I know it isn't a "real" helical cutter. Does that matter? Are you impressed by the surface quality? Do the cutters require a lot of maintenance?
1044547
I am highly impressed with the surface quality. I nicked one cutter and it was quite simple to rotate it 90 degrees to get a new cutting edge. I found a set of 4 sided carbide cutters here on Amazon that are a direct replacement for the stock cutters, but have not had occasion to change them out yet. I would buy the same planer again.
1044548
Depends on the wood you are planing. The harder the wood, the more you must turn the blades. Fairly easy to adjust. Any tiny ridges easily and away. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars.
1044549
The quality of the surface is as good as any I have ever seen and since blades are made up of several individual chips approx. 1/2" wide and can be changed if you happen to hit something hard enough to damage the edge, it is a simple matter to change a single chip. The maintenance is very minimal. I love the quietness of the cutters, my shop vac makes more noise. Your statement "it isn't a true helical cutter" is incorrect because it is.
1044550
It doesn't matter to me. I have no idea what a "real" helical cutter is. The surface quality is really nice (100 times better than the old 2 blade planer I used to use). I've had the planer for about 18 months and I've only had to turn 2 of the cutters (they have 2 cutting sides on each cutter) due to chips in them. And, the dust port does an AMAZING job at keeping the dust in the vacuum bin. Can't go wrong with this one. Hope this helps!
1044551
I have never used a true helical cutter head so I cannot compare. But to the straight knife blades they are alot better. They are much quiter. The blades are 4 sided so when one side dulls it is super easy to rotate the blade. I can rotate all the blades in about 10 minutes. You will notice very small lines in the wood from the knives, but are very easily sanded out. When I plane my wood I only remove 1/32 at a time and with that I do not have problems with tearout. I have planed hundreds of boardbfeet of oak, hard maple, soft maple, cherry, rustic alder, rustic cherry, hickory, walnut, and mohagony with no problems. This is the best portable planer I have used. Hope this helps.
1044552
Not sure what you mean by a "real" helical cutter. It is a helical cutter. Each cutter head has two edges, and you can remove each one and turn it to get a new edge. I've had it for a couple years now and planed a lot of oak boards, and I haven't replaced any cutters yet. I have had to turn probably four or five because something dulled the edges. Just like any other planer, you see the problem as lines on the surface of the board. The only problem is that you really need to watch where the line is and mark somewhere on the planer so you can tell which cutter to check.
1044553
I have never used a true helical cutter head so I cannot compare. But to the straight knife blades they are alot better. They are much quiter. The blades are 4 sided so when one side dulls it is super easy to rotate the blade. I can rotate all the blades in about 10 minutes. You will notice very small lines in the wood from the knives, but are very easily sanded out. When I plane my wood I only remove 1/32 at a time and with that I do not have problems with tearout. I have planed hundreds of boardbfeet of oak, hard maple, soft maple, cherry, rustic alder, rustic cherry, hickory, walnut, and mohagony with no problems. This is the best portable planer I have used. Hope this helps. I have never used a true helical cutter head so I cannot compare. But to the straight knife blades they are alot better. They are much quiter. The blades are 4 sided so when one side dulls it is super easy to rotate the blade. I can rotate all the blades in about 10 minutes. You will notice very small lines in the wood from the knives, but are very easily sanded out. When I plane my wood I only remove 1/32 at a time and with that I do not have problems with tearout. I have planed hundreds of boardbfeet of oak, hard maple, soft maple, cherry, rustic alder, rustic cherry, hickory, walnut, and... » Read More I have never used a true helical cutter head so I cannot compare. But to the straight knife blades they are alot better. They are much quiter. The blades are 4 sided so when one side dulls it is super easy to rotate the blade. I can rotate all the blades in about 10 minutes. You will notice very small lines in the wood from the knives, but are very easily sanded out. When I plane my wood I only remove 1/32 at a time and with that I do not have problems with tearout. I have planed hundreds of boardbfeet of oak, hard maple, soft maple, cherry, rustic alder, rustic cherry, hickory, walnut, and mohagony with no problems. This is the best portable planer I have used. Hope this helps. « Show Less
746774
I think they're fairly easy, but I don't have experience with other saws. The same is true of the guide adjustments. The first time I went to do it, I was apprehensive, but then I was done in a fairly short time, and everything worked. Like anything that benefits from precision, you can't do it super fast and expect a great result.
77900
Just inline cutting and it also orbits. I use Bosch blades and do not have any issues.
981732
it's a pretty powerful tool so i would use a fine grade to work on more delicate or precise work. One thing i had a problem with is that the longer pointed attachment oscillates more widely than i thought, so that when you place into a corner, it can easily hit adjoining surfaces. hope that helps
394110
Yes and no. It does an amazing job of chopping but if you are not careful it will chop it to mush. Do little groups at a time with a gentle touch and you should be fine. Its an amazing cutter but you need to watch carefully the amount of time you grind.
350112
I just got mine a month ago and have cut about 500 and its still going strong. Hope this helps.
766478
I'm a member of the Dallas Maker Space. We replaced the standard cutter head on the Dewalt with the shelix cutter head. There are over 700 members and the planer gets a lot of use and abuse. It has cut everything from pallet wood, with the occasional nail, to purple heart or hard maple. It runs nearly constantly during the evening hours and it has run flawlessly. We've replaced a few belts and several of the blades but the shelix has been an awesome upgrade. I highly recommend it.
1874618
That is somewhat of a wide open question. The saw seems well made. I've only had mine a few weeks and used it a few times. The cuts I've made were through 2 3/8 pipe and have been accurate and quite smooth. As I've used a Makita abrasive saw for years I would expect this one to hold up as well. I will continue to use the abrasive saw for less accurate straight cuts and reserve the new saw for miter cuts or where accuracy is paramount.
1951677
Greetings Greg... Stainless tube correct? It should cut fine... Cutting it to 0.060 is another issue... That tiny piece will likely go flying if you dont set something up to catch it...
1040896
I love those knives and keep them even when they break, wether because I dropped them or use them much for any reason cause I can use them for spare parts... if you didn't lose the part you can fix it youself. I often call these people to report fails too, hopefully they'll improve it... it's a great knive... not perfect though.
2111908
I think this planer is a good value. I have had very good results as long as I keep the planing under 1/16" per pass (with white oak) and make sure the grain is going in the right direction. Also I started out with a shop-vac and a chip separator, it works much better now with that I have a dust collector. Also read about the differences in segmented cutter heads. You do get what you pay for, The cutter head has 26 HSS cutters with two sides. A Shelix head for the DeWalt cost about $450 but the cutters are four sided and helical. SteelCity's tech support is great. I contacted them with a couple of adjustment questions and in each instance I received a detailed and accurate response. I think this planer is a good value. I have had very good results as long as I keep the planing under 1/16" per pass (with white oak) and make sure the grain is going in the right direction. Also I started out with a shop-vac and a chip separator, it works much better now with that I have a dust collector. Also read about the differences in segmented cutter heads. You do get what you pay for, The cutter head has 26 HSS cutters with two sides. A Shelix head for the DeWalt cost about $450 but the cutters are four sided and helical. SteelCity's tech support is great. I contacted them with... » Read More I think this planer is a good value. I have had very good results as long as I keep the planing under 1/16" per pass (with white oak) and make sure the grain is going in the right direction. Also I started out with a shop-vac and a chip separator, it works much better now with that I have a dust collector. Also read about the differences in segmented cutter heads. You do get what you pay for, The cutter head has 26 HSS cutters with two sides. A Shelix head for the DeWalt cost about $450 but the cutters are four sided and helical. SteelCity's tech support is great. I contacted them with a couple of adjustment questions and in each instance I received a detailed and accurate response. « Show Less
1472373
I would buy a cutter designed for those harder than "Normal" types of wire you are needing to cut. Basically the cutters are intended for softer materials... Cutting a coat hanger is enough to nick the blades... The part you want will come from EREM and will cost considerably more than these cutters do. The pair I bought are good grade professional assembly / production cutters that I've used for a year now in more of a hobby type of use and I'd dearly miss them although these are what I'd have purchased for any of my past assembly personnel. They are very similar if not exactly like the Hunter line of tools that I used in 20 years of assembly supervision..RK Johnson Sr I would buy a cutter designed for those harder than "Normal" types of wire you are needing to cut. Basically the cutters are intended for softer materials... Cutting a coat hanger is enough to nick the blades... The part you want will come from EREM and will cost considerably more than these cutters do. The pair I bought are good grade professional assembly / production cutters that I've used for a year now in more of a hobby type of use and I'd dearly miss them although these are what I'd have purchased for any of my past assembly personnel. They are very similar if not exactly... » Read More I would buy a cutter designed for those harder than "Normal" types of wire you are needing to cut. Basically the cutters are intended for softer materials... Cutting a coat hanger is enough to nick the blades... The part you want will come from EREM and will cost considerably more than these cutters do. The pair I bought are good grade professional assembly / production cutters that I've used for a year now in more of a hobby type of use and I'd dearly miss them although these are what I'd have purchased for any of my past assembly personnel. They are very similar if not exactly like the Hunter line of tools that I used in 20 years of assembly supervision..RK Johnson Sr « Show Less
118298
The cutters have never given me a problem providing a smooth cut. If I recall correctly the modeling tools have a seam.
2040650
If it's something that can't be replaced or duplicated, I wouldn't risk it. This is NOT a dependable cutter!
2009467
Actually I'm not certain if the cutter is carbide. But in all actuality I personally don't think that it matters much because you're only trimming thin brass which offers absolutely no resistance when being trimmed
1370817
It is a good gadget, mine is still working. Make sure you remove the shavings on time and regularly clean the cutter gently, can use an old toothbrush.
904367
I lost the docs that came with the cutter, however, as I remember it was stated that the cutter bar could be turned end for end and / or rotated 90 degree steps, giving 8 new surfaces. We have used our cutter quite a bit and I feel that it will outlast Moses. It did not need sharpening, however I took the blade to local tool and die shop for estimate on resharpening and Jeeze, I will buy a new cutter cheaper than resharpening the blade. After all of the above, I'm still happy with the cutter.