Replies

1. 
   Bentusi | Jan 01, 2025 09:56am | #1

   A spiral cutter head is one of the best purchases I've made.
   The finish will be superior, but like you said, I'm not sure it matters.

   The biggest things for me is the cutters stay sharp MUCH longer.
   I'm also an idiot and have done things I shouldn't have done regarding sending stock through the planer. Straight blades+my idiocy have caused some scary events for me.
   The spiral cutter+my idiocy doesn't cause any... let's just say...situations.. it's much less sensitive and cuts excellent no matter what stupid shit I do.
   It's been much better for dust collection as well. I don't have an industrial collector or the best ducting. The straight blades frequently caused clogs, while the few dozen separate cutting heads create small chips that never cause an issue.
   But what I like the most is how quiet it is and how much SMOOTHER it feels. It just feels great. It's hard to describe.

   IMO, without a doubt, if you can afford the upgrade, do it.
   I wish I had done it so much sooner.

2. 
   chiwoodworker | Jan 01, 2025 06:42pm | #2

   Everything Bentusi said I second. I only have one on my 6" jointer. It was worth every penny. One thing I would add is the forgiveness it grants with difficult grain and figured woods. Birdseye maple, no problem. No rays chipped out on some quartered white Oak. Less sanding and scraping needed. I might catch hell for saying this out loud but, I almost don't need to pay attention to grain direction when using the jointer. I still do because it's a good habit. But if you are flattening a long board with a few knots they won't tear out.

   You won't regret it.

3. 
   Pali | Jan 01, 2025 08:00pm | #3

   Another "Amen". Switching my 8" jointer and 15" planer knives to helical cutter heads gave me wings. Less tearout, virtually no grain direction issues, no knife changes (!), quieter. I just came up from my shop minutes ago after the second milling on 50 bf of quarter sawn oak. Zero tearout. After my SawStop it's the best upgrade decision I've ever made. Unfortunately helical cutter heads are expensive, but close your eyes and imagine never finagling with knife changes or cursing at tearout again.

4. 
   user-7874929 | Jan 02, 2025 12:54am | #4

   Less tear out seems to be the motivating factor. However is there snipe and the start and end of the board? or can this be controlled by properly setting up indeed and outfield. I do have a portable set of rollers for my out feed end.

   Thanks for the comments so far!

5. 
   largeb | Jan 02, 2025 06:05am | #5

   I modified a 13” rigid lunchbox planer to helical. My motivation was tear out on curly stock. In that regard it was a huge success. It however does strain the motor more so passes must be about half the thickness of the straight knives. I have since added a hammer combo machine, also with helical cutters. I find the old lunch box machine is still getting lots of use for smaller boards and final passes to ensure exact final thickness between sets of boards. The biggest surprise is the helical has almost eliminated snipe, though that could be due to taking smaller passes.

   I still go over the final surfaces with hand tools since the surfaces from both of my helical heads can be improved. If you sand as a final step you probably should find some boards straight from a helical head and see if it would fit in with your sanded output without sanding.