New 8 inch helical head jointer has come to live with me!


davestanton

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That is awesome Dave! Looks like a sweet machine. I have an 8" helical head and i still go into the shop every now and then just to blow it a little kiss :)

A few questions;

Is that company an Aussie company? Made in China or Taiwan? How long are the beds? Is that an actual byrd head? Did you check the beds yet? Did they arrive nice and flat and coplanar? Tell us more!

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5 hours ago, shaneymack said:

 

That is awesome Dave! Looks like a sweet machine. I have an 8" helical head and i still go into the shop every now and then just to blow it a little kiss :)

 

A few questions;

 

Is that company an Aussie company? Made in China or Taiwan? How long are the beds? Is that an actual byrd head? Did you check the beds yet? Did they arrive nice and flat and coplanar? Tell us more!

 

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Shane. It is made in China and badged for Carbatec which is an Australian wood working store, much like Rockler and Grizzly tools but not as grand. I work part time for them and am surrounded by these things all day and eventually I relent and buy one or 2. The head has forward facing knives, not at any slicing angle like the powermatic or jet. I prefer this type of knife for the work I do as it does not require any sanding to remove the slight ripple that the powermatic leaves. The beds are very flat but I am waiting on a new aluminium straight edge to check for coplanar.

2 hours ago, Gixxerjoe04 said:

Nice looking machine, looks like my grizzly just a different color, that is one clean shop you got there.

Probably made in the same factory but supplied with a 240 volt motor and Australian power plug and painted much nicer colours, lol. How is yours performing? I am a bit of a weirdo when it comes to my work environment, can't concentrate if I am surrounded by mess.

4 hours ago, Woodenskye said:

Nice looking addition Dave.  Color scheme even matches the rest of the shop. Is Barry going to take a nap on the beds to ensure they are flat?

Barry doesn't like coming into the shop in the middle of winter, preffers staying in the house on the couch with a blanket over him.

4 hours ago, JosephThomas said:

Look at all that infeed.... So envious

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One of the main reasons I upgraded from the short bed 6 inch machine.

5 hours ago, Immortan D said:

Looks like one heck of a jointer! Enjoy!

 

It is very nice to look at and, it delivers a beautiful finish.

5 hours ago, Chet K. said:

Looks to be a great machine Dave.  I think we all have the disease of moretoolitise.

My only fear is that I think it will spill into moreveritasitise!

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7 hours ago, davestanton said:

Shane. It is made in China and badged for Carbatec which is an Australian wood working store, much like Rockler and Grizzly tools but not as grand. I work part time for them and am surrounded by these things all day and eventually I relent and buy one or 2. The head has forward facing knives, not at any slicing angle like the powermatic or jet. I prefer this type of knife for the work I do as it does not require any sanding to remove the slight ripple that the powermatic leaves. The beds are very flat but I am waiting on a new aluminium straight edge to check for coplanar.

 

Dave, which Powermatic are you referring to that leaves ripples? I have the PJ-882hh with the byrd head and it leaves a glass finish. Maybe the one you tried needed some adjustments? 

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28 minutes ago, shaneymack said:

Dave, which Powermatic are you referring to that leaves ripples? I have the PJ-882hh with the byrd head and it leaves a glass finish. Maybe the one you tried needed some adjustments? 

He may be refering to the slight track marks that some byrd heads are known for leaving behind. My byrd shelix head on my old 735 left really faint lines that 1 or 2 swipes of 220 with an ROS would make vanish. The same head in my Jet planer doesn't do it. I've seen other people complain about this in the past.

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He may be refering to the slight track marks that some byrd heads are known for leaving behind. My byrd shelix head on my old 735 left really faint lines that 1 or 2 swipes of 220 with an ROS would make vanish. The same head in my Jet planer doesn't do it. I've seen other people complain about this in the past.

Ah. I had a 20" King helical planer (not byrd) delivered around 10 years ago to replace my dewalt planer. It left lines on my boards and I found that to be unacceptable. I returned that machine for a 20" General Int. straight knive planer. I now have a byrd head in my PM planer and it leaves a glass smooth finish. I wonder if it's just a matter of an adjustment with the ones that leave the lines. Thats what the store tried to convince me of where i had bought the 20" helical. I didn't want to waste my time and didn't really believe them so i exchanged it.

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2 hours ago, shaneymack said:

 

 

Ah. I had a 20" King helical planer (not byrd) delivered around 10 years ago to replace my dewalt planer. It left lines on my boards and I found that to be unacceptable. I returned that machine for a 20" General Int. straight knive planer. I now have a byrd head in my PM planer and it leaves a glass smooth finish. I wonder if it's just a matter of an adjustment with the ones that leave the lines. Thats what the store tried to convince me of where i had bought the 20" helical. I didn't want to waste my time and didn't really believe them so i exchanged it.

 

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Byrd had a period of QA issues; spoil under the inserts requiring new heads to be stripped, cleaned and inserts reinstalled by the buyer.  Like any maker's worst nightmare a single episode like that leaves scars for a long, long time. Any well made spiral head with properly overlapping cutter paths should be free from ripples.

Congrats on the jointer.  I have the green version and was like a kid when it showed up 8 years ago and still smile every time that long infeed, nice tall fence and spiral head pay dividends.  I broke even on the additional cost of the spiral head at about the one year mark based on my previous knife sharpening/replacement schedule.  Since then its all gravy.

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12 hours ago, shaneymack said:

Dave, which Powermatic are you referring to that leaves ripples? I have the PJ-882hh with the byrd head and it leaves a glass finish. Maybe the one you tried needed some adjustments? 

Maybe Shane. I was referring to the model you said. The cut I am getting from this Carbatec machine is faultless. There are minor things that need addressing on the machine but nothing too dramatic. One of the wheels was touching the mount, drilled a hole to allow clearance and right as rain. I may buy an after market v belt as the one with the machine had a small bump on it but I hear this is common with a lot of machines. Small scratch on the outfeed table, I have put more on it since using it and find it hard to locate now! 

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knock on wood but I like mine, of course my previous jointer was a 6" bench top, so anything was an upgrade haha.  But overall for the money it's been a good jointer, crazy how quiet it is for being such a big machine compared to the ear piercing sound of the bench top.

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8 hours ago, Gixxerjoe04 said:

knock on wood but I like mine, of course my previous jointer was a 6" bench top, so anything was an upgrade haha.  But overall for the money it's been a good jointer, crazy how quiet it is for being such a big machine compared to the ear piercing sound of the bench top.

Very quiet indeed!

 

Now I have had this weird thing happen, walking aimlessly around the workshop thinking about 5000 different things at once. I am sure it is because of the new kid on the block (jointer) and how to appease all the other machines. I have wheeled the 15 inch helical thicknesser back in (same knives as the new jointer) and spent another hour trying it in different spots. I think I have it squared away but who knows what I will think when I open the door and peer in tomorrow morning? God I love it!

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22 minutes ago, JosephThomas said:

If you're changing your shop layout, add a few pics

You must be on baby duty to be up so early haha

1 hour ago, davestanton said:

Very quiet indeed!

 

Now I have had this weird thing happen, walking aimlessly around the workshop thinking about 5000 different things at once. I am sure it is because of the new kid on the block (jointer) and how to appease all the other machines. I have wheeled the 15 inch helical thicknesser back in (same knives as the new jointer) and spent another hour trying it in different spots. I think I have it squared away but who knows what I will think when I open the door and peer in tomorrow morning? God I love it!

I find myself doing that all the time haha, woodworking adhd, want to do a million things and sometimes it takes a minute to finally get started haha.  I'm still trying to find time to get my shop in order, what sucks is going to have to go through and recalibrate everything since moving it all twice probably moved crap out of square and all that.

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2 hours ago, JosephThomas said:

If you're changing your shop layout, add a few pics

I will be sure to do that Joseph. I am now considering moving my drill press onto a mobile cart and building a whiz bang table for it. Argh!

1 hour ago, Gixxerjoe04 said:

You must be on baby duty to be up so early haha

I find myself doing that all the time haha, woodworking adhd, want to do a million things and sometimes it takes a minute to finally get started haha.  I'm still trying to find time to get my shop in order, what sucks is going to have to go through and recalibrate everything since moving it all twice probably moved crap out of square and all that.

I just move and use!

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