Heavy, Heavy Duty, and a Very Good Performer

HI Sharon,

You sound pretty pleased with this. I haven’t heard anything but good about this planer.

Have fun with it, but remember to wear hearing protection. I said, wear hearing protection. LOL

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

I know I shouldn’t say ‘only’ four stars but what didn’t you like? That kept it from the top score
I do like mine – I do occasionally still fight snipe even with the outfeed tables set to tip up a nickels thickness which helped.

For a ‘portable’ – I haven’t heard of a better unit.

-- Its never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

I have this one also. Hard to compare as it is my first and only planer ever owned/used but I think it is a really good unit. I rarely get snipe. If I do it is usually my fault. Long board need support and sometimes I get lazy then I get snipe. One of best setting is no blade alignment. Drop them in and its over. Takes me about 15 minutes to change 3 blades. If there is any complaint; blades seem to be an issue for some. I am on my 3rd set and I have planned a couple hundred board feet. I can’t say if this is good or bad becasue of my lack of comparison. I know Byrd sells a spiral cutter head for this unit with carbide blade but it is around $600. With four sides to each carbide cutter it could last the life of the planner. At $60+ for a set of HSS from dewalt it will not take long to spend the $600 for the spiral head cutter. Now you have to think about the fact that your planner just doubled in price. For that amount could you have just bought a better one? I am still debaiting and every time I order a set of blades I wonder if I should just spend the money on the spiral or never spend it. That is not a complaint but an issue I have make a decision on. I love the machine though.

-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!

congrats on a new toy.Hope it serves you well. good review.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I love my Dewalt 735. It has power to spare and it’s 3 blades makes rough board smooth pretty quick. I like the finishing function and find while it does take a good twist to turn on, it really does a good job.

-- Nano Nano - Live long and prosper

I’ve been abusing my 735 for about 5 years now. It stands up to the task without any problems.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

Sharon: Great review. I’m glad that you got a planer that suits your needs.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I’ve got the 734. Nothing like having a good planer. My space is a little limited and it was one of those tools I put on a wheeled cart that is slid in between other power tools for occasional use. I find that it’s sitting out in the middle of the floor more often and that I’m accessing it all the time. Not only for flatting wood for use but things like making some nice svelt thin sides for drawers or getting wood down to 1/2” for some other use. With it you’re not stuck at 3/4” all the time.

Good purchase.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

Great review, Sharon.

I just got the same planer a couple of weeks ago. Had to replace my old Bridgewood Lunchbox planer. The only thing I don’t care for is the same thing you mentioned. After a couple of passes thru the planer, the boards started sticking. More wax fixed the problem but I can see that if you are in the middle of a “run” all the same thickness and have to stop, wind up the elevation, apply wax and then try and rest to thickness to exactly where your were- it’s going to be a real pain in the A**.

Lew

I love my DW735!

Instead of wax on the surface I use a spray lubricant with teflon and I feel that it lasts a LOT longer than wax. As for “shifting gears” always make sure that the planer is on and not under any load. I tell ya, mine shifts between speeds as smooth as butter. It’s about 2 years old now and probably has 1000 bf or so through it.

-- If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem. Roanoke, VA

Didn’t think 735 came with infeed/outfeed table?

-- Router è ancora il mio nome.

I actually read some mixed review on older versions of this planer, some mentioned that the sprockets for the knives were faulty at some point – I decided to take the plunge and take a chance, and luckily, this one wasn’t one of the faulty ones. it works really really well, a true time and labor saver.

Lee – WHAT DID YOU SAY????

Dave personally I don’t care much for the 5 Star rating system, I think that a 10 star system is a bit more forgiving. this is definitely a 9+ machine in that resolution, but not a perfect 10. I did give some 5’s on previous reviews- but I find that in order for me to rate something as ‘perfect’ (for me) it really has to WOW me = overperform it’s price. in this case, this is a high priced item, and as such performs according to the expectations – but not beyond. which is why I rated it a 4 – aka really really good machine, but not perfect – lacked the ‘WOW’ factor for me.

RyanBrown – I’m curious – which spray are you using? as for the gears, I did change it while motor was running but NOT under load – I got this one used, so maybe it has seen it’s share of switching in the past – just thought I’d raise it up, but personally since I don’t use it that much it’s of no big difference.

Routerisstillmyname – it doesn’t ‘COME’ with infeed/outfeed, if you’ll read the review- I mentioned that it’s an Accessory – purchased separately (I bought this used, and the guy sold it with the tables and mobile base)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Purp- Noice!!! I have been eyeing this planer for some time, and waiting for the year end clearance prices to bring the cost down a bit. I considered a jointer, but think the planer will be first.

Good review and like your choice in tools.

That’s a good one Sharon, You willnot regret going for a bit more technology.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Congratulations , Sharon : ) I’ve had my eye on this for quite some time and I think that they finally have all of the bugs worked out of it now. I have two DeWalt planers already and they have paid for themselves many times over : )
I think that you did make the right choice by getting the jointer first because if the board isn’t flat to start with , then it won’t come out of the Planer flat in the end. Enjoy your new to you toy !

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

Very informative review, Sharon.
Sounds like you got a winner in that planer.
Ellen

-- Ellen on Cape Cod

Like just about everyone else, I’ve had a 735 for some years, beat it up and love it.

Purplev great review like always…my experence with this machine running red oak dont take more than 1/16 off @ a time other wise you will have dull blades very fast…lol other than that i lov this machine, even with muffs on the ears its still (loud)...with out a doubt

-- christoper Blanchard, Michigan

I been hearing that some people been able to get this planer @ home depot for 275..with set of extra blades….cause of clearencing em out…

-- christoper Blanchard, Michigan

I have had the opportunity on job sites to use several different brands of portable planers.

This unit has to be the best on the market. The two speed feature produces the best cut and the chips seem to be well evacuated which reduces chip dents. It weighs more than most but the cut it produces is beautiful and on slow feed it is exceptional.

I have a DW733 that is 11 years old, it still runs faithfully and produces a good cut. I imagine this machine should serve you like the old unit and you will be very happy with it.

I am excited for you that you got such a great machine.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Thank you guys,

although I’ve read a few “enjoy your new toy” – I actually have had it for a while now, otherwise I would not write a review on it.

just like with the jointer – I never ever take cuts more than 1/16” and rarely go above ~3/64” (aka, don’t really take 1/16” cuts) but that may be because I don’t have much experience with these machines, and would rather be on the safe side both for the machine, and for the knives – so far it has worked great for me – and since I’m no production shop, I don’t REALLY have to rush milling too much (definitely faster than thicknessing by hand for me- so I’m happy with that)

Todd – thanks for your excitement! I sure hope that they didn’t start slacking in production after they made the 733, and keep the same QC for the 735 so it’ll last for that many years (so far from other’s comments and reviews, it seems like it’ll be the case)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Nice Purp! This is a great planer and you got all the good accessories with it. I see these pop up on Craigslist occasionally, but they are gone before I can send an email. One thing I am interested in allot of the reviews i read on this machine people were complaining about the knives wearing out fast….be interesting to see how they do for you. I think allot of the people complaining about the knives prematurely wearing out were taking too much off at a time. I want to buy this planer…..or the Steel City with the helical cutter head..

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Brad – so far it performs well, but I haven’t run too much through it – only did my bench using this:

I read the same reviews regarding the knives life span, and was concerned about it as well, but I guess that’s the same with all the replaceable planer knives out there. there are Carbide knives available for this planer (third party) and also a helical cutter head replacement (third party – company that makes the helical cutter heads for the Steel City planers) – which I mentioned before… I guess I’ll add a link in the review as well.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I’ve had mine for about two months and so far so good. I love it. Easy to use and was built rock solid. I paid a bit of a premium for it but I also think I’ll never have to buy another one.

I got a set of knives from Infinity
http://www.infinitytools.com/DeWalt-735-Replacement-Knives/products/1345/
I got them almost 2 years ago and have not had to flip them yet, though there are a couple of knicks, which I clean up with a card scraper, but otherwise still cutting a good surface.

They have gone up in price to ~80 bucks though while the DeWalt OEM blades are 55 bucks at Amazon.com.
The Infinities are my third set of knives in the past 7 years – - -2002 purchase,Original set inside, one set of Dewalt replacements and now the Infinity set. It appears they are doing better than OEM blades but my workload on the planer is uneven through the years.

Cheers

-- Its never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

Hummmmmmmmm, Amazon reviews are not too favorable with the knives it uses. any user feedback on that?
THX

-- Router è ancora il mio nome.

it something how strong that blower is! that planner blows harder than my 1 1/2 hp dc sucks!

good luck with yours. I’ve been really happy with mine

-- Sean Buffalo, New York

Great review. I have had mine for a few years now and have given it a real work out. No complaints at all!

Great review. Thanks for all of the details. Glad it’s working out well for you.

-- Measure, cut, curse, repeat.

Dave do you have a rough guess on the board ft you have put through your planner.

Has anyone out there tried the carbide blades and helical cutter heads.

Any info would be great.

-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!

Rex – I use a lot of 6/4 and 8/4 stock and do some resawing to make boxes – so for a “load” on the planer I would that though I have run ~8-900BF through it…For a reference, I would say that with resawing and planing both sides to re-establish flat – so an average of 3 passes/side and a 4” typical width – it is about 14000feet of of 4” surface has gone under the rollers.

Seen the carbides but the price vs. ‘extra’ lifetime doesn’t seem to fit. (though I paid 65.00 for mine from infinity) The Infinity blades are 79 bucks for HSS and 249 for carbide. Though I havent experienced it myself, I doubt that one gets 3+ times the life for the carbide. Typical is that carbide holds up better but is not as sharp an edge…If you can get the DW735 for the 274 dollar close-out that was reported today from Home Depot on this site…
http://lumberjocks.com/topics/9757
.then go for it. But I think the price of knives vs. the amount of use…is questionable financially.

-- Its never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

I have the same planer with extension wings. Works very great have had no snipe done yet. I have planned a lot of red oak wood. I am going to build a cabinet with moble base to move it around my shop. When I finished using it for the day. I fold up the wings. The exit wing I fold up and use the power cord as I wrap it around the planer. It traps the rear wing in place. Then I can move it to a shelf rack. Almost too tall to fit on a shelving unit. But it does fit for now. May it give you many thousands of board feet great work. I feel its a great benchtop tool. Had to save my pennies for a while to get it. But worth every dime when used.

-- Mark, Katy, Texas, Did they give Noah a hardtime about the wood boat in his driveway

Thanks marksalot2005 glad to hear I’m not the only one with the outfeed wing not folding all the way…

PS to all that are interested, it seems like HomeDepot are having another power-tool-sale where you can get instant $150 off any purchase over $599

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Dave I see your point. Infinity claims that the carbide will last 10x longer than hss but I have trouble believing that. Also the nice finish is one of the perks of this planner and if switching to carbide will compromise that I am not sure that is a switch I am willing to make. It would be nice to try the carbide but it costs way too much to buy and pass a few board feet and thow to the side if I am not happy with the result. I think I will stick to HSS while I think about it some more.

-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!

-- If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem. Roanoke, VA

HD does have it on clearance sale for $274.. I picked up one last week but they seem to be hard to find . I was fortunate as the other two store in the area that I checked did not have any.

-- With each new day, celebrate life. Love God with all of your heart. Share Jesus with those around you and make a positive impact on those you meet. Bob

I had one of these until about 4 weeks ago. Someone walked into my garage (door was left open the night before) and took it along with some other things and tools. I was pretty ticked. I had only run one thing through it.

-- Jim

Wow, nothing worse than some !@#$% loser taking your stuff. I hope you were insured Jim.

-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!