Thread: Carbatec CJT-381x

Hi Dave,
I have a Carbatec CTJ-381 that I fitted with a USA "BYRD" Tool Corp Shelix helical cutter head about 18months back and I find it is a totally different machine with the new cutter head. It was extremely noisy when I bought it new but after the new head it not only cuts difficult blackwood timber without tearout but is very quiet. I have been using it on a daily basis and found it does all that i require. So for the money it is not bad if you set it up right. One thing also about these small 15mm helical cutters I have broken quite a few when they hit knots in old hard timber;sometimes they crack or chip easily and when you see them you will notice the TCT cutters have a large securing screw in the center with only a few mm of metal . Heavy duty industrial machines often have a different hold down mechanism to avoid this. I have broken seven cutters in 18months. The cutter head has 75 cutters and are quite expensive.
One thing I recently had to get adjusted was the thermal overload in the switchgear as it was stalling on hot days. I have been told that these true helical heads to have a much higher power demand than straight knives so you often need to take a finer cut to avoid motor stalling. This has also occurred when I misjudged to cutting thickness. My other gripe is the steel infeed rollers can be tricky to set up to avoid leaving imprints with very fine work. For my box making needs I would be tempted to try the Woodfast TH-410 that has polyurethane infeed and outfeed rollers and then fit it with a helical head.. I am at present looking at another better machine but it is not easy to find something that is in the Carbatec price range. I intend to look closely at the Hammer A3-41D but it is about double the price of the Carbatec CTJ-381X. in conclusion I can say that once you have used the spiral cutters you would never go back to straight cutters
especially if you are in a suburban situation where noise is an issue.
Cheers,
Paintman

Thanks Paintman,
The set up of this machine was one of my major concerns seemed like the roller set up could be a very finicky process. This machine is in the top end if my budget, I did look at the powermatic thicknesser but that is another $1200.... Back to the research I guess.
Cheers
Dave

I did the same as Paintman but/and I haven't had any issues since the change over.

can i ask where you got the cutterheads, how much they cost and how hard the changeover was?

am i better off with a true helix get the spiral head from carbatec?

thanks