Spiral vs helical vs spiralcutterhead

The quality and characteristics of mill finish can vary widely from one mill to another, and even from one lot (set of similar parts all processed consecutively or in a short time) to another. Hot rolled parts are usually dark and dull, their surface oxidized from being hot worked. Extruded products may have die marks running the length of the stock. Other mill finishes are surprisingly smooth and uniform.

Two of the most asked cutterheads at the moment are the Spiral and Helical cutterheads, which look almost exactly the same and therefore the differences can be difficult to figure out or understand. Today we'll compare the differences between these types of cutterheads so that you can choose the one that suits your needs.

Spiral vs helicalcutterhead

Perhaps you are looking for a thickness planer, jointer or a combination machine? The cutterhead can have a big impact on the quality of the work, the cost of running the machine and the comfort of use, so it's good to know the differences between the different types of cutterheads so you can find out which type of cutterhead is best suited to your use.

With a Spiral cutterhead, you can usually already achieve a very smooth and high-quality finish. However, the Helical cutter offers better cutting performance and a smoother finish especially on woods which have complex grain patterns.

It is possible for a mill to influence the finish of produced stock. Carefully maintained and polished rollers can increase the smoothness and lustre of their product, and some rolling mills will follow rolling with an annealling process to give the stock a matte finish.

Spiral vs helicalreddit

Spiral and Helical cutters contains several rows of small carbide inserts which are arranged in a spiral around the shaft. Carbide inserts last up to 40 times longer than conventional HSS 18% blades, allowing for low maintenance requirements and low running costs of the planer.

Spiral vs helicalcutterhead reddit

If you have ever carved wood you must have noticed that carving wood at an angle is more effective than carving in a straight angle. This is why the Helical Cutterhead is also able to remove wood more efficiently than a Spiral Cutterhead.

Helical and Spiral cutterheads are the best inventions what we have seen in planers in the last few decades. But before buying a planer, it is important to understand the difference between these two cutterheads.

Mill finish is the surface texture (or finish) of metal after it exits a rolling mill, extrusion die, or drawing processes, including sheet, bar, plate, or structural shapes. This texture is usually rough and lacks lustre; it may have spots of oxidation or contamination with mill oil. Most mill finish surfaces are machined or treated with polishing, industrial etching, or some other surface finishing process before they are considered complete.

The biggest and most important difference is the cutting direction of the cutter blades, which greatly affects the price, cutting performance and output of the machine. In a spiral cutterhead configuration the carbide inserts cut straight towards the workpiece while in a helical cutter configuration the blades cut the wood at a slight angle.

If you have a limited budget then a Spiral cutterhead may be a better option. A Helical cutterhead has a more complex design and often more pieces of carbide inserts, which makes it more expensive.