![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/img_0152_edited-2.jpg\" "\\"img_0152_edited-2\\"")
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I have had my eye on carbide segmented cutterheads<\/strong> for a while. After studying the options and particularly after reading Glen Huey\u2019s excellent article in the February 2011 Popular Woodworking<\/em>, I decided to get the Byrd Shelix cutterhead<\/a> for my DeWalt DW735 planer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most of my pieces use highly figured woods<\/strong>. I had been having trouble getting good surfaces from the planer on some of these difficult gems of nature, despite using appropriate technique. I don\u2019t expect a machine planer to yield a finished surface, of course, but tearout surprises<\/strong> can require corrective\u00a0handwork sufficient to\u00a0change dimensions and relationships. Parts meant to match and reference surfaces were disturbed; there was too much backtracking and unpredictability. This affected my work flow<\/strong> and was frustrating.<\/p>\n In considering a segmented cutterhead, I first had to decide if the DeWalt DW735<\/strong> was a good enough machine in which to invest. After years of use, its design, quality, and reliability are proven. So, primarily for the joy of using my beloved figured woods, I took the plunge: $447 for a Byrd Tool Shelix – “she” for shear, and “helix”. (Sounds like a part to soup up a motorcycle or something.)<\/p>\n Below is the Shelix in all its medieval-looking glory. Thankfully, it comes with the bearings attached<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In future posts, I will discuss the basic design and performance<\/strong> of the Shelix, and how this tool is integrated into the work flow<\/strong> of a project. The latter issue is the most important one and required the most thought to make this a sensible investment.<\/p>\n The post immediately following this one lists tips for installing the cutterhead.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 I have had my eye on carbide segmented cutterheads for a while. After studying the options and particularly after reading Glen Huey\u2019s excellent article in the February 2011 Popular Woodworking, I decided to get the Byrd Shelix cutterhead for my DeWalt DW735 planer. Most of my pieces use highly figured woods. I had been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-1103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tools-and-shop","tag-byrd-shelix-cutterhead-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1103"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2285,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103\/revisions\/2285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/img_0151_edited-2.jpg\" "\\"img_0151_edited-2\\"")
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