Spiral cutterhead for Ryobi AP1300 planer?

[Luke Currano]

My Ryobi AP1300 benchtop planer just tore up it's cutterhead blade assembly - some chips got packed under the metal bracket that holds the blades in place, and bent it beyond recognition. I could replace the bracket, but I'd been thinking about getting a spiral cutterhead anyway, so I'm using this as an excuse to go ahead and do it. The Ryobi AP1300 has been discontinued for several years now in favor of the AP1301, and Accu-head has a cutterhead that fits the 1301 (as well as the Rigid TP1300 and a few other models) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Accu-Head-He...item232887e296. Anyone know if it will also fit the 1300 (i.e., are the cutter diameter, shaft, bearings, etc. the same on the 1301 as the 1300?)

It seems like the big changes from the AP1300 to the AP1301 were eliminating the infeed/outfeed tables and the cutterhead height lock, but the cutterhead part numbers from manuals I found online are not the same. I don't know if they are truly different parts or if Ryobi assigns different part numbers to the same part in different models?

[john bateman]

I can't offer any advice, but I own one of those planers and the whole thing cost what that cutterhead does in your ebay link.

[Mark Ashmeade]

I wouldn't bother. It doesn't look like there's enough blades on it.

Here's the Accuhead:

$(KGrHqUOKjcE6doIe-81BOpcJu0fBQ~~60_57.JPG

And here's a Shelix:

Byrd Head.jpg

That said, even if you put a Shelix in it, you'd still have a very basic planer. I would be more tempted to get a used stationary planer than upgrade the Ryobi. Or even a RIDGID or DeWalt, before putting money into the Ryobi.

[John Piwaron]

It's a tough decision to repair an old tool. But it's your decision. Another source for a spiral cutter head is Global Tooling. I think they're in Oregon.

[Alan Bienlein]

I put the Accu-Head in my Ridgid TP1300 and have never been happier. I am now able to surface plane figured wood. I no longer look at grain orientation.

As to the argument that it doesn't look like it has enough cutters I say it's a bunch of baloney!

Here Is a recent project I was able to do because of getting that helical head.
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[Luke Currano]

Mark, certainly the Shelix is a better cutterhead, no argument from me there - but the Accu-head has gotten decent reviews and it's a lot cheaper. As for upgrading to a new planer - it's immaterial to me what the Ryobi is "worth" - despite the Ryobi name, it's been a good performer for me for 8 years. It might not survive a professional's workload, but it's one of the most used tools in my shop, and set up well it gives perfectly acceptable cuts with no snipe at all. This is the first issue I've ever had with it.

I just don't see any reason to get a new planer if I can upgrade this one and get even better performance for only $250 (and if I was going to upgrade I'd still want the spiral cutters to eliminate tear-out, so it would be a lot more expensive).

[Andrew Joiner]

I have an 8 year old Ryobi AP1300. Very happy with it's performance. I'm still on the original
blades after running more than 7 or 800 sq. ft. of tropical hardwood thru it. I take maybe 3 light cuts per face and a lot of passes so it's really done 800x 3 sq. feet of surfaces. I'd flip the blades but it still gives a great surface finish!
Two things that would keep me from putting a new head on it if it was needed. I don't know how many more miles it has on it. I considered it a "disposable" tool in a way because it was so cheap new. Also, no guarantee that any new head put in it would work as good as the original. If it was me I'd get a new lunch box with a guarantee.

[Phil Thien]

I put the Accu-Head in my Ridgid TP1300...

That cabinet is beautiful.