Thread: Carbatec or Dewalt Thicknesser

I have had my Dewalt 735 thicknesses for many years, and it is terrific. Very noisy with the fan blowing the chips out like a shot blaster into the dust collector system, but the unit is rock steady. Rarely get snipe thanks to the way it is designed.
The blades are reversible, but not designed for sharpening i.e., throw-away items once both sides are used.
I used to get the thicker, higher quality blades from Infinity, but with the current exchange rate and GST now added, it is cheaper to go through at least 2 sets of Dewalt blades at $115 a set instead of the one Infinity blade.
Lots of people convert the unit to a Shelix cutter head, and the noise drops considerably.
If you look at the woodworking videos, you will usually find a Dewalt thicknesser in the background, they are very popular, and for a very good reason.
If only they were sold with a spiral cutter head !

lots of people also have the Carbatec one. I have one but haven't personally put a lot thru it, but totally works as expected.

If you're thinking of buying one, I have a version of the carb spiral that I'm going to be putting up for sale soon.

I have the Dewalt DW735 with a Byrd Shelix Cutterhead....
Hand smooth finish on everything and so quiet.....
Couldn't fault it.
Cheers, crowie

Crowie, did you buy the Byrd locally or imported?

Originally Posted by botesmj1

Crowie, did you buy the Byrd locally or imported?

I bought at the Sydney Wood Show about 6 - 8 years ago from the Australian distributor.
“Woodcraft Supplies”

SHELIX Spiral Cutter Planing Head - Helical Cutter Block

The replacement insert I got from a forum member, but as use haven’t replaced any.

Byrd, CTS, Carbatec, Hafco, Felder Spiral/Shelix/Helix cutter head carbide inserts/knives/blades - SJE-Tool

cheers Crowie

Originally Posted by crowie

I have the Dewalt DW735 with a Byrd Shelix Cutterhead....
Hand smooth finish on everything and so quiet.....
Couldn't fault it.
Cheers, crowie

Hi Crowie

After 6+ years do you know anything that can match your thicknesser for less than double the cost?


Cheers

Graeme

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Hi Crowie

After 6+ years do you know anything that can match your thicknesser for less than double the cost?


Cheers

Graeme

G'Day Graeme, Mine cost me a barter [time & effort for goods]!

A mate paid me with it, brand new, after I sorted and wrote up his equipment list and collated his MSDS sheets;
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].

The machine has cleaned up 100 of metres of old hardwood decking for recycle/reuse; it's portable, has a great chip blower [I connect it up to my dusty, works a treat] and almost no snipe. Down side was I had to buy the infeed and outfeed tables separately.
I'm pretty sure my $1300 was/is a great purchase indeed.

Previously I'd had a 2 blade lunchbox style bench unit [Made in Taiwan] ;
noisy as the brakes on a coal train coming down the mountain,
and the finish always needed lots of sanding along with mess everywhere to clean up when the job was done.

Cheers, Peter

I was last attending community college 2006. I do drop back occasionally as a teacher is a friend. Their DeWalt 735 is still there and operational. The students prefer the 735 over an older 20 inch model where the brand name escapes me. The two speed feed is what they seem to like. It requires less sanding.

When it comes to planers (thicknessers) DeWalt makes really fine machines. I owned a 733 and used the 735 at school. Except for width the 733 was better than my Grizzly JP.

The Carbatec unit is not a true helix head (look at photo of the head assembly on the link). The cutting edge runs horizontal and the cutters are in a straight line so it does not have the angular shearing cut that a true helix has. Crowie’s replacement head is a true helix head and is the dog’s #$@s.

The only advantage I can see for the Carbatec unit over one with knives is that you can replace one insert rather than a complete knife if it gets damaged and it’s probably quieter.

i have the Dewalt unit with knives and it screams like a banshee but the finish is fantastic. I don’t put enough wood through it yet to justify a replacement shelix head which is approx. $800.

JMT

screams like a banshee

Spot on ! User Manual says 90 dBA, and I confirmed that by measurement. And add that to the dust collector noise. I try not to run it when neighbours are home

Originally Posted by Dengue

Spot on ! User Manual says 90 dBA, and I confirmed that by measurement. And add that to the dust collector noise. I try not to run it when neighbours are home

I can hold a conversation with a mate while feeding the timber through my Dewalt with the Jet dusty running a couple of meters further away.

If I run the two together leaving them in the garage I put on my earmuffs but the noise outside is less than the neighbours mower.

We have the Carbatec CT300X ‘spiral head’ thicknesser at our Men’s Shed. We only use it outside due to the very high noise level. Certainly can’t hold a conversation anywhere near it - it’s a real screamer, even with new carbide blades from SJE Tools.

It gets used every Shed session and gets pretty tough treatment. Its around 5 years old and there have been no mechanical issues. Would we buy again? Yes, but wish we could justify a true helix head.

I have the Dewalt as Crowie talked me into it a few years ago. Quite happy with it on just the standard cutters. Things I really like about it are the chip blower and the 2 speed feed. As others have pointed out it can be converted to a true helix head.
While you are on the lookout there are other segmented cutter machines out there. The Timbecon one has tc blades as standard.
https://www.timbecon.com.au/13in-deluxe-thicknesse
W815 - T-13S Bench Mount Thicknesser - Helical Head | Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse

Regards
John