DeWalt 13" two speed planer

I’ve been looking at planer reviews for a while and have only found 1 bad review about the 735. Jeff, I think your review has sold me. I’m going to bite the bullet and purchase one. Did you buy yours on-line or from Lowe’s? I’ve seen some good prices on-line, but when you add the S&H, it’s $50-$60 extra.

-- Make things with wood.

Junior Jock, if you find a great price online print the price sheet off and take it to Lowes. They will match the price. I saved $120.00 by taking the online price sheet in and getting them to match it. I found the planer stand online for $99.00—-it is in retail stores for $179.99 there was a free shipping deal on the stand at the time and I took advantage.

-- Genius is immediate, but talent takes time.

I have the Dewalt planner too and agree with the positive rating. I’ve had the benefit of working with some higher-end models while teaching at the woodworking school (Red Rocks Community College, Lakewood Colorado) and found this to be the best planner for the price. It can’t compete with industrial planners but for a one-man shop it’s a great choice.

The finish product is superb…very little snipe. The blades hold up very well and don’t have to be changed very often. I’ve run a ton of board feet through mine in the last 1.5 years and I’m still on my first set of knives (though it’s getting about time sharpen).

Good luck!

You guys have me ready to go and buy it….... can you help me out and convience the other half???

-- Make things with wood.

I’ve had mine for about four years now….it is great. I’ve chucked more lumber through this baby than I can count and still on the original blades. Cuts so clean on the high side makes you think you don’t need to sand sometimes. I’ve also got the mobile stand, out-feed tables, and dust collection hose/barrel thingy attachment. This planer still gets great reviews and beats everyone else and deservingly so. JuniorJock if your going to buy one this is the one to get, you’ll never regret it.

-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA

I have the same planer and it is great.

JuniorJock, try telling her how much you will save by buying rough cut lumber and milling it to size, rather than buying it at the big box stores. You may save 25-50% by milling it yourself. Also, let her know the first project you will make will be something she wants, such as a cabinet, a box, something nice. Having something produced with your own tools will go a long way to getting you more tools.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I too have this planer, and totally agree. What was amazing whwn I first used this model was the volume of chips this baby can throw out! I have the trash can chip collector option, but you have to make sure the hood is fastened really securely onto it as the chip blower in this is so powerful it will blow chips righ out from under the edges. Works best with a good DC that can keep up with the output.

I also have the in-feed and outfeed tables. Don’t know why they are not included because they really help.

Great machine

-- Rick - OC, CA

Lowe’s is only about 15 miles from my house. I see a short road trip for me sometime this coming week. Thanks guys….. I’m sold on it.

-- Make things with wood.

I bought my planer at Lowe’s, and ordered the tables from Amazon.com. The planer had very little snipe to begin with (except on longer stock), but the tables have reduced even that. Yes, they should come with the planer, but like cars add ons are extra.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I too have looked at this Model as my next planer but no one has mentioned what I believe to be it’s greatest drawback. It is my understanding (correct me if I’m wrong) the knives on this planer are disposable. Yes that’s right, they can not be sharpened. Once they become dull they have to be replaced. I’m always sharpening planer knives to get a good finish. Also one nail or piece of metal in the wood and you out the cost of a new set of blades. At $50 a pop that could get pricey. This is the primary reason I have avoided buying this planer.

-- DocK, WV

I looked at this planer as well as delta’s version…
Delta review:
http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/80

I think I prefer the Delta…Very similar in price!

Any opinions?

DocK – you’re right about the knives but they are reversible, each knife has 2 cutting surfaces so when the first side wears out you flip them around. But there’s no avoiding the fact that you only get to do that once. Dewalt advertises that the blades are M2 laminated tool steel and last longer than conventional knives. I have no idea what M2 laminated tool steel is or whether or not there is any validity to this claim but, I’ve had this planer for about a year and I’m still on my first set.

-- I've cut that board three times and it's still too short!

Good review; thanks for the submission. Lumberjocks seems to have good reviews of this planer. Amazon had some problems noted in their reviews of this guy; maybe DeWalt fixed the problems by now. By the way, my latest Rockler ad has the DW735 on sale for $495. They’re usually $549 everywhere I’ve looked. That’s a smokin’ deal. My next major tool purchase will probably be a planer. I’m kind of liking the Steel City 13inch model 40200. We’ll see. I’m told we need a bigger bed first ( sigh ).

I have limited shop space and budget. I gave some thought to buying a jointer, but was advised that I might want to consider a planer which could serve both as a thickness planer and also be used to flatten boards using a sled.

I have been building up my savings and finally ordered the Dewalt 735 when I found a fairly good deal on the web.

It has been said that the DW735 is a bit more expensive that some other well reviewed bench planers, but the three blades, built in chip blower and many positive comments very much like those in this review convinced me to go with the Dewalt.

Dalec

I bought this planer about 3 years ago and have loved the results. I did spring for the infeed/outfeed tables but would have to agree with the original post – make them. The stock tables didn’t line up with the base of the planer very well. I’ve also added the Wixley digital depth guide a few months ago – worth every penny. Easy to zero it in and accurate.

-- "None of us is as dumb as all of us"

It’s got my vote for ease of use. So far I’ve used mine on several old pine boards…to thickness them to a useful 3/4 inch…some old waterbed boards…the waterbed gone by the wayside. I thought there would be problems with knots in the wood. Powered right through them and gave a great smooth finish. I only wonder how long the blades will last….and if the blades can be resharpened…I have an extra set handy…and suspect one can use the blade set without resharpening…toss them away once they get dull. It seems a bit of a waste…I think I have some more reading in the directions manual…or a phone call to Dewalt to make to answer that question.

-- /\/\/\ BarryW /\/\/\ Stay so busy you don't have time to die.

I wanted to add my input about the blades … I suppose you can sharpen anything that will hold an edge, but these blades are considered disposable.

However … in addition to having two cutting edges on each blade (effectively two blades for the price of one), the blades can be shifted from side to side on the indexing pins. I install all of my blades to one side, then when a nick develops I shift one blade to the other side so it can clean up the high spot left by the nicks in the other blades. When a second nick develops, I shift a second blade to the other side. I get a lot of use out of my blades this way.

Also, I have seen several comments elsewhere about planing about 150bf per side of the blades before they are dull. This will be affected by the hardness of the wood and the depth of cut per pass, but I have a suggestion for really extending the life of the planer blades: use the jointer more. Most people flatten one side of a board on the jointer and then head for the planer. I’ve found that I can work a board down to within about 1/16” of final thickness on the jointer, then finish with one or two passes through the planer. This is significantly faster and means much less wear on the planer knives.

-- Coffee is best with a fine layer of sawdust on top. -- http://www.north40custom.com