Thread: Cutter head spec for Jet JPT-260 planer/thicknesser combo

I found this on the Internet. I doubt it will be of any real help to you, but it MIGHT prove to be helpful in some way.

I would ring RDG, Robert Gregory we will know

Originally Posted by Jim-W

I found this on the Internet. I doubt it will be of any real help to you, but it MIGHT prove to be helpful in some way.

Thanks Jim, I have that manual but it doesn't have the dimension specs unfortunately, I'm thinking Jet maybe publish them. I think I'll be stuck with measuring it myself when I can get to it.

Originally Posted by aarggh

Thanks Jim, I have that manual but it doesn't have the dimension specs unfortunately, I'm thinking Jet maybe publish them. I think I'll be stuck with measuring it myself when I can get to it.

I am sorry the manual did not help you, I was afraid that would be the case, but was hoping it would prove useful. I will keep looking around the Internet and if I find something I will let you know, but I am thinking you may have to contact Jet to get the information you are looking for. Or, as you suggested, you may have to do the measuring yourself. In either case, I wish you the best of luck.

Originally Posted by Jim-W

I am sorry the manual did not help you, I was afraid that would be the case, but was hoping it would prove useful. I will keep looking around the Internet and if I find something I will let you know, but I am thinking you may have to contact Jet to get the information you are looking for. Or, as you suggested, you may have to do the measuring yourself. In either case, I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks, I'm not too concerned if I can't find any, just would save me a lot of trouble. I'm several months away from getting a helical head made so I'll keep poking around.

It may be a good idea if you remove the old cutter head and send it to the company who will be making the new helical cutter head. That way they will have the old one and there should be no problem in making the new one to the exact size it needs to be.

Having a helical cutter head is wonderful, they run more quiet, they do a better job, and since the cutters are carbide and have four sides with cutting edges, they last a long time.

I've got a spiral in my thicknesser and absolutely love it, and recently got a spiral head for my ancient Festool HL850 portable planer for a ridiculous low cost which is just sensational. I've got all the measurement gear to accurately measure the planer head so I'll just do that when I'm ready. I suspect it would cost an arm and a leg to ship a large metal head to China anyway.

Originally Posted by aarggh

I've got a spiral in my thicknesser and absolutely love it, and recently got a spiral head for my ancient Festool HL850 portable planer for a ridiculous low cost which is just sensational. I've got all the measurement gear to accurately measure the planer head so I'll just do that when I'm ready. I suspect it would cost an arm and a leg to ship a large metal head to China anyway.

I suspect you are right, I didn't know you would have to ship it China. We have one place here in the US (probably more than one) that makes and sells helical cutter heads for pretty much any brand thickness planer you have. I could buy a helical cutter head for my Foley/Belsaw 12 inch planer, but I don't want to do that. The reason is that I can remove the planing knives and install molding knives and then I can use it to make moldings. I do that quite a bit these days. I actually have contractors bring me moldings they want me to duplicate for them. When they remodel or do work on very old homes and need to replace old moldings that have rotted or somehow become unusable, they are not able to just go to a store and buy these old rather wide moldings. But I can make them from whatever type wood they need them made from. If I put a helical cutter head in the planer, then I can't make moldings because I am not able to install the molding knives in the helical cutter head. That's why I have two thickness planers, one to plane with and one to make moldings.

I've been buying spiral cutters direct from CSP Tooling in China and while I can get a spiral head locally, I can get a true helical specially made for me from CSP for a little over a 1/3rd the cost of the local spiral. A mate had one specially made from scratch for his 14" Felder, and the manufacturing quality and price was superb.

Originally Posted by aarggh

I've been buying spiral cutters direct from CSP Tooling in China and while I can get a spiral head locally, I can get a true helical specially made for me from CSP for a little over a 1/3rd the cost of the local spiral. A mate had one specially made from scratch for his 14" Felder, and the manufacturing quality and price was superb.

WOW! That is a wonderful deal. Several years ago I priced a helical cutter head for my 12 inch Foley-Belsaw planer and it was over $1,000 US dollars. I didn't buy it, I just wanted to know what it would cost if I were to buy a helical cutter head. If you can get one for 1/3 the normal cost, that would be a great way to do it. Not sure what shipping would be from China, but probably not all that bad.