Replies

1. 
   cuttoff | Jun 12, 2002 05:48pm | #1

   Chip, I did see those in the latest catalog and was wondering myself how it would compare to a straight blade system. Is this something that was brought down from industrial grade machines I wonder. I'll be watching this thread to see what others might say.

   John

1. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 13, 2002 01:48am | #2

   I have seen a few of these cutters on bigger industrial machines. They are high-quality steel helical cutterheads with reversible carbide inserts. If you ruin a insert then all you do is unscrew it and flip it over and fasten back down. No jigs needed or sending blades out to get sharpened. Well worth the money.Scott C. Frankland

   Newfoundland Wood Worker

2. 
   Andrew | Jun 14, 2002 05:55am | #3

   chip, helical cutterheads run quieter, and more importantly are supposed to leave a better surface. a helical cutter head will eliminate a lot of tearout even on tricky grain, and won't leave the same scalloped cuts that straight blades do. think of them like a giant spiral fluted router bit. a helical cutterhead would be a nice option to have on a jointer. i have no experience with grizzly jointers though, but i would see the machine in operation before you buy one. if the cutterhead is made poorly and the inserts don't seat properly you will have a disaster. as far as i know, there is no way to adjust the inserts, which has it's positives and possible negatives. the quality of cut rests on the machining job of the cutterhead. hope this helps

3. 
   wbwood | Jun 14, 2002 07:15am | #4

   Chip,

   I think I saw a cutter system like that on a General about a year ago. For sure it would be more $ than the Grizzly, but it really did look nice. I think each individual knife had four sides that could be flipped around if it got nicked, automatically seated to the "perfect" height etc. You might look into the General just for a comparison. wb