Embarrassed Newbie Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 A few years ago when I first started in woodworking, I purchased a Wen 6552 planer. There was a discussion of this planer in early 2017. My experience with it has been good, but I am getting a lot of tear out these days. I expect that I need to replace/sharpen the blades. I just upgraded by 6" jointer to a Shelix Helical head and love it. I'd like to do the same to the Wen, but I can't find any helical heads for the Wen. Does anybody have experience doing this? I know the head would cost more than the planer itself ($340). But the motor seems good and it seems that a good head on this machine would make it servicable for a long time to come.. I could get a Dewalt for $600, but I'd still have straight blades. I also have the Wen built into a flip top in my large assembly bench. The Dewalt wouldn't fit. Appreciate any thoughts people my have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 It may be helpful to reach out to Byrd to see if the helical head they offer for the DW734 will work in other brands. A lot of those lunchbox planers are just like their bigger cousins and use a lot of the same parts to keep costs down for the different manufactures. A lot of the times the differences comes down to quality control which is where a good portion of tool costs can come from. That said there are offerings like this (https://www.woodcraft.com/products/rikon-13-benchtop-planer-with-helical-cutterhead-model-25-130h) that on sale could be quite affordable. If you could sell your planer for $200 you'd be paying little more than the cost of a cutter head for both a new planer and new cutter head installed and ready to go. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnarlyavelly Posted May 25, 2021 Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 Did you find a solution OP? I have the chance at getting one of these wen planers for 120 dollars and was wondering if this upgrade is possible. I see some Canadian website that has a helical head listed but I don’t know if it’s trustworthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 26, 2021 Report Share Posted May 26, 2021 4 hours ago, Gnarlyavelly said: Did you find a solution OP? I have the chance at getting one of these wen planers for 120 dollars and was wondering if this upgrade is possible. I see some Canadian website that has a helical head listed but I don’t know if it’s trustworthy. Don't be surprised if you don't get a response as the OP hasn't been here since January.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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