I've been a furniture maker for years and used a 13" planer and 8" jointer with a Byrd Shelix in a professional setting. I'm now setting up a small home shop and weighing the benefits of a helical head. While I might not be using many highly figured woods, I'm curious about the extra power requirements. I found a used Dewalt 735 with a helical head installed, but it's not a Byrd. Any thoughts on using a knock-off? Is the upgrade worth it?
3 Answers
Upgrading to a helical head can be nice, but it's not a must. Some folks mention it reduces noise, but honestly, I always wear ear protection, so that doesn't really matter to me. It might give a better finish, but I sand everything anyway. If you don't work with figured woods often, you might want to stick with the stock blades for now and see if you need the upgrade later. Also, the power draw might increase, but I haven't seen many issues unless you're running multiple machines on the same circuit.
From my experience, the extra power draw can be managed once you know how much of a bite you can take without tripping the breaker. For me, the main benefit has been not needing to sharpen blades and avoiding grain direction worries. It's not essential, but I'm really glad I made the switch to helical.
I had some issues with the Byrd head at first - it had casting problems that left terrible marks. But now, there are newer options available that perform excellently for a better price. I tried a different brand and found the installation easier and the finish really smooth. Just be aware of the chip removal - they produce a lot more chips, which can clog up smaller dust ports. Luckily, I found 3D printed hoods that helped fix that issue. It's a bit tedious to switch out the square cutters, but the results are amazing!
Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely keep that in mind when making my decision.