Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I planed several hundred board feet of red oak of the steel knives that came with the planer. as long as you don't take too much of a bite its fine. does an ok finish. Then i did a project in hickory. Killed the knives in short order. no problem, flip the blades over to a fresh side. Killed that as well. So I bought the Shelix for my lunchbox planer. Easy to install if you are mechanically inclined. Takes about 1 1/2 hours. Many of the screws are torx and, although tight, are say to remove. The lousy Phillips head holding the locking mechanism took 10 minutes and eventually stripped. Used mini vise grips to remove. Destroyed screw but no matter, the lock isn't needed with the Shelix. How does it work? Awesome. Using my DVM I see its draws considerably less amps. I can hear the sound is way down, although I didn't measure it. And the cut, far better than the HSS knives. The is little difference when planing vey thin stock, but huge difference with 12 inch width. My first cut - when I passed the first board through I thought I set it too high. It fed the board but I heard no change in the cutter. Although the rollers were feeding I thought there was no cut. To my surprise as the board came out it did make a cut. The rollers have an easier job. There are not slipping like they did with the HSS. Have run about 400 board feet of hickory. No change in the sharpness. These cutters will last a LONG time. And when they do wear you have 3 more sides! Chip a cutter? Only have to replace one of the little cutters, not the entire width of the planer. Great product, easy instructions, great quality. Oh and the packaging - it is bullet proof. It will not be damaged in transit. Custom made hardboard and wood box is how it is shipped. You will not be disappointed. Totally different planner when you are done.