# DeWalt DW734 12 inch thickness planer



## TheOldTimer

Very nice revue, thank you very much. I may replace my old Delta with this planer in the near future. They often go on sale at times. My older Delta is a pain when it comes to changing knives also. I would like to have a 735 but they are pretty expensive compared to the 734.


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## bygrace

I have also had this planer for a few years. I also had to switch the blades but don't remember it being that much of a pain. Other than that I agree with you, especially about the noise. It has served me well also.


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## NiteWalker

Great review.
I have the same planer and love it.

Regarding noise, I always wear hearing protection (anyone using screaming power tools should) so that's not a con for me. My router table is loud too.

I didn't hook up the dc chute. I just put a garbage can behind the planer stand and sweep up whatever the can doesn't catch.

I haven't changed knives yet, but byrd makes a shelix head for the 744; depending on how long I get from the knives I might make the switch next year.

@TheOldTimer: After using this planer for a while, I can't imagine the 735 being $200+ better than the 734. I worried the same thing but the 734 is a workhorse.


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## gfadvm

Very good review. You covered the important stuff AND you have used it enough to know its worth.

I have my "disposable" planer blades resharpened and they cut and last better than new. It costs me $30 to have both sides of 3 blades sharpened. (Best Grinding in Tulsa, Ok.)


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## REL

I have the same planer and still have the original box. I used it only a few times. Works great. I have a room problem and purchsed a Hammer combo jointer/planer. I've been too lazy to put the DeWalt 734 up for sale. If there is someone around Metro NYC interested send me a note. I will let it go for about $250.00.


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## emart

I also have this planer and it is very useful. When I was looking for a thickness planer this one was the only one on amazon that didn't have a some sort of major flaw like its competitors in the same price range. as for the noise every thickness planer I have used has made a noise that can wake the dead and peel the bark off a dog so I just use ear plugs and hope the neighbors wont be forming an angry mob. I have never had any issues with changing the knives i found them very easy to set especially compared to my jointer. As of right now I am on my second set of knives after owning the machine for 2 years. The only time it gave me any trouble was when i was planing 10" wide black locust slabs but that's a tall order for anything that isn't industrial.

@gfadvm I had no idea the disposable blades could be resharpened I will have to look into that and see if my local blade sharpened can do something with my old set of knives


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## Purrmaster

I've run 12 inches of stuff like purpleheart through it and it does bog down and cause some tearout. But like emart said, that's to be expected in a lunchbox planer.

I haven't had to try and have the knives resharpened. The sharpening services I have used don't get blades as sharp as I would with sandpaper and glass.

You are correct that changing the blades on the planer is about 5,000 times easier than my jointer. I probably should have mentioned that in the thing's defense.


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## TheOldTimer

Foot No: I do not know of a portable planer that is quiet. They are all loud but I understand that if you install the shelix blades they cut down on the noise. I sharpen my blades also, after three sharpenings I replace them.


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## Purrmaster

TheOldTimer,

Do you use some kind of jig when sharpening the planer knives?


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## Flocktothewall

I also have this planer, I have to say I "settled" for this when I couldn't afford the 735. First time I used it any remorse for not getting the larger planer went away, this one works like a champ. Probably why its been around for so long with no revisions.


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## TwoThumbBruce

Does anyone know if there is a minimum length that can be safely planed? I'm making a project with 12" scraps of oak and worry about kickback.


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## emart

12" is on the very limit of what is considered safe according to the manual


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## Furniture4Fun

I've had one of these for years and bought it as a replacement for a Rigid that had all sorts of problems including exercising the "lifetime warranty." The Dewalt has given me no trouble.


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## TheWeiss

I like everything that I read about this planer but I'm still not able to figure out the difference between this model (DW734) and the slightly larger Dewalt Planer (DW735). The price difference is substantial and more substantial that the additional width is worth, in my mind at least. Is size really the only difference between these two or is there something else going on here that I don't see?


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## Purrmaster

I don't have the 735 but I'll take a crack at it since I looked at it previously myself.

To encapsulate: I think the 735 is supposed to be a little "heavier duty" than the 734.

The 735 has a couple of extra features the 734 doesn't have. It has an automatic carriage lock. On the 734 you push a bar up and down to engage and disengage the lock. The carriage lock is supposed to prevent snipe. Personally I don't find it arduous to manually deal with the carriage lock on my 734. I also haven't seen the carriage lock make much difference with snipe. For me, snipe prevention has mostly been a matter of supporting the wood on the way in and the way out of the planer. This is usually done with rollers.

The 735 has two speeds. For woods that are harder or more prone to tear out a slower speed might be useful. Personally I think preventing tear out has more to do with the sharpness of the knives and how deep each pass through the planer is.

On the 735 you have to get infeed and outfeed extension tables as an accessory. They come pre-equipped on the 734. On my 734 the tables were also properly leveled from the factory.

They are both loud as hell.

I've been very happy with my DW734 though I am, of course, subject to confirmation bias.

One tip: If at all possible keep your shop vac/dust collection system on a different circuit than the planer. Trying to run both off the same circuit caused the breaker to trip all the time for me. And you will want some kind of dust collection for the planer or the shaving will clog it up fast.


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## TheWeiss

Thanks! Your breakdown is great and confirms the general idea that I had gathered from my readings. I think I'll end up going with the 734. Any advice for where / when I should get one? They seem to run about $400 just about everywhere that I look and that seems to have stayed consistent over the past few months that I've been eyeballing one but I figure its always worth asking.



> I don t have the 735 but I ll take a crack at it since I looked at it previously myself.
> 
> To encapsulate: I think the 735 is supposed to be a little "heavier duty" than the 734.
> 
> The 735 has a couple of extra features the 734 doesn t have. It has an automatic carriage lock. On the 734 you push a bar up and down to engage and disengage the lock. The carriage lock is supposed to prevent snipe. Personally I don t find it arduous to manually deal with the carriage lock on my 734. I also haven t seen the carriage lock make much difference with snipe. For me, snipe prevention has mostly been a matter of supporting the wood on the way in and the way out of the planer. This is usually done with rollers.
> 
> The 735 has two speeds. For woods that are harder or more prone to tear out a slower speed might be useful. Personally I think preventing tear out has more to do with the sharpness of the knives and how deep each pass through the planer is.
> 
> On the 735 you have to get infeed and outfeed extension tables as an accessory. They come pre-equipped on the 734. On my 734 the tables were also properly leveled from the factory.
> 
> They are both loud as hell.
> 
> I ve been very happy with my DW734 though I am, of course, subject to confirmation bias.
> 
> One tip: If at all possible keep your shop vac/dust collection system on a different circuit than the planer. Trying to run both off the same circuit caused the breaker to trip all the time for me. And you will want some kind of dust collection for the planer or the shaving will clog it up fast.
> 
> - Purrmaster


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## emart

Keep an eye out for sales. amazon sometimes has it on sale with free shipping so if you are willing to wait that is always an option. they are pretty well packed so it shoudnt arrive damaged.


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## EricB2017

Hi guys, I also have this planer and I really enjoy it a lot. I have owned it for about 6 years now and it runs like a champ. However, when I was planing some boards recently, I noticed some squeaking that started to occur and I'm not sure what it's from. I was wondering if anybody that owns one here would know? It doesn't squeak the whole time, just when I feed a board through it. And when the squeaking does occur, it only happens once every second while the board is passing through. Thank you

-Eric


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## tomsteve

eric,instead of asking the same question in 6 different threads it would probably be more effective to start one thread of your own.


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