]

I know you will get a lot of responses contrary to mine . . . I have owned my Dewalt 735 for at least 15 years and have not replaced my original equipment steel knife heads with the helix cutter heads. By the time the Shelix became commonly available, my planer was in the 8 - 10 year old range and it didn't seem to make sense to replace the heads given the expense and the age of the planer (not to mention the effort and possible failure given my mechanical skills).

For my use, the steel knives have always served me well. Whenever I found knife sets on sale I bought extra sets. I take my time planing and take off smaller bites with each pass than is even recommended. This takes me longer but I get great reasults and have reduced the snipe just from this.

I have also bought a jig online, the Deulen jig (now sold by Rockler) - Deulen Planer & Jointer Sharpening Jigs-Sharpening Jigs | Rockler Woodworking and Hardware While honing the knives probably doesn't get them quite as sharp as they were out of the box, they are sharp. Sharpening each edge once allows me to cut my knife cost in half.

There are various sources online which sell these knives very inexpensively, but I can't verify whether they are good quality or not because I haven't ever used any knives except Dewalt./

So my experience has been positive just using the 735 as designed with the factory knives. To a large degree, whether purchasing and installing the Shelix or Lux heads makes sense for you depends on your use of the planer. If you run a high volume of wood through and use it everyday it may make sense to replace the heads. However, I would argue that, if you use the planer that heavily, a larger, heavier duty planer may make more sense. I'm not sure, with heavy usage, how long a Dewalt 735 would last. It's designed more for hobby woodworkers who will run a certain amount of wood through for a project, then maybe not use it agina till that project is done. I realize that some put it to heavier use than that, but I doubt Dewalt designed it with everyday use in mind.

Then, there is the issue that I would think, by now, Dewalt would have offered the helical head option at purchase if the machine was truly designed for the extra demand the helical heads put on the motor. I have read of a number of woodworkers who have had some problems tripping the machines reset and tripping breakers; even a couple cases of 20 amp circuits tripping.

I am a firm believer that use of a machine as it is designed is the best wat to make it last for a long time. Of course, this is all just my opinion and I'm sure you will get a number of responses which disagree with mine.

[Jonathan Jung]

If you have the room for a floor machine, and have the time to swap out heads, I'd rather spend the time upgrading a used but more substantial 12 or 13" planer such as an old Powermatic, then sell your Dewalt.

[Andrew Hughes]

If your destroying the dewalt knives quickly consider buying infinity carbide tipped knives. When I had a 735 I upgraded to the infinity knives. I used them on many of the nasty hard exotics including Gaboon Ebony with mineral streaks. They held up great.
Dewalt knives carbide or regular can be sharpened and since their indexable why would you put a insert head in. Don’t be fooled by some fake YouTuber.
I have a pm planer with bryd head it isn’t that great.
For soft woods it’s leaves a D- finish

[Greg Parrish]

I didn’t see this thread before starting a new one. Ooops. Anyway, I just ordered a LUX head for my Jet JJ-8CS jointer for the very reason you mention above. I have a Shelix in my DW735 and am familiar with it so I’m curious to know how the LUX will compare as well. I know everyone immediately goes to the “you don’t need segmented and just buy better straight blades” posts, but I like the segmented versions for the reduced noise. My Jet is so loud when jointing white oak that I can actually feel the sound vibrating my teeth sometimes. So far, the only possible downside I can see with the LUX is that it uses different cutters so I can’t share them between the two machines. Other than that, it appears to be very similar.

LUX ships in a few days; $549

Sheliix 10-12 months shipping: $423

Has anyone used the LUX III heads? If so, how long to replace the kit on the DW735 13" planer? Even though I could save $126, I might go thru enough DeWalt blades to justify. You random thoughts? BTW, Stumpy Nubs has a good review and he likes both of them.

[Dave VanDewerker]

The one thing I have noticed as I get older is that I am much more sensitive to load sounds than I used to be. Several years ago I replace a perfectly good Ryobi Oscillating Spindle Sander with a Jet, the Jet is not a better sander, as a matter of fact it is probably worse, but it is silent. The Ryobi was a screamer even wearing ear plugs and muffs together, it was exhausting to use. I replaced my 735 head for mostly the same reason, the difference in sound between straight knives and a segmented head is huge. I have also replaced my shop vac for this reason and I will soon be replacing my air compressor.

[Andrew Hughes]

When I had a 735 dewalt planer the fan motor that spits out the chips was the part that made all the noise.

[Dave VanDewerker]

When I had a 735 dewalt planer the fan motor that spits out the chips was the part that made all the noise.

Yeap, removed the impeller, draws less amps and quieter. Also not needed if you have a good dust collector.

[Tony Leonard]

I have the DeWalt 735 too. I added the Shelix head several years ago. I have been very pleased with it. I can plane highly figured wood any which way I decide to run it through. Now, it does not result in the glass smooth surface of brand new knives, but that never lasted long anyway. I have not swapped or turned any cutters in a couple of years. Let me qualify this whole experience - I am a hobby woodworker. I mainly use mahogany, maple, cherry, poplar, etc. So, not really a heavy user. I don't recall how long it took to swap, but it was not hard at all. I don't care about noise, how many watts, etc. None of that is significant to me. I don't recall what I paid, but it was in the $400 range I think (actually, Mrs. Claus gave it to me for Christmas!). I had the same thoughts about the investment, but it has turned out to be a good investment for me.

I recently added the Lux head to my 6" jointer. That was much easier to swap and I have been very happy with it. The head seemed very well made. Nicely packaged, perfect fit, etc. Took a couple of months to get here.

Very happy with both.

Tony - Memphis (flatlands of TN!)

[Bernie Kopfer]

Yeap, removed the impeller, draws less amps and quieter. Also not needed if you have a good dust collector.

I did not know (or never thought about it) that the impeller could be removed. I have a couple of times fired the planer up forgetting to attach the DC hose and the resulting dust storm is horrible! Anybody need a used impeller.?

[Peter Schussheim]

one difference is that byrd manufactures in the United States while the lux knives are from taiwan. Yes, I know the dewalt machine is made in taiwan but some folks care about these sort of things (such as me)

[Greg Parrish]

LUX ships in a few days; $549 Sheliix 10-12 months shipping: $423
Has anyone used the LUX III heads? If so, how long to replace the kit on the DW735 13" planer? Even though I could save $126, I might go thru enough DeWalt blades to justify. You random thoughts? BTW, Stumpy Nubs has a good review and he likes both of them.

Tim,

As mentioned above, I put a shelix head in my DW735 and it works great. Install time took me maybe 1 hour. The longest part of the install was removing and replacing all of the cutters as I bought the OEM sized version. It cuts and works great with no complaints.

Couldn't get one of the shelix heads for my jointer without a long, long wait. Went with the Lux brand. I received the Lux head for my Jet JJ-8CS jointer 2 days ago. Had a chance to start on install last night and it was pretty straight forward. Was especially nice that the Lux came pre-installed with new bearings, but the shelix DW735 did also I think. Anyway, machining and quality look great on the Lux head. The cutters are super sharp. I need to finish my table and fence tonight alignment tonight and I should be ready to run some wood through it. If I had any complaint, and only because I have the shelix in the other machine, the cutters are different design so I can't share cutters. Other than that, I see no issues so far. Will report back if anything wonky happens when running boards through it but I don't anticipate any issues.

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