What a difference a Byrd Shelix Cutterhead makes in a Dewalt DW735 Thicknesser

What a difference a Byrd Shelix Cutterhead makes in a Dewalt DW735 Thicknesser.

I got the Dewalt DW735 about 5 years ago then bought the Byrd Shelix Cutterhead the following year at the Sydney Woodwork show.

Being only a "toymaker" I hadn't put a lot of heavy work through the thicknesser but last year I chipped the blades so know the time was coming.

As frustration grew with the chip and the blades finally dulling off it was time to do the changeover.

WOW, What a difference Byrd Shelix Cutterhead makes....

I can have a conversation with a mate whilst cleaning up some secondhand Tassie Oak,

AND the finish is like I've already sanded it, MAGIC result and extremely happy.

Just have a look at the difference between the two pieces of Tassie Oak board, each with a couple of passes through the thicknesser.

Attachment 411402

I also remembered that one of the forum sponsors was selling replacement cutting inserts for half the price of the OEM.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f154/r...+shelix+cutter

I've contracted Steve and ordered a packet just in case and for when I need them though I do expect that'll be a while off.

Cheers, crowie

Well done, crowie, was wondering when you were going to get around doing it. How difficult was the conversion? did it take long?
Does it reduce the 95dB noise level at all?

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Originally Posted by Dengue

Well done, crowie, was wondering when you were going to get around doing it. How difficult was the conversion? did it take long?
Does it reduce the 95dB noise level at all?

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G'Day Joe, It took 2 of us about an hour with no real hiccups so relatively easy; we viewed a couple of "How To" videos on YouTube which helped.

The noise level has dropped to between 88.5 and 90.3db whilst in the garage with the dusty running.

I ran a stick of my Iron Bark through it a couple of times to clean it up and again wow.

Attachment 411406

Plus I ran these "cheese boards" of Tassie Oak & Jarrah through and yet again wow.

Attachment 411407

Thinking back, I should have done the changeover years back as the time it'd save sanding is well worth it.

Cheers, Peter

Im not sure if i've read your opening post right.

Are you telling me that you have had that sitting around for 4 years without installing it???

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Originally Posted by bryn23

Im not sure if i've read your opening post right.

Are you telling me that you have had that sitting around for 4 years without installing it???

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Yes that's the indictment "bryn23", guilty as charged....
I couldn't justify changing it out when the original blades were still sharp and working well....
Sometimes we are just too cleaver for our own good!!!.

You have some major internal mental strenght:2tsup: waiting for the current blades to dull

I would of been itching to swap it as soon as i got home:D

I decided to give the Dewalt with the Byrd cutter a real run with Iron Bark from my tree.

The tree had been dead some 12 to 14 months, cut down & sawn for my about 8 weeks ago.

The piece was one of the last pieces the milling bloke had tried to cut which I had to hack a into manageable bits.

Anyways a photo says more than a 1000 words...

The thicknesser eat the Iron Bark and WOW the finish is great and shows off the beautiful colour & grain of the 80yr old tree..

Attachment 411704Attachment 411703Attachment 411702Attachment 411701Attachment 411700Attachment 411699Attachment 411698

I'm hoping to sell some of the sawn boards to help recoup some of my costs, way too good a timber to just use on toys.

Cheers, crowie

You can even run endgrain with the Shelix head with incredible results if your machine has enough grunt. It does dull the inserts VERY quickly though.

In the post today.

Cheers

Steve

:)

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Originally Posted by sje-tools

In the post today.

Cheers Steve :)

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Thanks heaps Steve....

Cheers for the info crowie. I have the 735 and have thought about the upgrade. Knowing you have done it means now I have the confidence to give it a crack as when it all falls in a heap I'll know who to call!!
Maybe it'll be my Melbourne tww show 'must get' item.....
Looks like you're having a bunch of fun with it - and filling those dusty bags quickly I'll bet.
Thanks for sharing (and all the pictures)

Gab

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Originally Posted by Gabriel

Cheers for the info crowie. I have the 735 and have thought about the upgrade. Knowing you have done it means now I have the confidence to give it a crack as when it all falls in a heap I'll know who to call!!
Maybe it'll be my Melbourne tww show 'must get' item.....
Looks like you're having a bunch of fun with it - and filling those dusty bags quickly I'll bet.
Thanks for sharing (and all the pictures)

Gab

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Not that bad on the dust side Gab as the cutter seems to chip the timber in very small pieces and not a whole heap of fine dust.....Peter