Ken's New Jointer - She's a Beauty

[Tapper]

Hey Dave.  Well there's certainly nothing wrong with a new or used Felder or MiniMax jointer; I sure like my 14" MM J/P.  But Ken paid so little for his machine that he could afford to dump another $2K in a helical head for it, assuming someone makes one, and still be maybe half the price of a comparable new machine.  I've seen a couple of old iron 16" jointers in the last couple of months with helical heads.  That was rather surprising, but there they were on C-list.  If I see another I'll send you the lead. 

Ken and I discussed a helical head for his, briefly, but he quickly pointed out that it was a low priority for him because he has a 25" dual drum sander.  

John

John,

Byrd will make a spiral carbide cutterhead for that machine. I have a friend here who owns a millwork shop, who was looking for a 24" Northfield jointer. I found one on Ebay that had been completely refurbished (looks like new) at a steal price. He bought it, had it shipped from Michigan out here to Montana and ordered a carbide cutterhead for it from Byrd (took almost 3 months to get it) - I think it cost him in the $2,500 range, which he thought was quite reasonable. He has not found the time to install the new cutterhead yet, but when he does I plan to post some pics of the machine here.

They do indeed, now make VFD's for 5 HP 3 phase motors. They are pricey but many who have these old classic machines are willing to pay for performance you can't buy these days (fortunately my friend has 3 phase power at his shop). Good luck to you and Ken and let us know when it's up and running!

Doug

[Brian in sunny FL]

Byrd will make a spiral carbide cutterhead for that machine.

They actually have made one before for the Zefam DSZA-41 16" Jointer which appears to be what you have.  You would have to check the drawing against the head in the machine but they are probably made to order and Byrd is quoting 4-6 months right now.  Based on experience I would put that more at the 6 month mark.  My price on it if you were interested is $1602 delivered to your door.

[Ken Vick]

Thanks for the info, Brian.  I had seen a reference to a Byrd head being put on one of these jointers so I knew they were available.  At this point I am going to let my wife and checkbook recover from this purchase as well as the shipping costs of the 14" Dewalt RAS that I am bringing back from Florida next month.  I have a Byrd head on my present 8" jointer and appreciate it on several levels but I'll need to wait awhile on one for the big jointer.  Ken

[Admiral]

You know, I get it about the Byrd head, but regular knives have been working pretty well for a long, long time, as long as you keep them sharp. As I generally finish my surfaces with hand planes, I don't feel a need for a perfect surface coming out of the jointer.  Maybe it is just me.

[MichaelS]

You're right about the surface Admiral, but the one thing about byrd jointers is that once they are in... you NEVER have to set the dang things again other than rotating them when they get dull. Same can be said of my Tersa set on my MM machine.

Lots of ways to get the job done for sure - just some that require more patience than I possess


Michael

[jteneyck]

You know, I get it about the Byrd head, but regular knives have been working pretty well for a long, long time, as long as you keep them sharp. As I generally finish my surfaces with hand planes, I don't feel a need for a perfect surface coming out of the jointer.  Maybe it is just me.

You might have a different opinion if you used a lot of highly figured wood, or wood that is abrasive or, as Dave D. pointed out, a wide jointer where the noise is really loud when running straight knives.  I still have straight knives on my MM 14" J/P, but I've had to resharpen the blades nearly one too many times from hitting buried metal that I'm just about ready to upgrade.  If I didn't have a drum sander, I already would have bought one.  

John