Thread: Problem with helix upgrade to 15" CT381

What was wrong with the old head?

The old head was fine, but I didn’t want to take timber down the road anymore to get thicknesses on their drum sander when the timber had an fiddleback running through it. Now with the shelix head I won’t have anymore tear out.

"Now with the shelix head I won’t have anymore tear out." I think you may be in for a surprise.

why do you need to remove the other two?

they appear to be bolted in place according to the exploded view in the instructions

I converted mine, is your’s with the motor on top or below in the cabinet?

The motor is below mate

Originally Posted by havabeer69

why do you need to remove the other two?

they appear to be bolted in place according to the exploded view in the instructions

I need to get them out to access the helical gear at step 19. And looking back at 18, when the gearbox is separated, all the gears with the exception of the helical gear come out with it. In the exploded view it does look like that bolts come from the back of the case to the two cogs that I have that are stuck, but they’re not in the model thicknesser I have, is that the same for you Dj?

Right now I’m stuffed on the next bit to remove them.

Originally Posted by Waldo

The old head was fine, but I didn’t want to take timber down the road anymore to get thicknesses on their drum sander when the timber had an fiddleback running through it. Now with the shelix head I won’t have anymore tear out.

like China said, I also think you might be in for a surprise. I would have thought it better to buy your own drum sander

After scouring YoutUbe videos on helix installations, I found a bloke who had my same problem. It ended up meaning a two man job with some gear pullers and a impact driver to free the gears from the gearbox housing.

So after smelling like a grease monkey for the last two days the head is installed and it purrs like a quiet kitten, not the growl in had with the normal head.

Installed.jpg

So now I've got about 10kg of steel that's useless to me and two sets of 15" knives: one factory supplied and the other really good quality (can't remember off hand what it is) that I'll see if I can find a new home for.

Nice to see there's actual metal gears in there. The thin wall on the small one makes me a bit nervous though...

It’s been going like a demon possessed now for about 15 or so years, so I’m not worried by them at all.

hows the finish?

Originally Posted by Waldo

The motor is below mate

Mine is above, but it looks like you’ve solved it all.

You’ll love it now, quiet and a really nice finish straight out the machine

Hi Waldo,
I went through the same issues a few years back and finally discovered a hidden lock bolt down inside one of the shafts. Only found this by downloading the .PDF 72 page file on the Grizzly USA web site. This has a lot of good info that that no local supplier provides even though the machines come from the same source. I also modified the top cover with a hinge system and reset the dust chute off to one side. I also fitted a 5Hp SP motor which was a lot of work but helps when you are doing large slabs as the Helical units can draw more power especially if you take off too much in a single pass. I get the replacement cutters from SJE Tools in Qld and have them on both of my machines as well as our two Powermatic units at my wood group. Cheers,
Paintman