That's a heck of an argument for the investment in the spiral head cutter

It also does not take into account the fact the regular wear on knives is
likely to be rather uneven (assuming that you are like me and don't
religiously move the fence postion back and forth.)

-Steve



"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
Duane Bozarth notes:


One disadvantage I see is that the replacement cost is quite high for a
complete set when it does come eventually. The good thing is that
hopefully the quality of the inserts are such they will last a long
time...

With the Grizzly, you're looking at $80 for 40 carbide inserts. The same
machine, with its four knife cutterhead, costs about $50, IIRC, to replace
the
HSS knives. Hit a nail with that four knife head and you've probably eaten
all
four knives. Hit a nail with the spiral head and you will probably eat
four or
five or even six or seven inserts. Inserts sell for 20 bucks a ten pack.

I'd guesstimate that the carbide insert sets should last about as long as
at
least four HSS knife sets, so the replacement cost actually appears fairly
cheap to me. Depending on carbide quality and luck, the inserts could last
ten
times as long, which means you'd almost certainly have to replace, rather
than
sharpen, the knives twice over the same period.

Charlie Self
"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder
respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." George
Orwell