Vertailussa: Helical kutteri vs Spiraalikutteri

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.

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.

Difference between the Spiral and Helical cutterhead

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.

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.

Cutting direction

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 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.

Price

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.

Cutting power

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.

Summary

Choose Spiral Cutterhead, if..

.. you have a limited budget, but still want an easy-to-maintain cutterhead that delivers an excellent finish

... you mainly use woods which dont have complex grain patterns

Choose Helical Cutterhead, if..

... you're looking for a best surface finish and you want to minimize the risk of tear-out

... you might use wood with complex grain patterns