Planer upgrade

two part answer

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Is the helix head worth the price?

Two part answer.

You have the answer to this question at hand.

Did you have problems planing without one? I don't and I have planed tens of thousand bdft of Appalachian hardwoods.

What is you aggravation tolerance to dealing with sharpening straight knives? I have a knife grinder on board so I have no problem sharpening. Personally, without an onboard grinder I would go for the segmented cutter head as a means of having sharp knives at all times. Quality lumber surfacing depends on sharp knives.

Re: two part answer

Tom Dunlap

Thx Bill

I’ve had the throw away blades for my AP12 sharpened. They work fine and are cheap and easy

I have no clue if the Shelix head gives a better finish or is capable of removing more material than blades. I gather that stock removal isn’t much different because of power demands. And...I don’t do a lot of planing so taking a bit more time isn’t a big deal

With my AP12 my procedure has been to air dry outdoors. Then take the wood to a shop to be planed leaving me with smooth surfaces and thicknesses I can deal with. The cost has been nominal and I’ve been able to have wider boards than minus 12” to fit AP12

If the motor burned up that changes everything though. I’m info gathering now

Re: Planer upgrade

Barry Irby

I agree with Bill....

I have a 6" jointer and upgraded the cutter to a Shelix head. I like it a lot. Leaves an excellent surface and easy to change out a cutter if you nick one, but clearly requires somewhat more power. I can bog the machine down and I don't remember ever doing that before. All In all, I am happy with the upgrade.

I think you will be pleased with the 735, it gets excellent reviews. I have an older version ans like it but have not upgraded the head. Too much money to sink into a 15+ year old machine. I "thought" I was spending a lot of time changing knives, so I started writing the date on them. Turns out I have gone three years, average about once a year and the shortest was 6 months. Takes about thirty minutes or less to change the knives and I have the version with knives that can be sharpened. I sharpen them myself. Made a jig and did it with a diamond hone. Took less than thirty minutes.

Pardon all the babble, If I were in the market and that machine was in good shape, I would buy it. Put it on a 20 amp circuit and play with light cuts until you get a feel for it.

Re: Planer upgrade

Bruce, a MN Galoot

With Shelix head yes, without Shelix head, no.

Dewalt blades are crap, too soft, and hard to sharpen because they can’t be adjusted. If you can find someone who will sharpen, they can be done only once or twice.

Shelix head leaves a good finish. The Jet planer at my woodworking club has a Shelix head, and used as much as it is, the inserts have been rotated only one time in two years.

I have a 735 with the factory head, and I wish I had never gotten it. Waiting for my ship to come in so I can get the Shelix.

The 735 is also very loud. Other than the head, I like the planer.

You can come try mine if you’d like.

Re: Planer upgrade

JL

I have the DW735.

I have gone through many a blade. I do NOT recommend DeWalt blades - you can find better ones elsewhere at a cheaper price.

That being said - is a Shelix head worth it?

That depends. If you are doing a lot of figured wood, possibly.

Other than that, no.

I have planed hundreds of board feet through my DW735.

I have worn out the dust shroud twice.

If you really feel a desire/need for the Shelix head - your choice.

I plane plain wood, not highly figured - so I haven't felt the need.

Now if was REALLY cheap to get a Shelix head - I would probably do it.

Re: Planer upgrade

Larry Edinger

If you plane a lot of Figure wood I would use Shelix bade!

Test run...road trip

Tom Dunlap

Tomorrow morning I’m driving out to Bruce’s with some walnut for a test run

Great community we have here

The 734 is also a good option

David Weaver

I don't use a planer that often, but when I do, I usually abuse the one that I have. I didn't do this originally (had a delta 22-580 that I babied, it was two speed but never fed right on the slow/fine speed - at some point, something in a piece of wood bent one of the chipbreaker bars a tiny amount and caused a feed problem - I could get the metal reshaped so that it wouldn't clog and beat itself up more and go figure, whatever breaks on an unspported machine results in that particular part being NLA when you go to look).

The 734 is a better planer than the 22-580 was, it's just a hair narrower than the 735, but is a couple of hundred bucks cheaper than the 735 (still three knife), uses inexpensive knives and is more similar to the older lunch box planers. Can't remember if it came with a dust hood, but it doesn't shove the chips up the line with a built in chip blower like the 735 (Again, more like the older one).

The reason I bought mine was cost and simplicity - there's no various options, etc, it just has the typical stamped tables already installed (at the time that I got it, maybe 6 years ago, they were $349), and because they are still 4 post design with a cutterhead lock.

It's probably quieter than the 735, but realistically, if you have hearing protection on, only the stationary planers with a helical head are really that quiet.

plan for late morning

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

This place serves fantastic lunches. Unsure if they still offer inside dining.

Son in law recently bought this machine and it does a dandy job. Well thought out machine.