# So mad I could spit!!!



## cutmantom

Most likely the blades are disposable but can be flipped over, I think older models had resharpenable blades, make sure which ones you have


----------



## RUINTUIT

734 has two sided blades. I've never tried to re-sharpen mine, but amazingly easy to replace or to flip. Love the planer and have had it for nearly 10 years.

Scott


----------



## a1Jim

Kinda surprised you gave it 4 stars with the problems you had ?
Would you buy a refurbished planer again ?


----------



## B4B

What company did you purchase this through?


----------



## craftsman on the lake

I've beat the hell out of mine with tons of hard oak and maple. On my second set of blades. I wouldn't sharpen. They aren't that expensive for the use you get out of both sides.


----------



## emart

It is a fairly common problem with this planer is that the screws break in half when you go to rotate the blades. I remember when I rotated mine for the first time and each and every bolt made this awful cracking noise and the worst nails on a chalkboard squeaking when i removed them. I think because they put them on with such high torque it just makes it really hard to get the bolts off.

That being said it is one of my most used machines and has survived me planing down slabs of black locust without too much complaint from the motor


----------



## Ken90712

Have this planer and Love it. I'm on my 4th set of blades ( 8th when you count flipping them ). I have resharpened them but found my time and results for 54 dollars its better for me to buy them. I'll shoot you an email on the special EZ-out's we use In Aviation on the big jets. We run into this daily with the 1000's of screws. There not cheap but always work. There is also a tool we put into the end of a rivet gun or air hammer called a woodpecker that gets them out 90% of the time w/o drilling. Glad you go it!


----------



## jasoncarpentry

I had similar problems removing the bolts. With help from folks on this site, I realized it wasn't just the fact that I'm a 98-pound weakling. Dewalt uses carbon-steel bolts and, yes, they overtighten them. I finally got them out using lots of WD-40 and a bolt extractor. This of course, ruined the heads, which was fine w/ me, since I was going to replace them w/ stainless steel bolts and do my own tightening.

Since then, I've replaced the cutterhead w/ a Byrd Shelix head. So now I have the old cutterhead, TWO sets of blades, and a sharpening jig, all of which I'm trying to sell. Despite what Dewalt says, the blades CAN be resharpened and used multiple times.


----------



## PatrickB

Thanks everyone for the comments, As for the four stars, it's not the planers fault the builders messed up. One problem is dissimilar metals, aluminum for the head and steel for the bolts. When I pull the blades again I will use never-seez (thread lubricant) when I re-install them. I also screwed up two bolt holes by cross threading them but a 6×1mm tap set them straight.
Thanks for all the input everyone. I did buy a jig (Duelen Jig) and sharpened the blades and it worked fairly well. The angle is off from what DeWalt uses but it works well enough. I planed two end grain cutting boards with no problems today, went right thru them.
Pat


----------



## a1Jim

Patrick
It's the manufacturers fault ,ultimately there responsible. It's your review you can give in ten stars if you want


----------



## lew

Patrick,
After hearing all of the horror stories about these planer bolts, I went to Fastenal, bought a better grade of bolt and then, like you, added anti-seize to each one. So far, blade changes have been without incident.


----------



## panamawayne

I bought the 12" DeWalt plaer newad never had a issue I upgraded to a Grizzly 15 inch spiral head and stripped 4 screws while rotating the cutters. Not just a DeWalt issue.


----------



## BikerDad

As an FYI, in this instance it may not be DeWalt's fault, at least not in the first order. The blades were dull, but were they dull on BOTH sides? If so, then whoever changed the blades over previously is at fault for the over-tightening. I'm not saying that's what happened, merely that it COULD have happened that way.

It is, however, on the second order, DW's fault. They shouldn't have sent out a machine with dull blades.


----------



## CharlesA

Silly question: every time I see a pic of this planer, my eye is drawn to the oddly shaped metal rod that sits above the cutter head. What is it and why is it shaped like that?


----------



## GregInMaryland

Charles, I think that bar is a locking mechanism for the motor/cutter heas assembly.

Greg


----------



## dbray45

It is the locking bar.


----------



## CharlesA

Got it. Thanks.


----------



## ChipOffTheOldBlock

How did this product earn a 4 star rating with the issues you describe?? I frequently go to reviews when searching for the right tools but I feel like the ratings are so inflated.


----------

