Thread: Carbatec or Dewalt Thicknesser

Not wishing to hijack this thread but I have heard there are two helix heads for the Dewalt. One which is slightly less in diameter than the standard one (this makes the gauge on the front inaccurate) and one which is exactly the same size.
Anyone have knowledge of this and which one is available in OZ?

Originally Posted by crowie

G'Day Graeme, Mine cost me a barter [time & effort for goods]!
.........but saying that it was on a top special at the time for $699 back then
........The Byrd Shelix Cutterhead upgrade was on a super Wood Show [remember them] for about $600 including a half set of replacement cutters & delivery [great deal at the time]
...........

Thanks, Peter

You and your mate certainly timed (and selected) that purchase well. Now a good deal would be over $2,000.

However, can we come back to the original question? Do you experience that schadenfreude feeling when you hear of someone who has spent $3,000 or $4,000 on a thicknesser and you think "That's not as good as mine!"


Fair Winds

Graeme

Originally Posted by crowie

I can hold a conversation with a mate while feeding the timber through my Dewalt .......

That quietness is the real advantage of the helix heads:

• Literally half the volume of noise compared to straight cutters, and
• Its a more pleasant type of noise.

There is a very interesting video on the Felder website comparing helix and straight cutters on the same machine.
YouTube

The bonus with the helix is:

• Significantly less tear out,
• Smoother surface - no cutter "waves", and
• Individual blades replacable .

Unfortunately, they do cost more.


Cheers

Graeme

Hi Lappa

As far as I am aware both are available in Australia from the company Crowie stated Wood Craft Supplies. I bought the CTS head for my Dewalt DW735. The CTS head has a smaller diameter which enables it to slide straight into the DW735 without having to remove the bearings during retrofit. It does give a very good surface finish and reduces the noise from a 'banshee wail' to a 'banshee groan??'. However it does now snipe a little bit, likely due to the smaller diameter of the head. I had been pondering some adjustment to the machine to correct this but put it in the too hard basket. There was no snipe at all from the original 3 blade head.

The CTS is a bit cheaper than the Byrd. Staff at Wood Craft told me the Byrd head requires removal of the bearings to retrofit fit it to the DW735. If I was to do it again I would pay the extra for the Byrd head simply to avoid the snipe.

Well that's my 2c worth.

Regards
Twosheds

Hi Twosheds, spot on. But I thought (mistakenly?) that you had to remove all the inserts to fit the full size shaft. Loved your “ banshee groan”

Just read this re Byrd head for Dewalt

• Cutterhead diameter is 0.088" smaller than the original OEM head to allow for installation without removing the carbide inserts.

Available on Amazon Au for under $650.

I should be able to recalibrate my Wixey to account for the 2.23mm change in diameter

Thank you very much for all of your feedback. I ended up with the Carbatec for one main reason, I won't use it super-often and the spiral head (though I realise that it ain't no Helix) means that every time I'm rubbish and miss a nail in the timber I'm working on, I can replace one or two small blades rather than a big single one. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. While I was there I picked up some 6" blades that i hope will fit in my old jointer.

Perfect thread for me. I was in Carbatec today. I make pallet furniture, pine, amongst other stuff. My ryobi thicknesser is starting to be very sad. Had it for over 10 years. All I want to do is run pine through a machine and clean it up. Pallet pine. The the Carbatec thicknesser...nice! But I think their drum sander would be better. I don't care about thickness...pallet furniture...but the forgotten nail worries me.

Originally Posted by wireliner

..... I make pallet furniture, pine, amongst other stuff. ...... I don't care about thickness...pallet furniture...but the forgotten nail worries me.

Hi Wireliner

I use a lot of salvaged timber, too. Besides nails you get imbedded gravel, dirt, shells, etc. Its not a big deal.

I just have two sets of planer blades. Just buzz the surface with the old scarificial blades; then when I have clean surfaces I change to the smoother blades - easy, peasy!


Cheers

Graeme