Just like the title says.
I need a stock cutter head for my Skil.
Seems like some folks are switching to the new multi-blade cutters and might have their old stock one laying around???
Otherwise, does anybody wanna buy a Skil (7.5 amp type 4) that needs a cutter head?
It is in great shape besides that.
Pete might have one. PM him.
Thanks McDing…
Since I posted this thread only about an hour ago, I talked with a friend and weighed all my options.
I’ve decided to get one of the new spiral, helical cutter heads and put that in the Skil and keep it.
So, I will be selling my Clark Hitachi after that.
Pete and I were discussing those cutter heads a couple of days ago. He’s pretty impressed with them. Seem to have a lot of advantages. I still have two Skils that are for sale. Both have been gone thru by Casica Tech. I might put one of those heads in one myself. Lowel
Just put one on one of my Skils. They are a work of art as far as craftsmanship. Come with new bearings. A steal IMO for $200. Cuts like nothing else! Model for Hitachi coming soon.
I’m pretty sure that’s the cutter head a guy was talking about here on Sways awhile back. The only way something like that could be successful is if it were superior to everything else it is competing against in the market place. I haven’t seen one yet, but looks pretty good to me.
The friend I talked with is someone I trust regarding shaping and he spoke very highly of the new cutter head.
WideAwake has one and I plan to go over to his place to check it out before buying one of my own…
The fact that you can rotate those Carbide cutters four times before they are dull enough to replace is unbelievable. My HSS blades are finally getting a bit dull. I always hate swapping them out, because the alignment and tightening always makes me nervous.
It’s good to have a back up planer too Chrisp. Or, a lighter machine for when your back and necked are jacked up. Mike
I’m putting those cutters out. Can sort you out with a stock cutter also if you want to go that direction. All the feedback I’ve had from shapers has been positive. Better balanced so less vibration. Cutters lasting longer and being able to easily rotate them etc. Yancey Toland and Gene Cooper have been helping me with them.
The Back Story: I originally approached a few companies to make me a one off for my personal Hitachi I was messing around working with some big Oak slabs…just a cool factor. Most companies either weren’t interested and one wanted $1k just to design it. Finally found a company willing to make me a one off. Worked great on wood. It wasn’t until a few shapers were complaining about the new 2.0 foam and tearing that I thought it could be a solution. Messaged a shaper on Instagram and asked him if he would give it a try which he jumped at the oppurtunity. He did 2 passes with sharp blades and 2 with my planer cutter…results were night and day difference and I left him the planer to play with for a little while. Had the mfg make a few more for old Hitachi that I sent off to other shapers to try as well. Had the mfg make a few more for the Skil 100 and it’s just snowballed from there.
This style of cutter has been around awhile mostly in larger stationary planers. It’s not my design, I’m just the middle man that got the project going because I’m sure a lot of you have thought of these types of cutters before. I’m not making a ton of money on these things either…just looking to offer and alternative and possibly better solution than whats already out there.
Looking to set up some type of Demo tour in SoCal soon where shapers can try out the cutters first. Will be showing some of the cutters off at Boardroom show as well at Genes booth and will have them for sale as well. I’m on Instagram a lot more so if you want you can reach me there @j2themac or shoot me a PM on here but might take me a day or two to see it.
Jesse
Well you did a great job and I am eager to try one as well. The market is small and as you say there isn’t a ton of money in stuff like this unless; You come up with something superior and you have. I use a grit barrel on one of my Skils and like it. But I stay away from the stringer and wood with it to make it last longer. I would think that your cutter would shred anything. Lowel
I am glad you commented on here Jesse.
I didn’t know you were on swaylocks.
I was talking to Yancey the other day and he talked me into getting one of your cutter heads.
He also told me that you and I live pretty close to each other. I am in Osos
If these are the Sheartak cutters I would be interested in a review/comparison between the aluminum and steel if anybody is using either/both. Also how they work with EPS, both molded (2.0) and block. I have Skils with regular cutters and one with a grit barrel for EPS. The same for my Clark Hitachi’s which I now use only for skinning when I have more than one board to skin that day. It would be nice if these cutters were easier on the stringers when cutting at more of a right angle! Just my 2c…
The spiral cut is superior to plain blades, particularly on Skil’s due to the variable cutter opening of the sliding shoe. On up/down shoes with a fixed opening, well anything is an improvement. It’s all about the feed of the material into the cut and spirals are always cutting and not position dependent. On straight blade planers it’s no secret that if you adjust one blade a bit lower than the other it cuts more efficiently. The problem with plain carbon blades is that after 50-60 shapes they lose their edge and then you have to buy more. If you’re really particular then about 20 shapes and you’ll notice a difference. With these heads you just rotate each cutter so you get 4 edges instead of just one and no blade adjustments either. Molded EPS will always cut cleaner with blades than block. Spirals will work better than plain blades on EPS block, but an abrasive or grit cutter will always produce a smoother finish and less sealing effort. However the weight of the grit heads does tax the old Skil motors and Jesse’s heads are actually lighter than the original Skil cutter. Besides the Hitachi and Skil, they are also available for the modified Makita KP0810 and the older KP0800 (via eBay). Jesse told me that he is getting demo units (Hitachi and Skil) ready. I’m installing one in Jeff Timpone’s Skil for the Maui crew to see. Maybe even Ole will try it.
Another thing about these heads is that the cutters are always exposed, so you can’t just set it down upright as a cutter may get chipped. So you should make a holder for the planer so the cutter won’t contact anything. Everyone should have one anyhow regardless of cutter, but that’s just me. Somebody start a thread to show your planer holders!
Thanks Pete, that’s exactly the info I needed. I went ahead and ordered a sheartak 4 row for the Hitachi. I’m going to put it in an unmodified Hitachi to plane some wood first before I try it out in a Clark. I have never liked to hang planers like you would see in many shaping bays. In mine I have a tray that’s about 12" deep lined with think pile marine carpet. The uncut skils rest on a wood lip with the front shoe on the carpet. If I angle them, the cutters are on the carpet. Because I shape a variety of densities and materials, I need more than one planer out. I’ll post a pic when I get a sec. Just my 2c…