Shelix cutterhead for Dewalt planer DW735

It's here! My DeWalt planer is complete! A few months ago I began reading about the Shelix cutter heads and was very intrigued. Finally I took the plunge and ordered a cutter head for my 20+ year old Jet jointer. Upon receiving the cutter head I found it easy to install and was blown away by the smooth cut and seemingly increased power of my jointer. This experience led me to purchase a new DeWalt 13" planer and a matching Shelix cutter head. I waited patiently for the cutter head to arrive, and continued to read articles and reviews about it. I began to get a bit worried after reading several less than glowing reviews that said the cutter head left scallops and lines on the wood. Well, the cutter head arrived yesterday and I went to work installing it after work today.First, watch the utube videos by Chris Wong and he will walk you through the entire process. It took right at 90 minutes to change out the cutter heads. Upon completion I hooked everything up and ran my first piece of hardwood through the planer. Amazing! The DeWalt planer is somewhat loud due to the type motor it uses, and when you use the OEM steel knives it is excessively loud (my wife who wears hearing aids could hear me planing a piece of pine almost 100 feet away with the shop doors closed). When I fired up the planer and ran hardwood through it I couldn't tell at first if it was even cutting. I took twice the depth of cut as what I did in the pine and the machine didn't sound any louder nor did is bog down. The wood came out. So smooth you wouldn't need to sand it. I looked everywhere for the scallops and lines and they weren't there.The only thing I could wish for is that DeWalt just got off the dime and offered the Shelix as a factory installed option. If you are considering a Shelix for your machine just get one, you will be amazed.Update. As of July 22, 2015 I have planned several hundred linear feet of maple using this cutterhead and still have not encountered the complaints listed in some of the other reviews. The head cuts so smooth that some of the planed stock actually tends to stick together when to pieces are stacked one on top another. I still don't get the issue with the Shelix cutterhead being marginally smaller in diameter than the OEM cutterhead. I have yet to encounter a feeding problem on the DeWalt planer due to the cutterhead diameter. I can only say that I am thrilled with both Shelix cutterheads I've purchased and will continue to recommend them to other woodworkers.Update 2, November 27, 2015: the original cutters are still going strong. I have now planned over 1000 linear feet of hardwood and the finished surface after planning is still superb. The latest project used Bubinga and Chechen, both very dense woods, both looked like glass after planning. I have encountered the planer slowing down on wide boards due possibly to the roller pressure, however, I use Bostick Top Cote (called something else now but same product) and after applying this to the table the feed sped back up to normal; the moral here is to keep the table slicked up.Still love my Shelix cutter head and my DeWalt planer.

(Revised Post)OK, I installed the replacement cutter head that Byrd sent, and now things are as I expected - this thing rocks...er, rather chips! I am happy to change my overall rating from 2 to 5 stars. Yes, there was a problem, but Byrd really stepped up, owned it, and quickly took care of their customer.The first thing that stands out is that my Dewalt 735 is now about HALF as loud as it was with the original cutter head. I put some pine, cherry and walnut through and it handled everything just fine, no bogging down. The chips are much smaller than with the stock cutter, and are much easier for collectors to handle. As expected from the design of the product (and noted in their included documentation), there is some scalloping across the WIDTH of the board, but it is slight, no more than 1/64th of an inch. That will come right off during finish planing or sanding. But I'll take that vs. the PITA that was removing, sharpening, reinstalling and realigning the original blades. The original cutter head blades were showing multiple nick lines after only the third time I used it. I sharpened them, and then after only a few passes they were showing nicks again. Enough of that! The Shelix cutter bits take 30 seconds to replace, although the beauty of their design is that unless you actually crack one, you can rotate them 90 degrees up to three times, before you actually have to replace one. And if you do have to replace one, it comes to only about $3.50 a bit.In the end, it doubled the price of the planer, but it is worth it for the consistent cuts, and ease of maintenance.And one last note, once you get this installed, if you don't have it already you will want this: Wixey WR510 Digital Planer Readout with Fractions. This makes precise depth adjustments a breeze.------------------------------(Original Post)Well, two weeks after delivery of a cutter head that cost as much as my planer, and I'm still not planing; nobody likes getting cool new toys and not being able to use them. Pretty easy install, but right out of the box it was leaving some pretty big raised strips. I spent hours removing, cleaning, rotating, replacing cutters, but noting helped...in fact things just got worse and worse. For this much money, I'm expecting smooth as a baby's but.Called Byrd they were very responsive. I spent three days emailing back and forth trying different things to fix. Good customer service, but it would have been a heck of a lot faster if they had just called and talked to me. To their credit, without prompting, they said that the cutter was defective in some way and that they would need to send me a replacement. Should finally receive it tomorrow (ground shipping), and we will see how it goes with the replacement. PITA to uninstall and reinstall, but c'est la sciure...I'll revise the review after I test out the replacement cutter head...hoping to increase to a 5-star, but we'll see...

I planed several hundred board feet of red oak of the steel knives that came with the planer. as long as you don't take too much of a bite its fine. does an ok finish. Then i did a project in hickory. Killed the knives in short order. no problem, flip the blades over to a fresh side. Killed that as well. So I bought the Shelix for my lunchbox planer.Easy to install if you are mechanically inclined. Takes about 1 1/2 hours. Many of the screws are torx and, although tight, are say to remove. The lousy Phillips head holding the locking mechanism took 10 minutes and eventually stripped. Used mini vise grips to remove. Destroyed screw but no matter, the lock isn't needed with the Shelix.How does it work? Awesome. Using my DVM I see its draws considerably less amps. I can hear the sound is way down, although I didn't measure it. And the cut, far better than the HSS knives. The is little difference when planing vey thin stock, but huge difference with 12 inch width. My first cut - when I passed the first board through I thought I set it too high. It fed the board but I heard no change in the cutter. Although the rollers were feeding I thought there was no cut. To my surprise as the board came out it did make a cut.The rollers have an easier job. There are not slipping like they did with the HSS. Have run about 400 board feet of hickory. No change in the sharpness. These cutters will last a LONG time. And when they do wear you have 3 more sides! Chip a cutter? Only have to replace one of the little cutters, not the entire width of the planer.Great product, easy instructions, great quality. Oh and the packaging - it is bullet proof. It will not be damaged in transit. Custom made hardboard and wood box is how it is shipped. You will not be disappointed. Totally different planner when you are done.