I am thinking of purchasing a Dewalt DW735 to serve as a stop gap planer until I can afford a larger stationary model, and eventually to serve as a second planer. I was wondering what advice if any the wreck has on these machines? I have read basically nothing but good reviews of them, and was wondering if anyone has had bad experiences with this model.
Also any thoughts on the support wings or stand? I know I could build my own but if they are quality it might be easier to simply purchase them and be off the block.
I appreciate any thoughts, and if there is a different model that is comparable I would appreciate a heads up
After a couple of weeks I'm impressed by the one I bought. Got the planer, stand and wings (from ToolKing, no commercial interest!). Posted a review of the stand in this NG about a week ago.
The planer itself did a more than passable job on some rough cut 4/4 cherry. Board had a bit of a warp so I hand planed the high part (about 1/8" high) down then ran the 6'X4"X3/4 through at a 1/32 cut on the fast cut (slow feed speed) setting. It is LOUD! Hearing protection required. I say that and I'm a half deaf ex-helicopter jockey, so trust me, get out the bunny ears!
With the extensions set at a bit of an upward angle, in and out, there was no snipe at either end. Tear out was barely noticable, and that only around a couple of "swirly, curly" grain spots. First post machining cut with a #3 hand plane (with a really nasty (read sharp) edge) brought up a set of totally even 1 3/4 wide curlies you could read through. That indicates to my un-educated brain that the DW planer had got the board pretty darn flat, no ridges or gouges.
Were the machined planed sides truely parrallel? Damned if I know. I have no good way to measure that. The thickness was (according to my dial caliper) virtually identical at multiple points along the board. measured at multiple distances in from the edges, so I guess it was darn close.
Of course, the warp wasn't entirely gone. Got it down to about 1/32, which was unimportant as the longest piece I cross cut off the board was to be about 24".
All in all I was a happy camper with the stand, the wings, and the planer. We'll see how it works out over time.
BTW, ToolKing had a deal on a package including an extra set of blades, at $40 off plus the DW $50 rebate (12 week wait, but WTH). Delivery was common carrier, but it was 5 calendar days from order to delivery and the driver dollyed (SP?) it from the front to the garage without a murmur.
Go with used. There is a planer in our local paper that is probably suitable for you. A 30" Whitney, handles 8" thick, four knives 15 hp direct drive. Even has a dust hood. $23000 or BO.
Yeah, I am aware of the dust collection issues. I have an older delta planer I bought used for $50. It has never worked all that well, despite several varried attempts at tuning it up. Just recently I have noticed blue sparks coming from the motor as soon as I turn it on which has given me cause to replace it.
I am in a constant struggle with machinery. I started as a frequent metal worker, very occasional wood worker. Over time, and in response to my clients demands these percentages have swtiched. This means that my industrial quality level TIG welder sits unused many hours that I am running other machinery not designed for such heavy wear. I was hoping the Delta planer would last until I can justify the expense of a stationary planer (the 15" spiral powermatic to be specific) but it doesn't seem to be holding up. Eventually having two planers will be a fine thing, so I'm not adverse to buying one that will be replaced within the year.
The good thing is that as I look around my studio I see fewer and fewer tools that fit into this category, though thats only after replacing a bandsaw, jointer, and table saw. Learn from the mistakes of this kid and try and buy the absolute best you can at the time.
Thanks for the thoughts so far, and I will check the archives some more.
Yeah I have niticed that as well. There are still some things about these planers that I am less than trilled about. It seems like alot of money for a lot of plastic. And the disposable blades is somewhat of a worry. I guess it's nice that they are indexed to be easy to replace, but seems like a lot of money.
The disposable blade are not cheap, but they do have one feature that is good for many of us. They are sharp. Seriously, of all the planers sold, how many of the owners can get the blade as sharp as the factory blade? I'd bet a very small minority. Unless you have a good sharpening service, the disposables are not so bad. Works well for razors for the past 50 or 60 years also.
In a home shop, the blades will last a long time in terms of weeks/months because many of us use the planer for specialty type work. My hardwood dealer planes to size included in the price. Production shop would probably kill them in a couple of days.
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:TMeCe.3015$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
If you have already invested in a Tormek, an EZLap, or something similar for sharpening edges, the disposable blade argument changes its economics.
But spending $350 - $800, or more, for sharpening tools requires it's own business case.
In pretty serious, but still hobby use, I'm on my third set of (double- edged) planer blades in 3 1/2 years. I clean then, and hone then a bit with 600 grit wrapped around a block, and then reinstall them, if the job isn't some tear-out prone figured wood. I don't know that I'd make that tradeoff in a pro shop. Pop in the new blades, and get on with it.
There's a lot of value in the sub-$500 lunchbox planer, and I would think that, with enough space in the shop, one of these next to a 'big machine' would earn its keep.
The last pro shop I visited had three lathes, two jointers and four bandsaws. For one furnituremaker and one apprentice.
Tattooed and Dusty ( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) wrote on Friday 15 July 2005
08:37 pm:
Andrew,
I bought mine about a little less than a year ago. The blades that came with it were junk. After two or three passes of some soft pine, they started leaving noticeable grooves in the wood, even after flipping the blades over. This is -after- I installed it onto the stand and with the table extension, so returning it to Home Depot would be a major pain. I called DeWalt, and within a few days two new sets of blades showed up at my door - these worked flawlessly.
The stand and the table extensions are good. The only negative about the stand is that the shelf is one of those without raised edges, i.e. anything you place on there may roll off when you move your -portable- stand. I still haven't gotten around to fixing that yet.
You perhaps have missed the small number of posts in which I have pointed out that the blades can, in fact, be sharpened. I've had my DW735 for close to two years now, and after many hundreds of board feet I'm still on the first set of knives -- but at least the third resharp. This is a *vast* improvement over its predecessor in my shop, a Delta 560: there's not enough metal on those knives for even a light honing when they get dull.
Do the math: Delta blades at $30/set, two edges, can't be resharpened. Discard after dulling two edges. $30 / 2 = $15 per edge.
DeWalt blades at $45/set, two edges, resharpenable _at_least_ 3x in my experience. Dull two edges, resharp, repeat 3x - that's eight times. $45 / 8 = $5.63 per edge.
On top of that, the DeWalt blades last longer too.
Add to Doug's comment that with the blade registry pins/holes on the DW735, I have been told that this is the only one that currently has the holes elongated on the horizontal plane.
This means that should you nick a blade on some dirty wood you can loosen one or two blades and slide them in opposite directions, tighten them back down and you're good to go.
The other blade systems with the registration pins don't allow for the side to side movement so once you get a nick, it's time to rehone, resharpen or replace.
I don't know this from experience but, like you, I'm researching for a future purchase and that's what I'm hearing about the DW 735 - yet another check mark in the plus column.
Yeah I have niticed that as well. There are still some things about these planers that I am less than trilled about. It seems like alot of
money for a lot of plastic. And the disposable blades is somewhat of a
worry. I guess it's nice that they are indexed to be easy to replace, but seems like a lot of money. Unquote
What about the Makita planer; the reviews for it are fantastic and no one seems to mention the blades wearing out quickly which seems to be a common complaint of the Dewalt?
How's this for a bargain? Amazon has the 735 (reconditioned) for $349.99 AND $50 off on purchases of $250 or more AND free shipping! That almost qualifies as a gloat in my book. See
And it's cheaper, as are the replacement blades. I don't know Matisse, looks like a good machine for a good price to me. The Dewalt is a newer model, and the three knives makes more sense over two knives. Anyone care to comment on the Makita?
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