Originally Posted by
Derek Cohen
Just a question - how certain are you that a spiral head requires more power than straight knives? This is not the information I have. In fact it is the reverse of what I have been told.
I have a Hammer A3-31 combination machine with 4 hp. It was designed to run on 20 amp with the straight blades, but comfortably start and runs on 15 amps with the spiral blades.
Logic says that there is more contact (and effort behind) a long, straight blade striking a surface, than several tiny, skewed blades doing so individually but in succession.
In support of spiral blades, the Hammer is quiet enough to have a conversation when it is running, and there is certainly a great deal of comfort in the fact that each blade has 4 faces. The carbide edges last a long time, and leave a super surface. Even so, I finish with hand planes.
Regards from Perth
Derek