Shelix Cutterhead Review - One Year Later

#woodworking #cutterhead #review #shelix
My Shelix Cutterhead Review after one year of use! Many people have asked what I thought about it and here are my thoughts on it. This may be eye opening for some of you and I hope that I can shed light on your questions. I had an issue with a gear on my cutterhead causing me to remove the head from the planer, which led to the review since I had it out. Many thanks to Chad @ Byrd Tool for the awesome customer service!
Installation of my Shelix Cutterhead:
• Upgrade Your Planer l ...
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[@rea59]

I have found that with temperature changes in the shop that it is possible to have the carbide cutter crack and break off due to over/under torqueing. (Temp change increases/decreases the stress on the screw mount) This is the only issue I have had with. mine, but I buy my inserts from a bulk carbide provider for about 1.35 each. I think in one season I'll replace around 7~8 cutters. I absolutely love the finish I get of highly figured Hickory.

[@larryk6330]

I've been researching this upgrade for a few months now and the first video was the only one I've seen that gave a detailed explanation of how it's done. Follow up video was also helpful to see how you liked the upgrade a year later. You helped make up my mind to pull the trigger and get it done. Thanks.

[@rhwoodshop]

You won’t regret it. It has got to be one of the best investments I have made in my shop. So glad you liked the video and my explanation of the benefits and cons.

[@larryk6330]

So I just installed my new cutter head and the difference is amazing. My Dewalt 735 actually runs quieter than before and the cut quality is excellent. I just ran a bunch of white oak and walnut and the finish off the machine is amazing. Couldn't be happier with the results. I highly recommend this upgrade. Thanks for your videos. They helped me make up my mind and gave me some very helpful tips when it came to the install.

[@TLW71]

As soon as you mentioned airflow, I decided to continue listening! Excellent video, (not worried about rubber shrinkage....I have Radiant heat and walkout basement shop..... nearly same good temp and humidity all year :) I wish I had bought the OEM size though. But this is such a great improvement. I hardly used my planer and bought a Drum sander. The standard knives are not good as you say, and chip easily, rendering the planer nearly useless. I use all hardwoods for furniture and the Cutting boards I make have grain in different directions. But, now I put a piece of one of my favorite woods, Bloodwood through and it come out like a mirror finish. And I can plane most of the finished cutting boards, which now require almost no sanding, a huge time saver. I liked the Shelix so much, I bought one of my old Delta 6" jointer. Same issues with blades and now it is a totally new and very usable machine. Big problem with the jointer was getting the pulley off. Had to go to a small motor shop, who struggled with it. The Key had very sharp burrs along both edges and these dug into the pulley on the way out! I took them off on my Diamond stone.

[@stevegronsky8904]

Good job Drew. Clearly explained the problem and the fix.

[@rhwoodshop]

+Steve Gronsky Thank You Steve! So glad you liked it.

[@summerswoodworking]

Video and audio were off a bit towards the end, but I am glad you made this video. I always wondered how this was done.

[@rhwoodshop]

+Summers Woodworking really. I know that there’s been reports on KZbin that audio on videos have been off on several different peoples accounts. I’ll have to check that out

[@ArmyVet76]

I upgraded to Sheilix on my 15” Hd Planner and 6” Joiner. Greatest investment for for shop definitely.

[@BearCreekWoodworking]

Very Cool Intro and Graphics Drew! As a testimonial to the life of helical (spiral ) knives, I use to work at a sawmill. There we had a 24" dimensional planer ( not a finish planer ) with a helical head. We ran 50,000 bd/ft through it each day. We rotated the knives once every three months. Which means each cutting surface cut 3,000,000 bd/ft between each rotation or change. Unless we hit something of course...lol. Helical knives are superior to straight knives in faster feed rate (if your planer has adjustable speed rate), smoother planed surface on the wood, less noise, and they are faster and easier to change if you hit metal in a piece of wood.

[@rhwoodshop]

+Bear Creek Woodworking that is an awesome testimonial Carl. Thank you for sharing that. Hopefully that will open eyes too.

[@BearCreekWoodworking]

Thanks Drew. I hope so. Helical knives are well worth the money.

[@countrysideworkshop]

Well done drew!

[@rhwoodshop]

Thank you sir glad you approve

[@michaelmcdonough1989]

Another great explanation. Always enjoy your videos. GO OU.

[@rhwoodshop]

+Michael Mcdonough boomer sooner. Although people do you confuse that with my boom logo. Does not relate in the slightest. Thank You!!!

[@scottyV1000]

Thanks, I have a Dewalt 734 and have been on the fence about putting a Shelix in it or upgrading to a 735 and replacing the cutter head in that. It looks like it's going to be a "job" regardless so I'll probably do the 734. I have been having problems with roller slippage so your tips are helpful with that - mostly hardwoods. I think it could be a combination of finer dust plus possibly more oil in hardwoods. I've been cleaning the rollers with alcohol - lacquer thinner is a pretty aggressive solvent and might damage the rollers over time.

[@RonMarshallrone]

I've had mine since 2015 in a ridgid planner and love it. I started getting grooves in the wood this year but i was lazy and just flipped it around and that took care of those but i decided to fix that and rotate the cutterheads and man now its groove central so tomorrow I'm gonna take them all off, use some Trend tool cleaner on EVERYTHING because I'm sure its just dust build up causing this so I hope that does the trick but 4 years....4 YEARS and I'm just now rotating the blades for the first time. I run a furniture making business on the side of my FT job and always a month or two out on orders so that planner is running alot. Imagine how many knives I would of bought in that time? I have a shelix in my Jet jointer as well and never had to rotate those blades yet either and I got that 6 years ago. Yea its expensive and not the easiest thing to put on but I mean I'd probably spent over a $1500 by now on knives. Totally worth it and great vid.

[@rhwoodshop]

That’s an awesome testimonial. I have only rotated the blades in this particular head from this video once since this video was posted. I run my planer once a week for an entire day to mill up lumber for my contract for that week. They hold up wonderfully.

[@drm437]

like the video and the Dewalt planer is my next purchase and i love the idea of a helical upgrade, but the mechanical aspect of switching the cutterheads out is pretty daunting.

[@rhwoodshop]

Check out my first video when I replaced it, it will make it less daunting for you. It’s in great detail

[@Grassy20]

I am planning on buying the Dewalt planer here in the very near future and was also going to buy the Shelix cutterhead. Would you recommend getting the smaller one so I don't have to remove the knives? The videos that I've watched by people that bought the OEM version mostly said they did that so they didn't have to change their original height settings. Since my machine would be new and I would need to calibrate them anyway, should I just get the smaller one? What are your thoughts?

[@steveswoodworking2504]

I did not have the experience with Byrd Tool that you did. They shipped me a defective cutter head for my jointer, made too long and it hit. The cutter head on the end stuck out too far. Their response to this was I could just grind that last cutter head partially off, and they'd send me some extra cutter heads. So basically, I could pay full price, keep their defective cutter head, and for the rest of my life, have to grind off part of the last cutter head every time it needed replacing. I even explained to them I was making a KZbin video review of their cutter head, and were they sure that was the best they could do? Yes it was. I ended up returning their defective cutter head, which they weren't standing behind in the slightest.

[@rhwoodshop]

Very sorry to hear that. I hope it doesn’t happen again like that. Very unfortunate.

[@samsonhorvath3614]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I also had received a defective cutter head for my makita 2012nb and Byrd has refused to acknowledge their manufacturing error. Their cutter head is longer than my original and does not fit into the head housing! Customer service was terrible. I sent it back for them the review and they modified it and then tried to charge me for it!

[@elishawoodall4891]

i work for byrd tool its so cool to see this

[@themakerway]

I'm sure it was a pain to install the blades inside the plainer. Nice vid man, this is the kind of improvements that seems very expensive at the moment, but saves a lot of money at the long run. Thanks for the nice and clear explanation.

[@rhwoodshop]

I’ll tell you it’s never fun to do it. Tight space to get my big o’le hands in. You’re welcome and glad you like it.

[@tomdenny8507]

After Watching Stumpy Nubs' video about the Shelix head and then yours, I converted my DW735 last fall using the OEM head and I have never been happier with my planer. I don't use it as much as you do so my inserts should last me for years. Also, the Shelix head produces more granular chips that are easier for the discharge fan to move and for my dust collector to handle. Was it worth it? I think so. If there is a down side it is that with this head installed my planer can only handle a very thin cut. Try to take too much off and it bogs down. Taking a thinner cut means more passes to get the same work done but is really a small price to pay for the reduced noise and smooth finish generated by this head.

[@rhwoodshop]

Yes they should. Like I said I am full time and only turn them twice in that timeframe. If you only use it once a month then yours should last you four times as long.

Very nice follow up! I also plan to buy a plainer... And a shelix later would be premium 😊

[@rhwoodshop]

+Kühn awesome, you won’t be disappointed. It is an upgrade worth having especially if you’re plane a lot of material

[@dukecarey6949]

Upgraded my 735 about 3 weeks ago but was getting a VERY noticeable groove 4 inches from the left side. After going back & forth with Byrd several times they sent me a tap so I could ream out one of the screw holes a little deeper. Once that task was finished and the knife reinstalled, everything was fine. Really like the quality of the finish on the wood now

[@rhwoodshop]

+Duke Carey See, I agree wholeheartedly about their customer service because they are more than willing to help you troubleshoot problems with their product. They want you to have the best possible product ever and they will do anything to make sure you do. So glad they were able to help you troubleshoot your problem.

[@davidjanuszewski5020]

Good news for Makita 2012NB owners is that Shelix is developing a cutter head as of this writing. Please contact them for further details.

[@michaelfile6477]

I’m so sick of sharpening and replacing knives. I don’t pay anybody for sharpening, I made a jig and do it myself, but I’m going to pull the trigger on this today. I’m over it. Just have to decide OEM or go with the smaller one...good informative video as always. Thanks, Drew!

[@johnwausau64]

What are the mittens for ? Feeling a little insecure on the manhood front ?

[@moisesrobles7884]

The best show I always smash my like botton kaboooooom

[@rhwoodshop]

Best comment ever! Love it! Glad you like what I do and stand for on YT.

[@NGinuity]

Hey Drew, I have that same cutterhead. Just to be clear, the worm gear that you swap is a DeWalt changeover part isn't it? Was it the worm gear that stripped out or was it the cutterhead hole threads?

[@rhwoodshop]

+NGinuity There was an error on both parts. The worm gear failed because there was a manufacturing defect with the threads inside the head which is why Byrd tool replaced it free of charge

[@rhwoodshop]

+NGinuity in answer to your question, yes the part is a changeover from the original head. If you watch my other video you’ll see that it was just unscrewed from the other head and screwed into the Shelix head.

[@NGinuity]

Ah ok. Just making sure i didn't mix uo my install, Haha. I did this upgrade in the summer of 2017. I plane a lot of reclamation stuff and its been nice not trashing a set of blades because of screw shanks i didn't see or have the soft high speed steel dull from sand impregnation.

[@rhwoodshop]

Obviously, you did just fine. Yes having this particular blade set up is so much better than the three blade original head.

[@hastingb]

Kaleo! I like... Thumbs up for that!

[@rhwoodshop]

+Robert Hastings I love that song! Thank You!!!

[@cecildean3648]

I ordered the undersized head and love it. Any special tricks to minimize snipes?

[@rhwoodshop]

+Cecil Dean +Cecil Dean One big thing that causes snipe is your boards are completely flat and the other is the board tilts up as the infield roller is exited and the only thing that is holding the board down is the outfield roller and the cutterhead. Keep the board raised on the outfeed section so it does not tip into the cutterhead. Also using a trailer piece behind your stock will help minimize that as well.

[@HBSuccess]

Just always feed your stock touching or overlapping and finish the run with a piece of scrap behind the last board. I get zero snipe doing this. The scrap become your reference for where you’re at thickness-wise if you’re doing multiple passes.

[@davidjanuszewski5020]

I lift the machine a little off the table as I insert the board, when it takes hold on the out-feed roller I relieve the tension, 99% effective.

[@rhwoodshop]

I do the same both ways! 😉

[@SimplyWoodenCreations1980]

Enjoyed watching, great video. I think I am going to look at planers with the Spiral Cutterhead already installed. At my age just would rather spend the extra bucks then mess with the changes... :) PS gave you a 👍

[@rhwoodshop]

+Simply Wooden Creations Thank You!!! I appreciate it and you might be right there. Sometimes it’s just easier to pay the difference for the upgrade.

[@Mrdubomb]

the ones i see already installed have nowhere near the knives that bryd or lux cut have

[@rhwoodshop]

Oooo good point.

[@nawal28]

have you tested with boards with epoxy ?

[@slamfigjam]

i don't know why but that thumbnail is reminding me of an 80s rock band cd cover lol love it.

[@rhwoodshop]

All I need is some big hair

[@slamfigjam]

Rock-n H Woodshop 😂 😂 my thoughts exactly.

[@doubledarefan]

@@rhwoodshop Take some time to mullet over it, my friend.

[@rhwoodshop]

Lmao too funny

[@johnlowell7394]

I had the opposite experience with a different company. Guess the lesson is you get what you pay for. Purchased a Lux head from my woodcutters, and the pinion pulled out from the head. Could see the metal in the threads. Sent all back, with both Lux and woodcutters stating it was not their problem but mine. neither company stood behind the product, they actually recommended I purchase another cutter head to solve the problem. Fool me once….

[@brucegordon3566]

What your option on shop fox w 1777

[@Loszmi]

Im interesting of head for my Electra Beckum HC260.

[@krazypolak1820]

Mine came out nice and easy

[@rhwoodshop]

Awesome.

[@geon1naz]

What is the size of the nut on the belt pulley?

[@rhwoodshop]

Cannot remember. Maybe 1”

[@BlueAdept596]

Watching the video you put the pulley back on then moved on to putting on the sprockets and chain and chain tensioner. All that time the nut that holds the pulley on was not installed. I hope you eventually remembered to put that on.

[@rhwoodshop]

+Leroy Reeves Yeah I didn’t show every step but I wanted to put a few more parts back on so the pulley can be held in place. The thing about Shelix heads is they don’t have the grooves that hold the head in place while you tighten it down. Once the sprockets and chain were on and connected to everything as a whole then the head didn’t move easily.

[@BlueAdept596]

@@rhwoodshop Good to know. I am planning to install my Shelix head today.

[@rhwoodshop]

Leroy Reeves The only reason I did that is because there was some burring on the threads causing the nut not to want to go on but if you’re nut threads on nicely then you shouldn’t have an issue with needing to put on extra parts. The nut does not need to be super tight it’s more like a hand tight. Watch my prior video and you’ll find out why.

[@BlueAdept596]

@@rhwoodshop Got my OEM head installed yesterday. The process was pretty straight forward and easy. I think the most time consuming part was taking all 40 cutters off and putting them back on, making sure they were seated correctly.

[@tomklein2255]

Love the Shelix, but puts a side load on the board causing the board to not go straight. Tighten up the rollers.

[@bobhaddock957]

did this cutter head eliminate snipe ?

[@rhwoodshop]

Well keep in mind the cutterhead is not responsible for the snipe, it is just a resulting factor of snipe. In order to eliminate snipe your table in-feed and out-feeds must be completely flat or slightly uphill to prevent the wood from gouging into the blade. Also remember that planers are not meant to flatten would only to take it down to a certain thickness. If your wood is not flat and you run it through your planer by the time it exits the in feed roller it may drop into your blade excessively.

[@RonaldJS]

I feel like I've been in a boxing match, half way through and I was bobbing and weaving.

[@rhwoodshop]

🤣 at least I didn’t do bell noises, you would have been late for class. CREED!!!! CREED!!!!

[@maxwaters1461]

Fuck the audio effects. Moved on

[@andygottman8448]

What about snipe? Is it better? Worse? Same?

[@rhwoodshop]

Well the cutterhead isn’t responsible for snipe the cutterhead stays stationary. The reason for snipe is the wood raises up into the cutterhead once the infeed roller is cleared and a couple of things can cause that, either your outfeed table is pointed down causing the wood edge to raise up or there’s not enough pressure from the outfeed roller to keep the wood pressed down again causing the wood to raise up. If I were you I would check the outfeed table to see how it is oriented and either make it completely level with the rest of the planer bed or have it slightly pointed upward to keep the wood from falling into the blade. Another thing you can do is make yourself a fixture that makes a continuous bed from infeed to the outfeed with no joints. I did this several years ago for a different planer and it worked well. Check my videos on how to eliminate snipe.

[@andygottman8448]

Rock-n H Woodshop I thought the Dewalt 735 infeed & outfeed tables were fixed in an upward orientation. I was not aware that they’re adjustable. I’ll check it out. I’m about to start a full time woodworking business and I’ll be using my planer a lot everyday. I’ve been on the fence about the Shelix head.

[@akquicksilver]

OEM (original equipment manufacture) head? Are you saying Byrd is modifying DeWalt knife head to accept their carbides, or what?

[@rhwoodshop]

No, they refer to that particular size head as OEM because it is the same diameter as the original head that comes with your planer. Otherwise you by the 16th inch smaller diameter

[@akquicksilver]

Thanks, that makes more sense now.

[@kevincinnamontoast3669]

Less surface area with carbide helical? Exact opposite is true.

[@rhwoodshop]

Well I meant along one edge as a continuous blade. You can stack the chippers side by side and it takes one 1/2 rows to equal one blade. I’m surprised you missed my rubber shrinks when cold comment. 🙄 that truly is the opposite is true statement. Oops. Shame on me.

[@M5tworude]

Kevin CinnamonToast continuous engagement with the wood with a Shelix but compared to the strain on the motor when the stock blade hits the wood it is much less. Easier on the motor to have a constant load as compared to the intermittent load while driving blades.

[@HBSuccess]

What are you planing -nails? I get 6-800 board feet of hardwood - red oak and poplar (say 2000 LF roughly) out of a $50 set of DeWalt 735 blades. That’s multiple passes per board. So I might spend $100 a year on planer knives and that’s for nearly daily use. Definitely not a set per month. Also do not use lacquer thinner or any harsh solvent on DeWalt rollers - you’ll ruin them.

[@rhwoodshop]

+Tioga Fretworks not at all. I have even run clean maple through DeWalt blades and after three passes I start developing grooves on the blades. They are just too soft. The Blades in the picture were used over the course of three months as I was not full-time yet then

[@robslifting4life]

Once you start creating things out of harder and exotic woods like a big boy, you'll change the blades more often. I got through these blades every 2-3 weeks. I'm about to upgrade though. Mango hardwood destroys the straight blades.

[@rickymcgrath2314]

A little heavy on the math. The OEM blades are double sided. So you get two cutting edges per purchase vs 4 cutting edges on the Shelix.

[@rhwoodshop]

You are right, I forgot about that. Thanks for the clarification.

[@rhwoodshop]

I will say however, when it comes to nicks and dings, these she likes blades hold up so much better. I am still on my original blades and I have turned them twice.

[@rickymcgrath2314]

@@rhwoodshop yeah. The carbide is much stronger so less likely to dent vs the steel blades. The carbide will chip but you’d have to hit it with a nail or something harder. Considering carbide was originally made to cut metal, I’m sure it will take some hefty negligence to send a nail through and chip a carbide blade.

[@befmx31]

Okay, so you told them it was a 7mm socket. Common sense SHOULD take over and when you see that it seemed just a tad too big for the bolt, you would try a smaller socket. No problem apologizing for making a mistake Drew but for folks to complain about it.....that's a little much. Rant over.

[@rhwoodshop]

Well I would tend to agree with you there but I still got messages about it none the less.

[@moisesrobles7884]

Que pasa fufasa smashing my like botton yahoooooooooo kaboooooooooooooom

[@starjared12345]

Why do you count to 3 and say boom.

[@rhwoodshop]

+Jared Andersen it’s been my sign off for 3-4 years now. It’s just a calling card I’ve had that people recognize me for. It just kind of happened one day and just stuck.

[@giovannipetitti1588]

💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣👍 share

[@rhwoodshop]

+giovanni petitti thanks Giovanni. I appreciate it very much.

[@dougprentice1363]

My experience is cut quality is terrible.

[@Bogie3855]

Those popups are annoying and distracting.

[@NSResponder]

Dude, ditch the irritating, juvenile sound effects.