Are spiral cutters really worth the price?

[CW]

[CW]

[brian lanning]

I guess you're right. "Honny, I'm sorry, we have to get the 12" jointer!"

brian

[Brian]

Yeah, I've seen the Grizzly spiral cutterhead, and those blades aren't difficult to rotate. Though I doubt they can be sharpened, which to me, is a downside. So, you get 4 rotations and then discard. I prefer the standard knives that can be sharpened. And, if you desire, you can always by a set of carbide jointer knives.

I just bought the G0500 myself. Gave some serious thought to the spiral cutterhead version beforehand, but in the end opted for the knives.

Brian.

[Brian]

Interesting. I wasn't quite so blown away when I saw spiral cutterheads in action. Curly maple just doesn't seem to tear out when my knives are sufficiently sharp, either. Go figure.

Brian.

[DJ Delorie]

I admit I drooled over the 12" jointer for a while. I can barely justify the 8" jointer :-P

[DJ Delorie]

They're only $2 each. That's $0.50 per nick, or 60 nicks per resharpening trip. TOSS THEM. Life is too short.