Straight blades on conventional cutter heads directly strike the board, often creating a ‘washboard effect’. There can be noticeable tear-out especially around defects such as knots, shakes and uneven grain.

Sheartak spiral cutter heads have 15mm cutters which are angled to the feeding. The carbide inserts contact the wood at a small portion of the cutter edge and shear the workpiece, rather than tear the wood. As the carbide inserts are installed around the cutter head along the spirals, the washboard marks can be reduced or even eliminated.

Noise reduction is another big benefit of spiral cutter heads, simple because the angled cutters shave the board. Long straight blade cutter heads scoop off long strips of material, which can clog the extraction port, especially when the dust collector is not powerful enough or well designed. Angled cutters on spiral cutter heads remove short, thin chips off the board and don’t clog the extraction port. Dust extraction becomes much easier.

Long blades are expensive and easy to wear out. Removing, sharpening, installing, and adjusting their height in the cutter head is time consuming. The carbide inserts on Sheartak spiral cutter heads are standard sizes, inexpensive and easy to acquire. Simply rotate it 90° to reveal a new edge if it is nicked or dull. Replace the insert only when all the four edges are used. Downtime is greatly reduced.

Spiral cutter heads leave a glassy surface finish and reduce more than 2/3 of sanding work. Your initial investment is paid back in no time.

For more information visit sheartak.com.