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Good planer for small shop for hobbyist?

4K views 27 replies 14 participants last post by  rwe2156 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I am looking at the DeWalt 735 bench top planer for my small shop as it is in my budget and I already have a 6" jointer and some hand planes.

I have read that the 735 is a decent choice but that the blades are indexed and considered disposable.

I'm thinking maybe something that has blades I can sharpen and that has some adjustment to allow for sharpened blades. I'm not sure if there is anything in my budget that is a better idea from the standpoint of being able to sharpen the blades and use them longer without tossing them?

I've also read that the knives on the 735 will wear down fast but this seems to be a common issue to planers and not just the DeWalt? Is there a style of knife that will last longer?

If I didn't already have the jointer I would consider a jointer/planer combo setup and I may eventually go that route but I think it's out of my budget right now.

I'm not apposed to a nice used higher end unit but I honestly don't know what is quality and what is junk beyomd finding reviews.

Thank you so much.
 
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#2 ·
There sure are a lot of DW735 threads here and on other forums!

I have one, and still have the original knives, and never sharpened. Frankly, I do not think it is worth it, unless you are well skilled at sharpening. I think mine have lasted so long because I take very little off per pass, and do multiple passes on practically everything I plane. The cutters are not that expensive. I will just buy a new set when the time comes.

The cut is so smooth I've not been tempted to upgrade it to a carbide cutter head. The DW735 is one of the most popular benchtop planers -reasonably priced for its capabilities.

I have a 6" jointer. There are times it when a larger 8" jointer would be nice.
 
#3 ·
The blades for the DW735 can be resharpened to an extent - deep nicks say 1/16" no, but just "wear" yes. I planed ~500-600 board feet of red oak before needing to sharpen the 1st time. I take light cuts (not more than 1/16", usually 1/32"). There is a design on LJ's for a sharpening jig - I have made it and it works. It is somewhat modeled after the Duelen jig. The 735 has worked well for me.
 
#4 ·
I have the Dewalt 735 planer and I couldn't be happier with its performance. If you decide to go with the 735 I would suggest that when its time to replace the knives that you consider going with the carbide offering from Infinity Cutting Tools. They last 10 times longer than the OEM knives and they can be sharpened at-least once. They are expensive upfront but pay for themselves and the cut is fantastic.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the responses so far!

I did see the carbide blades and am not beyond getting them but I am just I guess a bit disappointed there is no blade adjustment and, as such, little room for sharpening the blades.

It does make blade replacement quick and easy but does limit how much a blade can be sharpened and re-used.

Would the carbide tipped blades work better for pine with some small knots or would knots likely damage the carbide blades as well?

I really like how my jointer head works as I can slide the blades to eliminate notches and I can take them off and sharpen them to get a new edge as there is adjustment to the cutter head knives.

I wonder if there is an "upgraded" cutter head for the 735 or are you 100% stuck with indexed blades?
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the responses so far!

I did see the carbide blades and am not beyond getting them but I am just I guess a bit disappointed there is no blade adjustment and, as such, little room for sharpening the blades.

It does make blade replacement quick and easy but does limit how much a blade can be sharpened and re-used.

Would the carbide tipped blades work better for pine with some small knots or would knots likely damage the carbide blades as well?

I really like how my jointer head works as I can slide the blades to eliminate notches and I can take them off and sharpen them to get a new edge as there is adjustment to the cutter head knives.

I wonder if there is an "upgraded" cutter head for the 735 or are you 100% stuck with indexed blades?

- MikeDVB
You could buy one of the spiral cutting heads and forget about replacing the cutters for a long time. I put one on my jet 6 inch jointer. Happy, I am. I got mine from Grizzly.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
For a small shop, a combo planer/jointer works quite nicely and saves a considerable amount of space. The Jet 8" can be bought new for less than the Dewalt 735 (around $400), and the 10" one is about the same price (around $500). While you sacrifice a bit on the planer side, you do get a jointer as part of the deal and is considerably less than buying two machines. The 12" models are significantly more expensive, but I've seen used ones going pretty cheap. There are also several other brands you can find used for very reasonable prices (Hitachi and Makita come to mind). The later are nice because they use separate heads for the planer and jointer so there is no 'conversion' time needed to switch between functions.

Cheers,
Brad

Edit: Whoops.. just re-read your original post and see you already have a jointer.. never mind :)
 
#9 ·
I also have the 735 with infinitys carbide tipped blades,I have Sharpend the blades at least 4 times,
The first time I sent them to a local service,big mistake the ground them wavy.So that's why I lerned to do them myself.
I do remember reading about a different vender selling the carbide tip blades, a bit cheaper then infinity.I just haven't needed them.My set has been in the machine for at least 4 years.Aj
 
#10 ·
I'm happy with the jointer. It's the planer with indexed blades that cannot be adjusted that is concerning me. I'm not sure if there are comparable/better planers with adjustable knives or if that is uncommon.

I will probably eventually get a spiral head for the jointer if I don't just upgrade to a larger jointer-planer combo unit.

I can live with the throw-away blades but I have what I need to sharpen and maintain the blades so being able to do so would be ideal. I'm not super concerned with blade changes taking a little longer as I'm not running a production commercial shop.
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
@MrUnix - I'm still open to a combo setup. The jointer is fairly new and I could probably get most of my money back out of it if I wanted to.

Being able to joint wider boards would be awesome but the largest issue I found with bigger units was just the overall size/footprint but admittedly it is far better than two separate units.

In hindsight I probably should have gotten a combo unit to start but honestly didn't know they existed when I got the jointer.

The jointer I have now is a Grizzly 6"x46".
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
It looks like I can get a set of the carbide tipped blades or I could spend $$$ and get a Shelix spiral carbide blade for it which should conceivably last an extremely long time and have the ability to turn carbide blades 3 times for new edges before replacing should they become nicked…

It is a lot of money to drop but it looks like every planer/jointer with a good spiral head is $300~800 more than the non-spiral version from my brief research.

I'm thinking investing that extra $$$ above the cost of the DW735 towards an overall larger/better unit may be a good idea. I would like something with a spiral cutter but I can live with carbide tipped blades I can sharpen numerous times.
 
#13 ·
To my knowledge, most, if not all, 13" benchtop planers like the 734/735, delta lunchbox, rigid lunchbox and other lunchbox planers use indexed knives. Unless it is really old or of the cast iron bodied variety (think 15"), I think finding a bench top planer with adjustable knives is a tall order.
If you're getting the 735, and are looking to get better knives, your choices are carbide tipped, solid carbide (a waste imo) or a spiral cutter head. I really doubt there is a cutter head for adjustable knives.
Now that I say this, someone will probably post a link to contradict me. Which will be good as I will learn something new.
 
#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
The Shelix Spiral for the DW735 is $400 but if it saves me from buying 10 sets of blades it will have paid for itself. One reviewer tested and determined that the unit was 4 times louder with the stock cutter head than the Shelix - about a 6 dB difference.

Will the carbide do better with pine/knots? I know that they can still be damaged and can be rotated on the cutter head and replaced after that is no longer an option.

I do work with pine quite a bit and some of it does have tiny knots that seem to just want to nick the heck out of the jointer blades [but I can sharpen them so it doesn't bother me so much]. Running it through a planer and having knicked blades that I can only turn around and cannot sharpen doesn't sound ideal at $40/set.

I did look at taking the money it would cost to get the 735 + Shelix and to get a 13~15" planer with a spiral cutter is a fair bit more than the combination new. I could get a nice 15" planer with normal blades [adjustable, not indexed] for only a little more and upgrade it to a spiral later but it only gives me 2" more and would end up being more $$$ to go spiral but I would be offsetting the blade issue by being able to sharpen and adjust them.

So I guess it comes down to do I want a lunchbox planer with a spiral head for a little less than a non-lunchbox planer with non-spiral head but blades that I can sharpen. I assume the 15" will have other additional benefits over a 'lunchbox' planer?
 
#15 ·
How many board feet do you plan on sending through the unit a month? If you are a casual hobbiest, grab a 735, and see how the stock blades perform for you. It's not like you would go out and buy a 735, toss the new blades in the trash, and install a Helix Cutter from the get go. Then again, maybe you would.

As far as the knots, the less you take off per pass, the less chance you will encounter a problem?

IN PURE HUMMOR:
Maybe post an ad on CL that you can sharpen blades because you seem mildly obsessed with this :)

Cheers!
 
#16 ·
I have long enjoyed sharpening knives and other blades so sharpening my irons for my planes and my knives for my planer/jointer seems like a natural extension of that experience.

I'd gladly put my skill at sharpening to use in saving on my trash output/waste [disposable blades] as much as possible but in this case it looks like the best option is a spiral carbide cutter.

The primary reason I am interested in the 735 is because I have a friend with one for sale fairly cheap. It runs fine but he is tired of replacing the blades for nicks - so I could get it used + the helical for about the cost of a new one.
 
#17 ·
I have had a DW735 for 3 years, the first 2 years with straight knives and put a Shelix on it last year about this time. Hobbyist, but almost everything i do starts as rough cut hardwood (mostly cherry, white oak, walnut and poplar). Set of disposable knives lasted me 6 months +/-. The straight knives, when fresh, definitely cut a little cleaner than the carbide cutters-but only slightly (in my opinion) and that was short lived. I cut very light passes, usually 1/32" or less. As the straight knives dull-chip out occurred, not a lot but too much to sand. After a year on the Shelix, i've seen no drop off in the cut (can usually go straight to 220 grit) and i've not thought about rotating the cutters. No problem with the knots on either cutter, except that sure took a toll on the sharpness of the straight knives.

Many will call adding a spiral cutterhead to a "lunchbox" planer a foolish investment-but i found it to be plug and play, with a very good finish. Also, i'm not concerned with the resale value of the planer, and in 4 or 5 years i will recover most of my expense by not buying knives (at some point i'll go backward by having to replace the carbide but that should be a few years yet) Now…i will say that i my 735 was a display model bought for under $300 new, i added the tables. Used a Grizzly 10% off to buy the Shelix so it was under $400 delivered. My shop space required that i be mobile-and on a rolling stand that works for me.

If money were not an object, i'd do a 12" combo with spiral head. There are times when i'd like 15", but there are also times when i'd like 20". Not often enough to sell my car for the tool!! Everyone's needs are different-so take the approach that you think will work for you. If you find it to be wrong…sell and learn. But don't forget to enjoy!!

earl
 
#20 ·
That's the idea. I have a fairly decent list of shop organization things I need to make first though. Some shelving [easy]. A clamp rack of some sort - probably one on wheels. Some other misc stuff.

She said that was all fine so I can make my mistakes on the stuff in my shop and not make mistakes when it comes to making her some fine furniture haha.

Just picked up a 1965 Rockwell 14" Bandsaw in good shape for $300 that I'm going to upgrade to give me a resawing rig. Since I'm working with raw wood I'd like to avoid turning unnecessary wood into sawdust with the planer if possible.
 
#21 ·
I managed to get the used 735 + Shelix approved by the wife… Mostly showed her the other set-ups I was considering that cost more :).

Shelix should be here tomorrow and I ll go pick up the 735 tomorrow probably.

- MikeDVB
NICELY DONE! I am guessing you are not a Newlywed, as your "Happy Wife = Happy Life" knowledge is far superior to many. Life is so much easier when the Wife agrees on / approves the purchase of the toys we want. Even more so when we understand how to present the idea, and how they feel they made the decision. We Win / They Win. Life is Good.

Showing the higher end choice first, then slipping in a more reasonable option at "that" moment was text book perfect! I would bet the farm you and the wife are together for a very long time… Cheers!
 
#23 ·
I bought the DW735X about 8 months ago when the stars aligned and a bunch of different promotions added up to a pretty good deal. The "X" version comes with an extra set of knives which I have yet to use, and I also haven't flipped around the first set of blades yet either, though they could probably use it. I give the blades a good cleaning every couple months depending on my usage, and I've touched them up once. Just lightly passed the flat side of the blade over 800 grit (maybe 1000, can't remember) just to smooth out any nicks. Not sure if it really did anything, but in my mind it did :) I also added a Wixey scale to it and that has helped me make really light passes. As a reference, I've planed probably over 800 board feet of mostly Jatoba, Maple, and Cherry (I make a lot of cutting boards).

I've often thought about what to do when my knives finally go - The infinity knives sound good but they're only 1-sided, and at the price of the infinity knives it's not that big of a leap (for me) to consider the shelix head. Greenacres2, thanks for the 10% off tip at Grizzly, I'll have to keep that in mind when I finally have to make a decision!

On one hand, it does seem crazy to me to spend almost as much on a new cutterhead as I spent on the machine itself. On the other hand, I have so much else already invested in it - Made a mobile base for it, the Wixey scale, I "know" the machine now, I won't have to deal with selling it on Craigslist if I upgrade the cutter.

Congrats on the new toy Mike, let us know how it works out for you!
 
#25 ·
Cutter head arrived and looks fantastic. Now I'm torn between the Shelix and the Grizzly Spiral for my Jointer…

I think they're really about the same as far as cost/performance but Byrd is made in the USA where as the Grizzly is assembled in Taiwan no? I doubt it matters much so long as the machining on the parts is good.
 
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