# Could do with some advise on the Dewalt DW733!



## warrenbatt (Jun 3, 2009)

I recently purchased a Thicknesser (Planer) made by a company called Lombarte based in Italy and have been shocked at how poor this machine performs. Besides the fact that the cutting head does not seem to be level (it will cut wood passed through the left side which, when passed through the right side doesn't contact the blade!) My biggest disappointment is that when I try to pass hard woods through the machine, (bubinga and cumaru) they get stuck, the machine doesnt seem to be able to cut the wood and it comes out looking charred as if I have passed it through a bonfire!

I am aware that I bought a basement bargain machine but I still paid over $500 for it and had hoped that it would plane all woods. More fool me!

Anyway, as such I am now preparing to bite the bullet, sell the thing and buy something a step up. I dont have space for anything large so am stuck in the portable bracket. I was looking at the Dewalt DW733 but I really need to know that the machine will be able to handle hardwoods. Can anyone give me an overview of the product? OR, suggest something equally as portable that would do the trick? Or am I simply dreaming that such a machine would have the capacity to cut this type of wood?

Thanks!


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## dustbunny (May 18, 2009)

Warren,
I have the DeWalt 733 planer. I bought it about 8 months ago. I work with hardwoods 95% of the time. This is an awesome planer, I think you will be hard pressed to find any negatives about this machine. I have made many end grain cutting boards with walnut, hard maple, purpleheart, and cherry. I run all of these woods through the planer. Surface grain, edge grain run through no problem. End grain, though not recommended to be run through any planer, I run through ALL the time. Just requires minimal thickness cuts.
Search the site, there have been posts on this unit. 
FYI, I got mine at Home Depot as a closeout. HD is no longer carrying this machine. I bought the floor model, no box, bartered with them to get it lower because there was no box or manuals. Then I told them that I could go to Lowes, they would do a price match plus 10%, and I would get it in a box. HD took another 15% off. Got it for $475 ! Do your homework, you don't have to pay full price. Good luck.

Lisa


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

The DW733 has always been a well respected capable machine. The 733 was discontinued a few years ago, and replaced by the DW734. The difference being 3 blades vs 2, and the 734's blades are disposable vs resharpenable for the 733.

Is your Lombarte planer in need of adjustment, or is it just incapable of doing the task? I'd check into it before giving up on it completely.


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

I own the Ridgid lunchbox planer and I am very happy with it. I got it at HD for around $400 about a year ago. It works beautifully on maple, purpleheart, rosewood, walnut and just about any other wood I have tried. 
It would be an alternative to look at and compare.
Ellen


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

I picked up a 734, almost the same at Lowes on a rediculously great sale, $300. We word of mouth advertised it here on LJ's for a couple of weeks. I've put through a lot of Red oak mostly and love this machine. clean smooth planes and no snipe. I'd never had a planer and after a brief look at the directions I put through my first board. It feels well built I'm glad I got it.


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## warrenbatt (Jun 3, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback everyone, much appreciated. To add to the mix, someone has now suggested I look at the Makita 2012NB as well, both very similar machines but some say even better than the 734!

Knotscott, I am in the process of taking apart my Lombarte to see what could be amiss, on first inspection, there is clearly something wrong with the blades, either they are completely worn already. (surely not possible after passing a 3' piece of Cumaru through it maybe 15 times) or the alignment is all wrong so I am going to remove them and take a look, any other suggestions at changes I could make to the set up? I am going to wax the tables but I'm not really sure what more could be done.

Here is a link to my current monster for those who would like to practise their Spanish (I live in Spain)

http://www.accesorios-carpinteria.com/herramienta.php?ver=634


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

hola Warren,

sounds to me like the knives are dull, and need resharpening/replacement. Also - if you haven't done so yet - I'd recommend giving that planer a good cleaning/tuning - wax the bed, clean the rollers, clean the blades (sharpen and align them as necessary) - doesn't sound like your machine is out of power - or it would bog down, and smoke itself… not the wood.

the dewalt 733 is a good machine for what it is- some reviews on the dewalt planers (and I own the 735) state that the set screws for the blades on some production models wear off, but I haven't heard any complaints on power.

but before jumping to buy any more machinery - make sure you're is tuned, just like everything in the shop - if it's not tuned - it'll look like it's not good - which doesn't necessarily be right.


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## warrenbatt (Jun 3, 2009)

OK, having taken a close look at the machine it seems that the bolts holding the center of the blades werent very tight causing the blade to compress in the center. I have removed them, cleaned them up a little (they are reversable HSS blades), waxed the beds, cleaned all dust from the interior and cleaned the rollers as best I could. (they didn't move AT ALL when the machine is off but there was no noticeable build up of debris)

I can report that…..........

A 20" piece of bubinga went through the machine and didn't come out burnt! It came through fairly well, there were some "waves" in the piece which is new but it is better than smoke! It still took an incredible amount of time for the wood to pass through, maybe 25-30 seconds, but it got through in the end. I am only taking of 0.2 of a millimeter with each pass which is 1/126th of an inch, surely I should be able to take more than that, right?

I shall see if this is merely a temporary improvement or if the main issue is fixed and it only needs a tweak, I am not convinced to be honest, but lets see.

Thank you all for your input and advice, I really do appreciate it! I will report back with any developments


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

You didn't state if the planer you purchased was new or used , only who it was made by.$500 is pretty steep for a used planer ! Is it running on the correct voltage ? 30 seconds to run a 20" board through is ridiculous. Are you feeding it in from the correct side ? LOL
I've owned the DeWalt 733 since they first came out and recently purchased a good used one from a retiree that was moving to Florida . Of course I tested it at his place before any money was exchanged , and now we're both happy : )


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## Ottis (Apr 17, 2009)

I have a friend that has the DeWalt…and it works like a charm. Before I bought my new Grizzly to replace my old delta planer….I SERIOUSLY considered buying the DeWalt 735


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## warrenbatt (Jun 3, 2009)

Dusty56, the planer is new thus the high cost. I have however overlooked a very important fact and that is that this is a 2 speed planer and this is obviously using the slow speed. I am worried that if I but such a hard wood through the high speed, something terrible might happen to the machine. Should I try it?


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## bamasawduster (Jul 23, 2008)

Don, how do you like your Grizzly and which one did you buy? I am in the need for a planer and am considering Grizzly. Anyone else with inputs welcome with respect to Grizzly.


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## Sandy (Aug 28, 2007)

I have, and love, the Ridgid.


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## Ottis (Apr 17, 2009)

bamasawduster,
Here is a review I did over it. http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/755


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## sidestepmcgee (Mar 14, 2008)

own a 735, just planed over 200 bf of hickory (very hard stuff).I did 1\16 th passes ,but none the less did the job.I also do lots of maple and walnut ,oak.good luck


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Is it too late to return the machine ? The DeWalt 735 is an awesome two speed planer , but I don't know how much they would cost in your neighborhood. I can't believe that you are getting "waves" in your boards on such a fine cut and slow speed. Are you certain that the knives are all set properly to spec's ? My 733 is only one speed and I adjust the depth of cut according to the width and type of wood I'm trying to plane and have had no problems .


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## warrenbatt (Jun 3, 2009)

unfortunately I cant return the machine. Customer service here is so far removed from what you are used in the States or even from the UK that you really cant call it a service! The return terms were, has to be returned within 2 days of purchased, unused and in the original packaging. I ran a couple of pieces of pine through it when I first got it just to check it actually worked at all but even that invalidated the return policy! The best hope i have now is to sell it, take a $100-200 loss and learn my lesson. The manual is the worst thing I have ever seen, it looks like it was written for children and certainly doesn't really help me much. The only good thing is that it comes with a blade setting tool so having replaced the blades I am sure they are set correct. I am hoping that by increasing the extraction I use on the machine I might eliminate the waves, my theory is that maybe some loose chips are sticking under the rollers. If that doesn't work, its going on ebay! Thanks for your advise though, as this is the first planer I have owned, its much appreciated!


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Now that you mention it , I forgot to turn on my dust collector once (or twice) and the wood chips did leave marks in the Cherry ….thank goodness it wasn't the final pass : )


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## sikrap (Mar 15, 2009)

I would suggest contacting the manufacturer. The store doesn't really care, but the manufacturer doesn't want anyone going around bad-mouthing their products. They may be receptive to either replacing the machine or getting it to work properly. Good Luck!!


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## KnickKnack (Aug 20, 2008)

I would suggest contacting the manufacturer. The store doesn't really care, but the manufacturer doesn't want anyone going around bad-mouthing their products. They may be receptive to either replacing the machine or getting it to work properly. Good Luck!!

I've just reviewed another of their products here.
The manufacturer really doesn't care.

The return terms were, has to be returned within 2 days of purchased, unused and in the original packaging. I ran a couple of pieces of pine through it when I first got it just to check it actually worked at all but even that invalidated the return policy!

I'm no expert in Spanish Law, but the EC has placed requirements on countries to implement a minimum level of guarantee law. - "Sellers of consumer goods within the EU are obliged to guarantee the conformity of the goods with the contract for a period of two years after the delivery of the goods." The manufacturer can (and they often do), say what they like, but they can't override the laws of the land.


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## warrenbatt (Jun 3, 2009)

Knickknack,

I'm so sorry to hear of your dreadful experience with lombarte. They are a joke of a company and I find it incredible that they are still a viable business. In the end I sold my piece of junk planer and having moved into my own space I took a terrible hit in the wallet and bought a Felder CF531 professional combination machine. The contrast could not be sharper. Although this machine is soooo expensive it made my nose bleed everything about it is perfect. (and I mean perfect) when the machine was delivered it came with an engineer who spent an entire day with me ensuring every part of it was working exactly as it should. If it breaks they guarantee a 24 response with an engineer on site. (have to pay fir the pleasure but still) and it is so accurate I can duplicate cuts and thiknesses to within 0.1 of a millimetre every time.

They are horribly expensive but ate literally the Rolls Royce of the saw world. Let me know if you want more information. My sales rep here and the engineer speak perfect english. Don't know about their Portugal people of course


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## KnickKnack (Aug 20, 2008)

Warren …

After registering with Felder in the US (who knows why their prices are such a secret), I now know what you mean - I can buy a small house with land for that price. But I guess a house won't joint a piece of wood for me! But, sometimes you get what you pay for and that machine sounds like the business.
I'm really very very *very* angry with myself I didn't search Lumberjocks for a review *before* I bought this thing.

I've looked through the Felder site in Spanish, and I can't really justify that kind of cost - as the wife said - "You want to spend *how* much on a machine to make trays we don't need?!" 
That said I would be interested in starting a conversation with your people - I'm 15km from Spain - perhaps you could give a URL or PM me an email address.

Thanks


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## warrenbatt (Jun 3, 2009)

There is another couple of ave yes for you to explore. One is they have a cheaper brand called Hammer. www.hammer.es. Same manufacturer just slightly cheaper components. They are still cracking machines just not on the same level of excellence or cost as their big brothers.

Another idea is to go second hand, they have a site set up for exatly this;

http://www.number-1-mm.es/es/es_ES/index.html

I wouldn't worry about buying a dud, if Felder/hammer are selling it you will still be ensured of a tiptop condition machine. If you ever wanted to come and play on the Felder, I'm in Madrid and you are welcome.


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