Higher technical level Helical cutter heads are also called journal heads or indexable insert cutter heads. What this means on a technical level is that the cutter head employs a more or less foolproof system for cutter placement. When you change cutters, you are virtually guaranteed correct placement of the cutter in the head. Most cutters used for metal working lathes and milling machines employ this type of system, but to woodworkers it’s largely unknown. This is one of four benefits to woodworkers. Takes the performance of your DeWalt planer to the next level.
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Long lasting carbide inserts Made of carbide indexable inserts, higher hardness, not easy to chip and crack , and they are inexpensive, with much less painful to the wallet. With most inserts ranging from 3–6 cheap, making a “chipped tooth” much less painful to the wallet. You can also replace just one insert at any given time, so if you happen to chip one in the middle of a job, you can change that one insert and keep going.
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True helical cut ,noise reduction Helical heads have the inserts staggered around the circumference of the head. Thus, only one or two inserts, which are usually 1/2″ to 3/4″ in width, are in contact with the material at any time. Machine noise can be reduced by as much as 50 percent through the installation of a helical cutter head.
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Smoother finishes Probably most important advantage for woodworkers is the greatly reduced tear-out that these cutter heads produce. While most planers have no problem with straight grained wood, they generally do not produce good results with knots, burls, and figured woods. Helical heads typically produce much smoother finishes on these difficult woods.
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