Dewalt 735 Planer set up question

I have had this planer for years and I have never gotten it to be “snipe free”. What you are getting is about what I have been getting, and maybe a bit better

-- Robert --- making toothpicks one 3x3x12 blank at a time!

I just got my 3rd 735. It is a great machine. There is no such thing as a no snipe machine in my experience, but there is a no snipe technique with this machine. I run mine with no extensions, and lift the board as it goes in and comes out. This pinches it down to the table. It would say it would work if you set your tables slightly above “flat” with the table and let the in and out feed roller flatten the board to the table, producing the same effect. I have gotten VERY clean boards off this machine with about %10 upforce over the weight of the board.

P.S. It is my third because I keep one for portable, and one in the shop. I wore my first out finally after 7 years of industrial use. (snapped the out feed roller) It is currently being repaired and I will have three running.

-- Who is John Galt?

I have never seen this planer reviewed as “no” snipe…... You’ll get snipe once in a while. You can experiment with the tables by raising the ends slightly. I don’t have the tables so I just lift up a little on the end of the infeed and outfeed. I usually cut the boards a little long in case I have to trim the ends off. Good luck.

Agree with the others. Make sure the boards are a few inches longer than you need, then cut the snipe away, is what I do.

I get a slight snipe on mine from time to time, it seemed that it happens more often with shorter boards then with longer ones.

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

Adjust your in/outfeed tables so they are slightly higher than the bed, no more than 1/16”. That should help. Also, hold the rear of the board up when you’re feeding it in. There’s no way to completely prevent it, but mine doesn’t produce much snipe at all after doing that. Can’t see it, and you can only barely feel it on a few of the boards that go through.

The other way to reduce snipe that I use with my 735 is I feed the next board I’m using before the first one finishes, about 2/3 of the way through. That way the rollers are always engaged. If you’re on your last board use a test piece to finish with so that if there is any snipe it’ll happen on the test piece and not your work piece. I love this planer, by the way :)

-- Matt, Illinois, http://www.reintroducing.com

There is a way to adjust the tables to avoid any snipe. Raise the cutterhead all the way up. Set a straightedge on the planer bed. Adjust the far ends of the infeed and outfeed tables slightly upwards. Raise them until you can just slip a dime under the middle of the straightedge.
This will solve snipe for boards up to 6’ long. Any longer than that, and you will need some outfeed support.
It is a great planer, I think you will be pleased.

Good luck.

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

My DeWalt took my woodworking to the next level. Out of the box I have not experienced any snipe from day one, am I the lucky one? I have swapped my blades over and now need a new set. I mainly use my DeWalt on hard maple and oak.

-- Love thy neighbour as thyself

I’m with exeletrician, I rarely get any snipe. My tables are set flat and then let the board run out on an auxillary roller stand before picking it up.
I always use a longer board and then cut the ends square after planning.

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

Thanks guys. The board was using was only about 18” long so that may not have helped. I will adjust the tables as suggested above and give it another go. I would say that what snipe i did get was hardly noticeable. I’m not even sure it would require any sanding. But given my lack of experience setting this stuff up I thought I’d ask for ways to make it better.

Thanks,
Brian

-- Part of engineering is to know when to put your calculator down and pick up your tools.

My Delta snipes each end (infeed and outfeed end). If the width is less than my jointer I plane the board to a little thicker than I want and then finalize it on the jointer using very thin passes (< 164). If the board is wider than the jointer I cut it long and cut off the snip.

-- Jesse, Saint Louis, Missouri

Another help may be to set up a roller stand to help support longer boards as they enter and exit the planer. I would sometimes get some snipe from my 734 if the ends were left unsupported. I used roller stands set about 1/4” higher than the outfeed on boards over 4’ in length. I helped a lot in eliminating snipe.

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

I have this planer also and I just raised up the ends of the in-feed and out-feed tables a bit to give the board the upward pressure mentioned above. Works well for me.

-- In God We Trust

These dwalt 735 threads always take off. Here are some other things to watch for on this machine that I have experienced and that have been mentioned in the past.
1: The cowling wears at the back. This happens at about 50,000 Board Feet. It can quickly fill the case with chips and cause damage. The part is cheap and easy to replace, so watch for this and fix right away. 2. Do not use with in-adequate dust collection. Our 5hp shop vac was not enough and chips would back up and wear the cowling faster. It is that the on board chip vac moves a lot of air and that causes the prob. If it is the only option, rigg the nozzle to sit 1/2” back to create an air release. It will get most the chips and fine dust w/o backing up, or create a pressure release somewhere else in the system. It works great with a 1.5 hp dust collector. It has to do with the airflow, not suction or power. 3. It is loud. 4. Two parts are subject to fatigue. The cogs on the in and out feed roller drive, they don’t wear, they crack and the chain starts slipping. (Cheap and easy to replace) and the out feed roller (Cheepish, not easy to replace)(happens like a clock at about 500,000 BF) Both can be mitigated by only running half of what the depth gauge recommends. And last. power. It will overheat and fail if it is run long term on inadequate power. Run it of of direct power, or read carefully the specs needed to run it off of an extension cord. I have run these machines in an industrial setting and they have earned my respect. The factory max repair is $299. With an average life of 10 years before big repairs are needed, (near continuous use in an industrial setting) I can easily get a lifetime of use out of them before it gets more expensive than an industrial machine. Width is the only thing that has pushed me to buy bigger and I will continue to run this next to 18” I just bought.

-- Who is John Galt?