Shelix cutter for the DeWalt DW735 Thickness planer

[tugnut1]

I have the Dewalt DW735 thickness planer and I absolutely love it.  It is by far the best thickness planer I have ever used.  To get anything better, I think you need to at least double the price of this unit...($1000+)

 

After talking with Rich @rrmccabe last night and talking with a buddy at work that has the same unit, I started looking at this unit in Amazon.  My buddy at work just bought some new carbon tipped knives from infinity and asked what I had.  I bought two sets of Powertech hardened steel knives for about half of what he paid for the carbon ones.  

 

This led us to talking about helical cutter heads.  I didn't realize that they made a direct replacement for the dw735 planer on Amazon.  He said that he saw the replacement head under $400 in the past and was waiting for it to drop more.  I just checked it out and noticed it is just over $500 right now.  If it ever does get under $400, I'll be all over it.

 

The only knock on the DW735 is how long the knives last on it.  They are prone to nicks and need to be changed at least yearly for me.  If I can switch over to a helical cutter, I know I can get at least 4 years+ out of the replaceable knives on the cutter head.  

 

Also, these cutters are supposed to be so much more quiet.

 

Has anyone switched over to the helical cutter head yet and if so, how do you like it?

 

Here is the link that I have to the helical cutter head.  This cutter is supposed to be situated a little differently than standard heads, but I don't know much about that yet.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Byrd-Tool-Shelix-cutterhead-Dewalt/dp/B008CS2QAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484592612&sr=8-1&keywords=helical+cutterhead

[rrmccabe]

I saw the Helical was available from Shelix when I ordered my planer. But I am with you, the price tag is a little steep for my liking so wont be something in my near future.  I also wonder if there is any less snipe with the helical as they are staggered and not perpendicular to the board like the stock knives.

 

Nice that you have 4 sides but rotating all those cutters one at a time would require a lot of beer.

 

[DR99]

The only thing is I think I saw somewhere where someone had an issue with a warranty claim with a Helical cutter head on the Dewalt Planner I guess the increased rotational mass can cause some problems

[ChrisK]

13 minutes ago, tugnut1 said:

I have the Dewalt DW735 thickness planer and I absolutely love it.  It is by far the best thickness planer I have ever used.  To get anything better, I think you need to at least double the price of this unit...($1000+)

 

After talking with Rich @rrmccabe last night and talking with a buddy at work that has the same unit, I started looking at this unit in Amazon.  My buddy at work just bought some new carbon tipped knives from infinity and asked what I had.  I bought two sets of Powertech hardened steel knives for about half of what he paid for the carbon ones.  

 

This led us to talking about helical cutter heads.  I didn't realize that they made a direct replacement for the dw735 planer on Amazon.  He said that he saw the replacement head under $400 in the past and was waiting for it to drop more.  I just checked it out and noticed it is just over $500 right now.  If it ever does get under $400, I'll be all over it.

 

The only knock on the DW735 is how long the knives last on it.  They are prone to nicks and need to be changed at least yearly for me.  If I can switch over to a helical cutter, I know I can get at least 4 years+ out of the replaceable knives on the cutter head.  

 

Also, these cutters are supposed to be so much more quiet.

 

Has anyone switched over to the helical cutter head yet and if so, how do you like it?

 

Here is the link that I have to the helical cutter head.  This cutter is supposed to be situated a little differently than standard heads, but I don't know much about that yet.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Byrd-Tool-Shelix-cutterhead-Dewalt/dp/B008CS2QAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484592612&sr=8-1&keywords=helical+cutterhead

I have the 734 and the cost to upgrade my planer is crazy money but I do own the Powermatic  54HH and it is absolutely amazing. It is way quieter than any jointer I've ever used, the cuts are beautiful and like my easy wood tools the cutter heads are super easy to rotate and or replace though truthfully I haven't had to rotate any. I would love to get the 735, I would certainly replace the blades with helical units if I had the cash for the 735,  but for the 734, which I absolutely love by the way, it is waaaayyyyy too expensive. This coming from a Festool guy. 

 

In short helical head equals super good cuts, easy blade replacement and huge noise reduction.

[tugnut1]

27 minutes ago, DR99 said:

The only thing is I think I saw somewhere where someone had an issue with a warranty claim with a Helical cutter head on the Dewalt Planner I guess the increased rotational mass can cause some problems

 

 

I can see changing cutter heads voiding the DeWalt warranty.  I will most certainly have to look at potential issues that this change out can cause before I go ahead and purchase it.  Thanks for the heads up.

[DR99]

I don't know if the post was from here or a FB tool group I was a part of. Dewalt did take care of his issue though but wouldn't fix any further damage. Like you mentioned you have to spend a ton more money to get to the next level of planer compared to the Dewalt, so I can understand upgrading it.