Replacement spiral cutter blades?

[Evanism]

Gday all,

I have a Carbatec spiral headed thicknesser, the CT-330x.

The little blades have finally worn out and i've just swapped them around to the second face.

There are two questions, perhaps people might know....

- Carbatec charge $65 for a 10 pack of HSS and $108 for Tungsten blades. Does anyone know where I might get them at a more economical price? The machine takes 26 cutters.

As a note, the blades are 14mm*14mm*2mm with two cutting surfaces with a 6mm centred hole.

- Next! Given they are HSS, any reason they couldn't be sharpened just like a chisel?

[Master Splinter]

Theoretically they could be sharpened, but I think a jig approach (holding a stack of them) would be the way to go. Maybe ask at Fitch and see what they say.

And as for non Carbatech priced replacements, many industrial tools for metal use replaceable inserts so it might just be a case of checking sizes to see if they are a standard or custom size.

[elanjacobs]

Carbitool have carbide inserts that size with a 6.5mm hole and 4 cutting edges. Part number is PL 14 14 2​, price is $3.96 inc GST each

[Evanism]

Thanks for the leads.

I swapped them around and the results are astonishing. I forgot just how amazing fresh cutters are.

There is a company (Steel City) in the US that sells the same model. They sell boxes of 10 for $21 (or so) in Carbide. I'm not after rock bottom prices, just something reasonably priced.

It would seem after a google search, that the model is fairly generic and rebadged with minor variations by many companies. Master Splinter is correct, I pulled out a tooth and measured it and it's a 14x14x2mm with a centred 6.5mm hole. These cutters seem to come in only 2 sizes and is indeed an industry standard, the 14mm one being the smaller.

Thanks for the lead on Carbitool. I'll whack them an email now.

It will be good to put carbide cutters in. I love that thicknesser, it's a very good little unit.

[Evanism]

This is the link: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/steel-city-2-sided-carbide-cutters-for-helical-cutterheads-.aspx

They are USD$39 each.

Opps, I got the dumb on the price! :(

3 packs would be usd$120, plus the usd$25 for redirect using comGateway (unless SteelCity are Nice Guys with their post to here).... so all up, its aud$167 for 30 carbide cutters. Sure, expensive, but given carbide is NICE and lasts a lot longer.....

Then again, the HSS ones that came with it have done very very well. I've put a million km's of material through it and only turned them around the first time yesterday. They look eminently sharpenable.

I also found out they are called "indexable inserts". This is why my searches were so useless. Might go look at Alibaba and see what pops up....

[hiroller]

Hi,


Are you sure about those dimensions for the cutters?
I measure mine to be 14.3 x 14.3 x 2.5.
This is important, as I've read of some who have purchased 14mm cutters and put them in and found they all slightly twisted leaving lots of parallel lines across the finish.


I got a quote for carbide inserts from China at around $1.50 an insert but I needed a minimum order of around 10 sets so left it.

[Enfield Guy]

Note also that the cutters in some heads have a curved edge, some have a square edge. It is important that you get like for like. Most engineering supply shops can identify and supply. There is a standard methodology for classifying and specifying these insert cutters.

[sje-tools]

Yep I went through your pain and couldn't pay the prices that Carbatec or Machinery House charge, so I got the manufacturer I use for making my custom router bits (for Guitar fret board radiusing) I got a plenty made and selling them on Ebay for $99 for a FULL set of 26.

I am new to these forums and have tried to post in the Ebay auction forums but for some reason it doesn't appear to show up after I post it.

Any if you look for sje-tools on Ebay you'll find them! :)

[Evanism]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Accu-Head-Sprial-Cutter-K01-Carbide-Inserts-Blades-Full-Set-/181667032879

You now have an official fan base technocracy. I'm ordering a set of K01's right now.

Might I suggest buying an add for the right hand side of the forum to spread the word?

[Ticky]

You will get at least 10 times more life out of Carbide Cutters. I would love one of the heads

[sje-tools]

Carbitool have carbide inserts that size with a 6.5mm hole and 4 cutting edges. Part number is PL 14 14 2​, price is $3.96 inc GST each

Just want to comment on this - I've seen some comments around on the web about 4 blade cutters for the accu-head cutter - all I can say is don't waste your money on them as they do not work due to how the head levels the blade.

The rear of the blade sits flush against a "step" in the head which in turn is slightly lower than the blade, so when you put an insert with 4 cutting edges in the rear edge has a bevel so it doesn't actually seat against the "step" in the head to hold them level. In short the only way a 4 cutting blade could work is by making the blades thin enough so the tip of the blade is flush against the "step". This however has a couple of issues firstly the blades are thin already so making them thinner reduces their strength, also the blade will be being held level by the very fine tip of the blade, put both of these factors together and for me it looks like a recipe for blades fracturing and god knows what kind of injuries from the possibility of fractured carbide flying at high speed!

[sje-tools]

Well I knew I had to do sooner or later however as the question got asked on Ebay - the question being why K05 and not the harder K01? My answer being:


<tbody>
Hi,

This was something I have just done a video which I will post on YouTube - basically as you say the K05 is the standard carbide which most insert/blades are made from, whereas K01 is a hard and slightly finer grade.

As I explain in the video - there is very little difference between the 2 other than as the K05 is a not as hard as the K01 it's slight more forgive to woods - so it does handle softer wood slightly better than K01. You'll see in my video when I post it the soft pine finishes look smooth from both the K01 and K05 however rubbing fingers over it you can feel the K01 has slight lines (and I mean slight as in barely visible without hold the timber on an angle in light!). For Cypress Pine and Merbau you get the pretty much the same results between the K05 & K01, however with the figured Cadagi timber the K01 gives a noticeably smoother finish.

From a blade sharpness and wear perspective there is essentially nothing between the grades - one other point which I have touched on in the video is that is you have any intention for machining green or treated timber K05 is definitely the better choice since as it's not a hard it's not as brittle and has better shock resistance (as with all material the harder it get the more brittle it gets).

Either way the blades give great finishes what ever the timber!

Cheers

Steve



</tbody>

Once I've tidied up the video and cut down on my witterings I'll post it on YouTube later.

Thanks all :2tsup:

UPDATE: Video is now on YouTube and can be found via the Auction - currently only K05 blades are available - will be restocking the K01 :)

[sje-tools]

K01's are currently sold out - awaiting delivery date from supplier as when they'll be back in stock - based on previous orders normally a 2 week turn around. :cool:

Cheers
Steve

[centron-sg1]

Received mine yesterday, Thanks Steve, Very fast delivery.... Haven't installed them yet, but they look excellent...

K01's are currently sold out - awaiting delivery date from supplier as when they'll be back in stock - based on previous orders normally a 2 week turn around. :cool:

Cheers
Steve

[sje-tools]

All I've had word back from the factory - K01 inserts will be back in stock 2nd week in March.

Cheers
Steve

[sje-tools]

Well I've had enough of eBay! :)

http://www.sje-tools.com

Once I have sorted out a small gif advert I will become one those Forum Sponsors on the right . . .

[Evanism]

Hey all,

I wanted to write back in case there is any doubt.... I just put in sje-tools' carbide inserts and HOLY FRACKING COW!!!!!!!!

If there is ANY doubt, even a shred, simply buy them. Now.

I'm making a huge pile of chop boards of Gum that has turned to iron, or maybe steel. It is hard hard hard and the HSS inserts were really struggling. I thought I'd take the 30 minutes to swap them all out for the carbides to see if it was going to be better (its a tedious job) and just sucked the last few raw boards through the machine.

It is simply put - absolutely incredible... stunning in noise reduction, smooth pull and exit and an absolutely INCREDIBLE finish right off the knives. ZERO, absolutely ZERO tearout.

Don't waste a single second more - just buy them and put them in.

MAGIC!!!

[Evanism]

Just so you know I'm not being stupid here..... I sanded a few of them using the Festool ROS125 on 120 grit.... It made the finish worse!

I needed to jump to 180 with the Mystery Random Action to improve it.

These new blades saved me a huge hunk of time... They sheered the timber clean and smooth, just like my very best smoothing Kanna.... Where is makes the timber shine as its planed - just like that. No need to do 80, 120 grits.

Keep in mind this is wavy, nasty gum that is dry 3 years and has turned to stone. It is utterly impossible to plane, so I'm seriously impressed.

[crowie]

All I've had word back from the factory - K01 inserts will be back in stock 2nd week in March.

Cheers
Steve

G'Day Steve, Question please...
Do the "K01 Inserts" also fit into the Byrd Spiral Head Cutter??
Thank you... Cheers, crowie

[sje-tools]

G'Day Steve, Question please...
Do the "K01 Inserts" also fit into the Byrd Spiral Head Cutter??
Thank you... Cheers, crowie

The K01 inserts here are only for the Spiral cutter head - not the Helix cutter head - however I've already had another request for blades to fit a Jet Helix head and the common size insert for all Byrd (and Jet etc) are 15mm x 15mm x 2.5mm. So the factory has already been told I will be ordering some (well as soon as they bloody ship the inserts I have on order - tomorrow I believe they should ship! As I've mentioned to all those who have mailed me - as soon as I have the Fedex track number I'll let you know!).

As for price - well much the same as the spiral cutter inserts - approx AU$3.8 per insert - given the varied number of inserts in a helix head I'll probably end up selling these on a per insert basis so you can choose how many you want. I've looked around on the Web and this price is much the same as buying the generic carbide in the US.

The only question I have for Helix cutter head users is - what are the preferred inserts? The straight or the curved edges? Not owning a helix head machine I cannot test . . .

Cheers

Steve

ps Evan - that's exactly the results I get - start sanding at 180 grit and up, cheers! :)

[sje-tools]

Good news . . . the new stock of K01 inserts are in transit and will judging by the tracking be with me come Tues or Wed at the latest. :)

Also in the next shipment which I hope will be dispatched late next week - with my router bits - the will be some straight 4 cutting edge K01 grade (actually even finer!) inserts for Byrd/Shelix heads, I did a bit of reading around and essentially discovered the radiused inserts don't provide anything over the straight edges. In fact in the reviews I've read of the radiused cutters actually visibly scalloping the wood . . . anyway when they arrive I'll let you know.

At some point I really need make time to do one of those GIFs for the sponsor panel!

Cheers

Steve

[crowie]

Good news . . . the new stock of K01 inserts are in transit and will judging by the tracking be with me come Tues or Wed at the latest. :)

Also in the next shipment which I hope will be dispatched late next week - with my router bits - the will be some straight 4 cutting edge K01 grade (actually even finer!) inserts for Byrd/Shelix heads, I did a bit of reading around and essentially discovered the radiused inserts don't provide anything over the straight edges. In fact in the reviews I've read of the radiused cutters actually visibly scalloping the wood . . . anyway when they arrive I'll let you know.

At some point I really need make time to do one of those GIFs for the sponsor panel!

Cheers

Steve

Thank you Steve.... Yes the straight edge seems to be correct....
The Byrd/Shelix Cutter Head has 4 rows of 10, so 40 for a full set, but packs of 10 would be okay as with the 4 sides on each bit you'd have to be very unlucky to have to replace all 40 at once....
Cheers, crowie

[derekcohen]

Any of these carbide inserts fit the Hammer? I have the A3-31.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[elanjacobs]

Good news . . . the new stock of K01 inserts are in transit and will judging by the tracking be with me come Tues or Wed at the latest. :)

Also in the next shipment which I hope will be dispatched late next week - with my router bits - the will be some straight 4 cutting edge K01 grade (actually even finer!) inserts for Byrd/Shelix heads, I did a bit of reading around and essentially discovered the radiused inserts don't provide anything over the straight edges. In fact in the reviews I've read of the radiused cutters actually visibly scalloping the wood . . . anyway when they arrive I'll let you know.

At some point I really need make time to do one of those GIFs for the sponsor panel!

Cheers

Steve
The Byrd inserts have a 4" radius on them. As for the scalloping issue, you have to be feeding the timber VERY fast for it to be noticeable; even at 60ft/min (18m/min) through the thicknesser it's no worse than straight knives.

[mark david]

I think there needs to be some clarification on what is and what isnt a spiral head.
Some of the machines sold by Carba-tec and other suppliers are not spiral head machines, sure they have a big spiral machined on the cutterhead but this does not make it a true spiral head.

If the cutter inserts are at 90 degrees to the cutter block axis then this is not a spiral head it is just segmented.

A true spiral head has cutters which are offset from the cutterhead axis and as far as I know have and need to have a radius on the cutting face as the edge moves across the timber in an arc.
My machine uses inserts that have a 150mm radius.


The Byrd inserts have a 4" radius on them. As for the scalloping issue, you have to be feeding the timber VERY fast for it to be noticeable; even at 60ft/min (18m/min) through the thicknesser it's no worse than straight knives.

[elanjacobs]

I think there needs to be some clarification on what is and what isnt a spiral head.
Some of the machines sold by Carba-tec and other suppliers are not spiral head machines, sure they have a big spiral machined on the cutterhead but this does not make it a true spiral head.

If the cutter inserts are at 90 degrees to the cutter block axis then this is not a spiral head it is just segmented.

A true spiral head has cutters which are offset from the cutterhead axis and as far as I know have and need to have a radius on the cutting face as the edge moves across the timber in an arc.
My machine uses inserts that have a 150mm radius.
Excellent point, I hadn't thought about that but it does make sense

Steve, I'm happy to do a test of the straight-edge inserts if you want. We have a small Byrd head for the spindle moulder that only has 10 inserts.

[mark david]

I do wish manufacturers and suppliers of machines would not tell us lies about the the heads but they do.
A true spiral head will need cutters that have a radius to match the cutting arc.
A segmented head will have cutter inserts with a straight edge
The inserts need to be properly matched to the head to cut correctly.

Curved inserts in a segmented head would give a scalloped cut and straight cutters in a spiral head would cut grooves as the corner swings around on the arc.

The Byrd shellix is proper spiral head and doesn't need a silly big spiral machined around the head
The same goes for my 10x8 combination machine it is a true spiral head without any unnecessary groove cut in the head to mislead us into believing it is something which it is not.




Excellent point, I hadn't thought about that but it does make sense

Steve, I'm happy to do a test of the straight-edge inserts if you want. We have a small Byrd head for the spindle moulder that only has 10 inserts.

[FenceFurniture]

Any of these carbide inserts fit the Hammer? I have the A3-31.Yes, +1, but I think the news is not good Derek.


I think the head of the Hammer A3 31 is Spiral. You can see that the cutters are on on angle of perhaps 3-5°:

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=342779&d=1426993458


The dimensions are:
2.45mm thick
13.45mm wide (tapering back to ~11mm on the smaller face), so that means an angle of 63.5° on the cutting face.
There is a radius on the 13.45mm cutting edge

Each corner also has been chamfered off (curved, I think, but I didn't use a loupe):

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=342780&d=1426993460


The things you learn about your own equipment just by reading a thread - I had never observed that chamfer, or the curved cutting edge before.

[sje-tools]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the feedback - in the meantime I did further research and discovered the Bryd/Shelix cutter uses a R100mm on the cutting edge . . . I was misled by some other info. So I already mail the factory and they've responded there is no issue on the radius, so for Byrd Shelix heads I will have some stock!

As for the Hammer A3-31 inserts - I don't see why not - from a read around SilentPower Sprial inserts are 13.8 x 13.8 x 2.5 - however I cannot find the radius - I'll have a bit more of a look around in the morning.

Cheers
Steve

[FenceFurniture]

As for the Hammer A3-31 inserts - I don't see why not - from a read around SilentPower Sprial inserts are 13.8 x 13.8 x 2.5 - however I cannot find the radius - I'll have a bit more of a look around in the morning. Including that all important corner chamfer Steve? That's what stops them from leaving tracks - same as very slightly rounding off the corners of a plane blade.

If I had a way of measuring the height of the arc (of the cutting edge curve) then I could determine the radius, but is no possible with my measuring equipment. You only need the height of the arc and the width to determine the radius.

By eyeball I'd say the height is around 0.25mm, and in that case the radius would be about 90mm. At 0.2mm height it would be 113mm radius.

[sje-tools]

Including that all important corner chamfer Steve? That's what stops them from leaving tracks - same as very slightly rounding off the corners of a plane blade.

If I had a way of measuring the height of the arc (of the cutting edge curve) then I could determine the radius, but is no possible with my measuring equipment. You only need the height of the arc and the width to determine the radius.

By eyeball I'd say the height is around 0.25mm, and in that case the radius would be about 90mm. At 0.2mm height it would be 113mm radius.

Yes complete with chamfer - I cannot find the radius of the cutter edge anywhere - however what I'll do later is used your pic and scale the insert to the correct size and work out the radius off it.

The sizes of the blades were easy enough to find in the Hammer/Felder shop:

http://au.feldershop.com/en-AU/en-AU/en-AU/en-AU/oxid/Planer-knives-and-accessories/Silent-POWER-Planer-knives-and-accessories/Silent-POWER-Planer-knives.html

They are some expensive inserts!!! (then again they are cheaper than Carbatec!) :oo:

So I guess if I was stocking them and selling them at AU$3.80 ea rather than AU$9.20 ea (!) people might be interested!?!?

[FenceFurniture]

They are some expensive inserts!!! (then again they are cheaper than Carbatec!) :oo:

So I guess if I was stocking them and selling them at AU$3.80 ea rather than AU$9.20 ea (!) people might be interested!?!?Ah yup, I guess you'd be right! :U

I'm still only on the first edge of my set (4 edges) but they are due to be rotated pretty soon.

Do your cutters have 2 or 4 edges? I seem to recall reading it was 2.

I may be able to get a more accurate fix on the height of the arc with a feeler gauge.

[sje-tools]

Ah yup, I guess you'd be right! :U

I'm still only on the first edge of my set (4 edges) but they are due to be rotated pretty soon.

Do your cutters have 2 or 4 edges? I seem to recall reading it was 2.

I may be able to get a more accurate fix on the height of the arc with a feeler gauge.

These would have 4 cutter edges, the 2 edge ones are for the spiral cutters (not the helix!)

Well the common radius are 100mm, 115mm and 150mm - so if you have a compass handy or even print a few curves on CAD you cut easy place a cutter against the line and see what it has. :)

[FenceFurniture]

These would have 4 cutter edges, the 2 edge ones are for the spiral cutters (not the helix!)

Well the common radius are 100mm, 115mm and 150mm - so if you have a compass handy or even print a few curves on CAD you cut easy place a cutter against the line and see what it has. :)4 is good then!

I can be quite accurate about the radius with the following formula (once I get a fix on the height of the arc:

radius = ½h +w²/h/8

where h is the height of the arc and w is the width

so, if the height is 0.25mm and the width is 13.45 then
r = 0.125 + 13.45*13.45/0.25/8
= 0.125 + 90.45
= 90.575 (it will pretty obviously fall into one of the radii that you mentioned, so the arc height will be different - that's just an eyeball)

In a little while I'll dig out the feeler gauge and then also compare the calculation to a compass drawn arc.

Check back in around 12.30 ESDT.

[FenceFurniture]

Hmmm. Not sure I can get an accurate fix with either a feeler gauge or the compass arcs.

There is just too much margin for error trying to butt the cutter up against a straight edge and then measuring the gap because it can be lopsided and so on.

I drew 4 arcs: 90, 100, 115 & 150mm radius.

The cutter matches both 115 & 150mm arcs: in other words I couldn't be certain because again the margin for error is too big (or small or something). It is definitely not a match for 100mm or less.

However, what I can say with certainty is that for a 150mm match, the height of the arc would be 0.15mm or 6 thou (which makes a radius of 150.8mm). For a 115mm radius it would be an arc height of 0.197mm or a shade under 8 thou.




I suppose that because I couldn't discern a difference between 115 and 150mm arcs that would surely mean that it wouldn't matter much if it was either.

If you like I can post a new one to you (cost of a stamp only, so no big deal). I have a box of 10 spares.

[sje-tools]

Hmmm. Not sure I can get an accurate fix with either a feeler gauge or the compass arcs.

There is just too much margin for error trying to butt the cutter up against a straight edge and then measuring the gap because it can be lopsided and so on.

I drew 4 arcs: 90, 100, 115 & 150mm radius.

The cutter matches both 115 & 150mm arcs: in other words I couldn't be certain because again the margin for error is too big (or small or something). It is definitely not a match for 100mm or less.

However, what I can say with certainty is that for a 150mm match, the height of the arc would be 0.15mm or 6 thou (which makes a radius of 150.8mm). For a 115mm radius it would be an arc height of 0.197mm or a shade under 8 thou.




I suppose that because I couldn't discern a difference between 115 and 150mm arcs that would surely mean that it wouldn't matter much if it was either.

If you like I can post a new one to you (cost of a stamp only, so no big deal). I have a box of 10 spares.


Thanks for the offer but not to worry at the moment - the factory just mailed and they have the engineering team on the case! :)

So I'll let them figure it out.

Cheers

Steve

[hiroller]

If you put a spare cutter on a flat bed scanner and post a high res image, we could reverse engineer the radius. The flat bed sander has much less parallax error than a camera.

[sje-tools]

K01 inserts for Spiral Cutter heads - Back in stock!

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0779/0509/files/IMG_0908_large.JPG?2292896822116293546

Although half have already been purchased on back order!!

New order placed - this time the Byrd Shelix cutter inserts have made it on to this order.

The Felder/Hammer Silent Cutter Inserts will be on the next order . . . on that note FenceFurniture do you have a flat bed scanner you could scan one of the blade at hi res then I can easily confirm if it is a R150 (that's what the factory thinks but it would probably be best if I could confirm it)

[FenceFurniture]

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0779/0509/files/IMG_0908_large.JPG?2292896822116293546FWIW, they are perzackly the same boxes that my Hammer replacements came in.


. . . on that note FenceFurniture do you have a flat bed scanner you could scan one of the blade at hi res then I can easily confirm if it is a R150 (that's what the factory thinks but it would probably be best if I could confirm it)Will do, PM me your email addy.

[sje-tools]

Alrighty the scan did the trick - I printed a 13.8 square with a R150 edge and a scale print of the insert and put them over each other on a light surface and they line up perfectly.

So there is one thing final thing I need to check given these are pretty unique inserts - and that is the angle of the cutting edge (so a bit easier to check than the edge radius!) - the Byrd cutters are usually 30 degrees are these the same?

I can then add them to the next order - I'll have to wait till the new follow up order has been fulfilled before ordering them.

Cheers
Steve

[FenceFurniture]

The dimensions are:
2.45mm thick
13.45mm wide (tapering back to ~11mm on the smaller face), so that means an angle of 63.5° on the cutting face.
There is a radius on the 13.45mm cutting edgeIt was in my first post Steve.....

The measurements were not precise, and the smaller face is very difficult to measure - I can't do it with any accuracy whatsoever. It's likely that it is 60° (or 30° as you say).

[sje-tools]

It was in my first post Steve.....

The measurements were not precise, and the smaller face is very difficult to measure - I can't do it with any accuracy whatsoever. It's likely that it is 60° (or 30° as you say).

Apologies I missed that! I would say 30° then.

Excellent! Thanks for the help - I will get these order in my next order so watch this space! :)

[hardwood]

just wondering if the byrd cutters have arrived.
regards
hardwood

[sje-tools]

just wondering if the byrd cutters have arrived.
regards
hardwood

Someone can sense the arrival of carbide!!! :)

They sure have - arrived today they did! :)

I will be making them available on the website shortly - I've been some what over run with requests for the guitar fretboard radiusing router bits of late - along Facebook . . . I said I'd never have a Facebook account and I guess I have as I put it in my websites name! So if I ain't updating here (and I still intend to sponsor - just haven't had time to do the gif) then you can always drop me a message on Facebook (www.facebook.com/sje-tools (http://www.facebook.com/sje-tools))

Also coming on here has reminded me I need to order some of the Hammer/Felder inserts - as my new order is already being compiled! :)

Cheers

Steve

[sje-tools]

Byrd/Shelix cutterhead inserts are go - now available to order: http://www.sje-tools.com/collections/carbide-thicknesser-inserts/products/byrd-k01-carbide-inserts

Byrd/Shelix cutterhead owners no longer need to have the price envy of the US! :)

Cheers

Steve

[sje-tools]

So the Felder/Hammer inserts are officially on order - so they'll be added to website when I get chance!

Cheers
Steve

[elanjacobs]

Byrd/Shelix cutterhead inserts are go - now available to order: http://www.sje-tools.com/collections/carbide-thicknesser-inserts/products/byrd-k01-carbide-inserts

Byrd/Shelix cutterhead owners no longer need to have the price envy of the US! :)

Cheers

Steve

Hi Steve,
Are you offering any kind of bulk discount?

[sje-tools]

Hi Steve,
Are you offering any kind of bulk discount?

As things are just starting with these inserts and I have a relatively limited stock of inserts the moment I haven't added any - however I was considering as pricing scale of something along the lines:

1 - 49 - $3.80 per pcs
50 - 99 - $3.60 per pcs
100+ - $3.45 per pcs

Until I sort the site out I please contact me directly with your requirements and I can sort things out for you.

Cheers

Steve

[sje-tools]

Alright then - the Felder/Hammer Silent Power inserts are now in stock and available through my site! :)

As an FYI for those in Brisbane if you are in attending the Timber & Working with Wood Show I will certainly be at the Show - currently on the Saturday - so if you are in need of any inserts let me know and I can bring them along and you can save yourself the shipping fees! :)

I hope to sort my little gif for the ad this week or next also - sadly I don't get to actually sit down until around 9pm most nights so my time for these things is at a premium! :(

Cheers

Steve

[sje-tools]

Good news for those who own the 15" or 20" Carbatec Spiral head thicknessers - I will have stock of inserts for them in approximately 1 week time! :)

[sje-tools]

Well thanks to DHL that one week turned into two - I have finally received the new inserts today after they had a 1 week break in Brisbane Airport courtesy of DHL! :((

Anyway at last they have arrived and they are available on the website as usual.

Thanks!

Steve

:)

[Sashawood]

Not sure if anyone is aware but Robert Gregory from Woodcraft Supplies (who bought the Spiral cutter into Australia - Byrd and CTS - has inserts available all the time - either $6.00 each or $7.00 each and he is now able to resharpen your old cutters for $2 each) He can be contacted on 07 4129 4644

[elanjacobs]

Not sure if anyone is aware but Robert Gregory from Woodcraft Supplies (who bought the Spiral cutter into Australia - Byrd and CTS - has inserts available all the time - either $6.00 each or $7.00 each and he is now able to resharpen your old cutters for $2 each)
Steve is doing them for about half that price.

[Sashawood]

I know it is the Exchange of the cutters that I am looking at

[sje-tools]

FYI for those waiting on the Hafco/Carbatect 13" spiral head thicknesser inserts & the Carbatect 15" & 20" thicknesser inserts - they are currently en-route to Brisbane and I should have them on Monday.

Due to router bits being ordered at the same time their production has delayed the delivery of the inserts . . . I'll certainly be making sure they are shipped separately for future orders

:)

[sje-tools]

Alright then - the stock keeps expanding - on the way from the factory are the inserts for both varieties of the CTS thicknesser heads (so the 15x15x2.5 R150 4R0.5 and the 14x14 straight edge) - the Ledacraft MB508 use the straight edge inserts . . .

They should be with me come Monday and hopefully by then also my new website AND sponsor banner will finally make an appearance on this site!!! (amazing how much time doing these things sap away!)

Thanks for all those who have added their reviews on the site! :)

Steve

[sje-tools]

For those waiting the CT330X and H13S inserts aka Accu-head 2 sided inserts are (after a bit of a delay!) back in stock! :)

[mark david]

I have a Carbatec combination 10x8 machine.
I used all 4 faces of mine a while ago and removed them and sharpened them all by hand,rubbing each one 100 times on the top surface of each insert on a diamond stone.
Took a few hours but was worth it considering the cost.I found that they cut jut as good as new.

Some past research on the internet revealed that the manufacture of the spiral head was to be found on Alibaba and cutters could be purchased for a fraction of the price Carbatec was asking.
I have however not as yet bothered trying to buy any as I figured could probably hand sharpen a few more times yet.

Unfortunately they are not standard ones and there seem to many inserts of slightly different specifications.
True spiral head machines,such as the one I have use inserts with a radiused face,150mm diameter in my case.

Most of the Carbatec machines currently offered are not true spiral head,despite the name,the only thing spiral about them is a fancy spiral groove milled around the cutter head to give the illusion.They are simply segmented cutting heads.These inserts are set at 90 degrees to the axis of the cutter block and have a straight cutting edge.

With a little searching online you should be able to track down cheaper replacements,unfortunately the woeful echange rate against the U.S dollar does us no favours.You would still need to know the exact specification of the inserts,especially if they are radiused.

[sje-tools]

I have a Carbatec combination 10x8 machine.
I used all 4 faces of mine a while ago and removed them and sharpened them all by hand,rubbing each one 100 times on the top surface of each insert on a diamond stone.
Took a few hours but was worth it considering the cost.I found that they cut jut as good as new.

Some past research on the internet revealed that the manufacture of the spiral head was to be found on Alibaba and cutters could be purchased for a fraction of the price Carbatec was asking.
I have however not as yet bothered trying to buy any as I figured could probably hand sharpen a few more times yet.

Unfortunately they are not standard ones and there seem to many inserts of slightly different specifications.
True spiral head machines,such as the one I have use inserts with a radiused face,150mm diameter in my case.

Most of the Carbatec machines currently offered are not true spiral head,despite the name,the only thing spiral about them is a fancy spiral groove milled around the cutter head to give the illusion.They are simply segmented cutting heads.These inserts are set at 90 degrees to the axis of the cutter block and have a straight cutting edge.

With a little searching online you should be able to track down cheaper replacements,unfortunately the woeful echange rate against the U.S dollar does us no favours.You would still need to know the exact specification of the inserts,especially if they are radiused.


14x14x2xR150
http://sje-tools.com/carbide-inserts/22-carbatec-15-20-spiral-head-thicknesser-k01-carbide-bladesknivesinserts.html

15x15x2.5xR150 with 4R0.5 corners
http://sje-tools.com/carbide-inserts/26-cts-shelix-cutterhead-k01-carbide-bladesknivesinserts.html

I awaiting for delivery of the 15x15x2.5xR150 with square corners . . . I would say as I sell them at nearly a third of the Carbatec price that's a good fraction!

Oh and mine are higher grade carbide than Carbatec

. . .


or you can go on Alibaba a find a manufacturer purchase the minimum quantity and shipping and hope you get a decent one . . . :)

[Dengue]

Steve, are you up on the latest Carbatec 8" jointer inserts (CTJ-350X)? One of their sales guys says the latest models have 14.18mm square inserts, not 14.0mm

[aldav]

or you can go on Alibaba a find a manufacturer purchase the minimum quantity and shipping and hope you get a decent one . . . :)

Totally agree with you here Steve. It's nowhere near as easy as people make it sound to get the right physical specifications AND a quality product. I know how much homework you would have had to do on these to get this right. Good work - you deserve to make a quid out of it.:2tsup:

[sje-tools]

hmmm curious - this means they would have changed the whole range since they only have an insert called Blade-X-10 for all the spiral heads. I've looked through insert catalogues and have never seen an insert which is sized to 2 decimal places - it possible that is an imperial conversion - if anything could be 14.2.

A couple of people have mentioned they have 14.1x14.1 insert - however I have also been sent a scan of the box one person previously purchased from Carbatec which were Tigra produced 14x14x2xR150x4r0.5.

[Dengue]

Steve, on the Carbatec website there are now two types of insert, same item description, but different stock numbers: Blade-X-10 and Blade-X-10N ( coming soon)

[sje-tools]

Ok - so spoken with factory and they have produced 14.18x14.18 before . . . so the questions is when did the Carbatec thicknessers/planer change from standard 14x14 to this 14.18? I really struggle to see what 0.18mm gives . . . but hey ho that's the design!

So I guess I've got to get some these in stock then! :)

[Dengue]

So I guess I've got to get some these in stock then!

Before you do that, can I suggest you contact Carbatec first to confirm what I have said? Suggest you also get hold of a couple in case there are further differences

[sje-tools]

I will check - however given the fact that the factory is fully aware of this insert and as it's very specific dimensions (as said I've never seen an insert with measurements to 2 decimal places!) I would be pretty damn sure they'll be correct.

:)

[Dengue]

My latest information is that the old inserts are 14.18mm square (Blade-X-10) and the new Carbatec 8" jointer machines will have 14.0 mm square inserts (Blade-X-10N). I don't know about the other machines

[sje-tools]

Sounds possible - although as I said they were selling 14x14 inserts for 20" thicknessers a while ago and they were all in theory using the Blade-X-10! I have a feeling I need to call in Carbatec and take my digital caliber along!!!

[sje-tools]

OK - Progress - the inserts used in the 15" and 20" thicknessers and the planers are the 14.17x14.17x2 - it's an odd size and checking my 14x14x2 they are actually measure 14.08mm. However reading around it does appear as this is some kind of Grizzly specific insert even though it's referred as a 14x14x2! Either way I already have some one of these 14.17mm on order! :)

So why Carbatec have sold 14x14x2xR150x4R0.5 to other customers remains a mystery and I have sold these previously and people haven't returned them or complained (ps if anyone has previously brought some from me and they were wrong - please let me know!!) . . . so as said it's a odd one!

I guess as Dengy said the Blade-X-10N will be essentially my current 14x14x2.

Would it really kill manufacturers to put the insert dimensions in their manuals!!!! It really is ridiculous how the insert sizes are kept secret by some companies!

When they arrive I'll let you all know!

Thanks

Steve

[sje-tools]

Hoorah! Just for you Carbatec 15" & 20" and planer owners! :)

In stock now! :)


364478

[aldav]

Did I say it was complicated? Good work Steve. :2tsup:

[sje-tools]

At last!! :) I managed to pull my finger out long enough to work out that GIMP can create animated GIFs and hey presto finally I am a forum sponsor! :)

So latest news I ended up buying a Carbatec CT-196 jointer and so as per the thicknesser I am in the process of getting some carbide blades produced for 6" Carbatec/Grizzly jointers. So once I get pricing, samples etc I'll keep you informed as when they'll be available to purchase

Cheers

Steve

[Aleks Cheng]

Hi I checked steel city website and find it is 14.3x14.3x2 mm

[crowie]

G'Day Steve, Thank you for all your assistance now that I've finally got my act together and installed my Byrd Shelix Cutterhead in my Dewalt DW735 thicknesser....Cheers, crowie
http://www.woodworkforums.com/f154/difference-byrd-shelix-cutterhead-makes-dewalt-dw735-thicknesser-213808#post2021014'

[woodPixel]

What a productive thread :)

Im still on the first side still! Gosh they last a long time.

[sje-tools]

Cheers all - still around - just don't have much time to post! :)

Steve

[sje-tools]

Just as an FYI for anyone attending the Brisbane Timber show this weekend - I am hoping to get myself down there most likely on Friday Afternoon - so if anyone has any insert or even router bit needs let me know and I'll take some with me. :)

Thanks

Steve

[crowie]

Just as an FYI for anyone attending the Brisbane Timber show this weekend - I am hoping to get myself down there most likely on Friday Afternoon - so if anyone has any insert or even router bit needs let me know and I'll take some with me. :)

Thanks Steve

Haven't heard anything about the Wood Shows this year and whether the forum will be running a stall....

I've always enjoyed volunteering at the Sydney show as it's a top way to meet forum members and help gain new members for the forum.

Hope the Brisbane Wood Show goes well!!!!!