I'm in the market for a thickness planer and am considering the dw734 and the dw 735. There's a DeWalt rebate on the 734 of 50 dollars and none on the 735, making the price difference ~150 bucks. The only major difference I can see in reading the specs is the 735 offers a second, faster, cutting speed.
Can anyone tell me if this speed is nec.? Or can I save my $$? Thanks in advance! Brian
IF you were going to buy a stationary planer the 2 speeds is almost a must. For portable planers 2 speeds is basically a sales gimmick. The portables feed wood slow enough on the fast speed. Some believe that the finish is better on the slow speed and that is true but you still should sand, hand plane, or scrape the surface before applying a finish. Typically knives on these planers develop nicks in a short period of time which totally makes using the slow finish speed a moot point.
There have been many posts dissecting the 734/735 choice in the past few weeks, FYI. Google search should help you find them.
I have a Delta two speed. When the blades are new, yes it is nice to get the better finish. After a few boards, makes little or no difference. After a lot of boards it definitely makes no difference.
IMO the slower speed is unnecessary; it cuts just fine at the faster speed. One feature of the 735 I appreciate is the easy blade changes. Hope you don't have any sprocket problems if you get one.
David
bscott03 wrote:
I really appreciate all the quick responses, but....
The faster speed is what's sacrificed w/ the less expensive model. By your logic, David and Leon, I'll need the 735.
Igor, I've looked through some of the planer threads but haven't found any discussion on what users thought about the two speeds of the 735 and the one speed of the 734 (slow only.)
Forgive my stupidity (really, I'm just starting to dabble in woodworking) and again, I really appreciate the feedback.
Brian
Depends on what kind of wood you plan to use. I have a single speed planer and every time I have a highly figured piece of wood I wish I could slow the feed speed down to half - even with new knives in it. It is very hard to prevent tear out even when taking very shallow cuts. Finish isn't the issue, you can always sand. Tear outs are tougher to deal with...
If you're only going to run wood that doesn't have grain reversals then two speeds would be a waste of money.
TWS
You will find that Lowe's is selling the DW735 for $399 this week. I just bought mine but haven't set it up yet.
You will find that Lowe's is selling the DW735 for $399 this week. I just bought mine but haven't set it up yet.
I have a new in the box Dewalt 735. Does any body have an idea of what serial numbers have the sprocket problems? max
I never switch the speeds on my DW735. No need to. But I'd consider the
735 for other reasons, and I think it is worth the money.Brian.
When did you buy it? They sorted that problem out months ago.
Brian.
You are confused on the speeds. The 734 cuts at the faster speed (96 cuts per inch). It's not linear speed they are quoting, it's cuts per inch.
David
bscott03 wrote:
Thanks David. I was confused about the speeds. Your input is very helpful.
Brian
FYI: Amazon.com has it for 399 and they're also discounting an additional $25 for purchases over $199. Also free shipping and no tax (at least here in NC.) Amazon has the 734 for 303 minus the same $25 and no tax/shipping, but DeWalt has a $50 rebate on the 734, making the effective difference in price huge (374 vs 228)
I received it a couple of weeks ago from the Amazon slip up sale./ max
FWIW, I posted all that on Tuesday (above). -- Igor
My pleasure, Brian. The 735 has nice features, for sure. Having said that, keep in mind that the fast speed (same as the cheaper unit) cuts well enough that sanding should obscure the minute differences in surface quality you'll see between speeds. Think of it as gilding the lily, so to speak, to plane wood at the slower/finer speed available on the 735. It's an impressive unit.
David
bscott03 wrote:
Geesh - look at all the replies... "Yes!", "No!"...
I have the 735 with a decent amount of BF on the knives. Every now and then I am glad I have the slower speed. Every now and then it makes a difference to me. Your mileage may...
I have the 734 and have no regrets. It's a fine planer.
In my opinion the two speed feature is of little benefit. You will end up scraping/sanding anyway. I wonder if it might be tempting to have two speeds when planing figured woods (perhaps to minimize tearout?), but then again even on my 734 I can adequately surface even the most figured of woods (birdseye and curly) when the knives are sharp, the wood surface is dampened, and the cut is light.
I had occasion to try out the 735 in a demo at one of the Borg stores (on pine only). The main difference that I noticed is that it seemed to be a *lot* quieter than my 734 (my 734 is easily my loudest shop tool). Also, the chip clearing on the 735 is better (not critical if you have a dust collector), and the vertical travel mechanism seems superior on the 735. The head lock on the 735 is apparently automatic, whereas it is manual (and a real knucklebanger) on the 734. The speed change knob was a little finicky on the 735 I tried, and it seemed to jam if you tried to change speeds when the motor was off (of course that's not a problem if you bother to read the label by the switch ;-P )
Being budget conscious I would probably choose the 734. But the 735 does have some nice features, and if I weren't on a budget then I'd choose the 735.
Hope that helps.
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