Does anybody know the last time the Craftsman Jointer had it’s blades replaced/sharpened? They seem a bit dull and there’s a slight nick in the one of the blades. Looking around there doesn’t seem to be a a Helix cutter for our model, but new blades are relatively inexpensive at ~$18.
https://mywoodcutters.com/HSS_Blade_Set_for_Craftsman_Jointer_103.23900
I had found a helical for ours... Ill look for the link this weekend
In the long run it seems like a Helical is the way to go.
Shelix might be able to make one for us - they don’t have one already (no one’s asked). If they make one its about the same price as the others - they can work off our drawings or we can ship the head for some additional shipping costs to their tooling plant in KY (this does mean the jointer would be down for a couple of weeks while they measure it)
Can the cutter head and its drive shaft be removed as a single piece? Or does it have to be removed from the shaft first. This is the make or break question in getting a helical head for any jointer.
I’m not sure I’m clear on exactly what you’re asking. I found the manual, which I’ve added to the wiki. On page 5 there’s an exploded parts diagram, which shows the cutting head, and it’s attachment to the rest of the assembly.
https://wiki.hive13.org/images/9/9e/Craftsman_103.23900_Manual.pdf
Also not sure I want the jointer down for weeks, I’ve got a few major projects that are going to need a working jointer. I guess I could fake it with the Table saw.
The cutter head appears to be held onto the shaft by some set screws or it seems on the diagram. The question that makes or breaks getting a helical head made for ours (or any jointer) is if that head is attached via set screws, can the head be removed with the shaft still attached(if not then they can’t make a helical head for it). If so - they need the head and shaft for about two weeks to make a measurement of it at the worst case. We might be able to supply good enough drawings that they are happy with them to make one.
From Stephen at mywoodcutters/shelix -
… please check if the original head is made from 2 pieces where the shaft slides through a hole in the head. This is easily recognized if you see set screws in the head that clamp down onto the shaft. If this is the case, please try to remove the cutter head from the machine as a one piece unit. If this fails and you must remove the shaft first in order to drop the head out of the machine, then a SHELIX head cannot be built.
Doesn’t look like it’s possible to remove the head and shaft as one piece from the drawing, but I’ll check next time I’m at the Hive.
Have you sent Stephen the manual? He might be able to better tell than we can.
Stephen looked at it and said “If you can remove the head while it’s attached to the shaft, we can make one. If not - we can not. That will hold true for any helical head.”
Okay, thanks for asking him. I’ve looked at it, and it’s not clear how the head is removed. Further it just seems better to replace the blades, rather than have it down for an extended period.