# What's the real story on the DeWalt 735?



## mrcando (Aug 23, 2009)

As I'm a newbie here, I probably could have asked this question in the thread of a previous query I had on planers in general, but I'm hoping this will reach some of the same people that responded earlier.

I'm trying to decide on my first planer, and am leaning toward a new lunchbox model. The Cadillac of them all seems to be the DeWalt DW735, but if you read the reviews (and I've read a lot of them) there's a huge difference of opinion from owners about blade life. Half the people say they are extremely disappointed in how few board feet it takes to go through a set of knives, while others say they get many hundreds of board feet on a set of knives. A lot of the negative reviews are from people who claim to be seasoned professionals who should know what they're talking about. On the other hand, publications like Fine Woodworking and others always rate the 735 as the best. I'm inclined to go with the Ridgid 13" unless someone can explain to me what's behind this wide disparity.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

All I can tell you is that I've put hundreds of bf through mine on the same set of blades. It won't compete with a powerful stationary planer but on the high cut setting, it'll give a good finish. Global Tooling has the knives for $39.99 a set ($150 a set for carbide tipped) and they ship fast.

http://globaltooling.bizhosting.com/products/knives-planer/portable-planer-jointer-knife-sets.html
DeWalt DW735-13" HSS Planer Knife set of 3
13" x 7/8" x 1/16", High Speed Steel, double edged, honed cutting edges, 3 piece set of blades. PKH-12800
$39.99.

You can place a carbide helical head for $200-400. Until I can find a big vintage planer, I'm happy with my 735.


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

I wish I knew myself. When I was purchasing a new planer, I looked at everything on the market and bought the Ridgid (2 blade model) planer. The new one has 3 blades. I have no idea if the DeWalt planer is better, but I suspect it is. The three reasons I picked the Ridgid were: 1. It was a lot cheaper than the DeWalt to start with. 2. It came with a stand the DeWalt did not. 3. It came with infeed and outfeed tables, while the DeWalt had them as extra cost items.


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## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

I'm not sure either why there would be some disperity on blade life. I have the 735 and have planed hundreds of bd of hardwood one one set of blades without any problems. I tend to always run the planer on the higher speed and I only take off about 1/32 each pass. This may have something to do with the life of the blades. The boards are smooth as glass.


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## jmos (Nov 30, 2011)

It's an interesting question. I'm no professional. I have a 735. The blade life doesn't seem too bad. I think part of it may be how good a surface you expect out of the planer.

I just finished a work bench build. I jointed and planed a lot of boards. By the time I was half through the surfaces were good, but not great, and there were some tracks from knicks in the blades. I didn't care, I was just hitting surfaces that had to be flat with a jointer plane, and leaving non-critical surfaces as is.

With new blades the surface out of the 735 is glass smooth. As the blades wear, the surface isn't as good (still nice, but not as stunning). Perhaps the pro's out there want excellent surfaces all the time, and change blades more often and the amateurs are not quite as picky and get longer life?

I've also heard the factory blades don't hold up well, but you can get replacement that are better. I just replaced my stock blades with Infinity HSS blades. I felt I got a reasonable amount of BF out of the factory blades. It will be interesting to see how well they hold up in comparison.

You can also get carbide blades for the 735, but given the cost of them I'd have to seriously consider the helical head upgrade.

Overall I'm happy with my 735. I'd love to have a big stationary Powermatic, or the like (which would require shop space and money I don't have), but for what it is it works well.


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## Willeh (Dec 30, 2011)

I've used both the new Ridgid (3 blade model) and the Dewalt, and from my experience, i much prefer the Ridgid. Found it easier to adjust, better dust/waste removal.. the replacement blades for the ridgid retail for 50% less than the replacement blades for the dewalt (canada pricing atleast).... Also, found the rollers smoother in the ridgid.. Me personally, i plan to get the ridgid in the next few months..


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

I'm not convinced the 735 is worth it over the $400 planers out there (dewalt DW734, ridgid, etc.).
The 734 is my choice.


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

If you are looking for a consensus, you won't find it here.

Having said that, I have had a 735 for several years and have run hundreds, probably over a thousand board feet through it and I am still on the back side of the original knives. I had a cheap Delta lunch box planer before this one, and the Dewalt isn't even in the same league. If somebody steals it, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

If blade life concerns you, don't run rough lumber through it
unless you've got it from a reputable dealer who has stored
it one pallets in a warehouse.

Rough lumber that's been thrown on the ground at any point,
as a portable sawmill user may be prone to do, may harbor 
grit embedded in the surface and that stuff will wreck your 
blades. One workaround is to get a $100 electric hand planer
and skim plane your lumber before running it through the
planer. The grit will damage the blades in the handheld
planer instead of the blades on your thickness planer.

You can also use a scrub or jack plane with a sharp and 
cambered iron to clean your boards.


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

I tend to take owner reviews with a large grain of salt since they really aren't running comparisons between machines doing the same task.

Blade life on the 735 seems to be a real issue with some people, but my experience has been that the knives do just fine. I've run a few hundred board feet thru mine - mostly poplar, maple, beech, and oak - and have only used up one set of knives. One edge of the knives got trashed when I ran some recycled redwood thru it. No metal in the wood, but it was pretty dirty. Apparently the knives don't like being used to clean wood. - lol


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

I've had the 735 for maybe two years now and just flipped the blades to the back side of the set.

I prep every board the same before it goes through the jointer and planer and that is I scrub all four sides with wire brush to get the grit out and then run a hand brush over the board to make sure its clean.

Maybe that's not necessary but two years and quite a few board feet and projects out of one side of blades works for me.

It is more expensive than many others, so it can be a budget buster for many.

I have heard lots of good things about the Ridgid and the 734, so all three appear to be good choices. Good luck on your choice and you will really like what a planer will do for your woodworking.


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

I've got the 734. I think it must use the same knives. about 2500 bd ft of oak and maple and I decided to turn them around to use the other side of the blade. So, for me about 2 yrs on a blade side.. so 4 years on a set of blades?

The only reason I turned them around was that they were cutting slowly and causing the circuit breaker to heat up and switch off. They were still giving a smooth cut. Turning the blades stopped this.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

I bought the 735 based on the large number of positive reviews and comments I've heard about it. I've had no problems with it; it produces a smooth finish with very little snipe and I managed to run about 1000ft of wood through it before I had to replace the blades. I've never used another lunchbox planer, so I can't comment; they all may be just as good…if I had to buy another I'd buy a 15" stationary planer with a helical head, but as long as my budget constricts me to a lunchbox planer, I'll stick with the Dewalt.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

Got one too, blades last for me, still on backside of 1st set. At $40-60 for a reversible set, you can get a lot of use/value out of them.


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## fussy (Jan 18, 2010)

Like Cato and a few others, I have run hundreds of board feet therough mine and just recently flipped the blades. They wee still doing fine, mind, but after several years, I just elt it was time. I also prep my boards; brush them off with a stiff wire brush, then vacuum them off. No matter where they came from. For new blades, try here-http://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece-high-speed-steel-wood-lathe-chisel-set-47066.html
Two sets for $66. I have then, they're new DeWalt, but I Still haven't gotten to use them.

If you do pull the trigger, try here for a deal (shipping only $7.00)-http://www.reconditionedtools.com/factory-reconditioned-dewalt-dw735r-13-in-two-speed-thickness-planer/dewrdw735r,default,pd.html?start=8&cgid=dewalt

Steve


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## mrcando (Aug 23, 2009)

Wow, 14 replies and all of them positive. Tomorrow, I go to look at a 15" Woodtek planer. Owner bought it new in 1998, says it works fine. Comes with a portable stand and a set of extra blades. $600. If I don't get it,
then that's the price of a new 735. If anybody knows anything about Woodtek, please reply before tomorrow afternoon. Thanks again for all the good information. Phil


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

The thing that sold me on the 735 is that it has a chip discharge fan. I have it hooked up to a hose and "bag" that fits onto a garbage can. It works great. I like my 735 but the blades dull rather quickly, but then I use it to plane rough cedar here in this sandy high desert in west Texas..


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## BlankMan (Mar 21, 2009)

Wow I think a couple people here might have hit on my problems with the knives nicking on my 735, grit. I never thought of that, I was always looking for metal and never thought about grit. And the majority of the wood I plane is rough sawn.

As for the issue with the blades nicking for some and not for others I do have an answer for that. It has to do with the shear angle of the blade that it uses to get the smooth finish. Funny, I just posted this in another thread. I was doing some testing for DeWalt using a different cutterhead with different blades for quite a while. It never totally got rid of the problem. I think it's trade off between the smooth finish and blade life. Compounding the issue was the blade hardness not being uniform across the width of the blade. That is why some have the problem, some don't. I was told DeWalt's supplier (by the DeWalt engineer I was working with) was having problems getting the hardness to be even across the width. That's probably no excuse from our view point but I doubt it can be expected that every blade that is manufactured is tested across the entire width. Probably could be done but wonder what that would do to the cost of the already expensive blades. And is testing non-destructive?

My solution, I installed a Shelix because I really liked the planer and felt it was worth it and more cost effective in the long run. 7 sets of blades buys the Shelix and I've yet to nick an insert. And even if I do I'd have to do it 3 more times in that exact same spot before I'd have to spend ~$10 to replace the 3 inserts involved. IMO the 735 is leaps and bounds over any of the lunch box planers, having owned them myself.


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## bhack (Mar 19, 2008)

How much the tool gets used, professional or hobbyist, type off wood. I have had mine for five years and no complaints, although I have never owned any other planer, so….

The problem with reviews is I do not know the person reviewing, not their attitude toward the manufacturer. This planer is nor marketed as a commercial tool. For me it was money well spent. Dust collection works great, adjustments are easy to make…

Just installed the first replacement blades, wish I had of cleaned the rollers first. I think thar was my problem.


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## mrcando (Aug 23, 2009)

Thanks Curt, what you said makes a lot of sense to me. Sounds like DeWalt needs to find another supplier for their blades. I'm still going today to look at that 15" Woodtek planer for $600. They also make Shelix heads for it. If I get tired of fiddling with blades, I'll just save up and get the Shelix and be done with it. If I wind up getting a 735, that's what I intend to do anyway.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

Curt, that's an interesting point about the blades knicking. I always assumed that this was a problem with any planer blades, your post has me wondering though if it is especially bad on the 735 blades.


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## JCantin (Jan 21, 2009)

I just want to say this is a great thread. It illustrates why Lumberjocks is the best resource for woodworkers.


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## Chipy (Apr 20, 2011)

I have the Ridgid 13 inch and it performs just fine I can't say as of yet that I have run 100's of board feet yet but after 3 projects the blades are just fine.Some lumber Jock on here posted a jig for sharpening blades that was a real cool idea you use a belt sander to sharpen the blades.Carbide blades are nice but if you nick one you are worse off compared to HS steel that can be resharpened.One factor that can dull blades quickly is some types of wood such as cedar absorbs silica into the body of the log therefor making it tuff on blades.I think the Dewalt and Ridgid are vary close in comparison I think you can't go too wrong with either machine.


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## KenBry (Sep 13, 2011)

Well, i just ordered the 735X from amazon. Free shipping


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## mrcando (Aug 23, 2009)

I'm happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of a 15" Woodtek planer. I purchased it from the original owner a week ago. The machine is 14 yrs. old and still has the original blades that have never been sharpened. Even so, he ran a figured cherry board through it while I was there and I was very happy with the results. He also had a set of new knives for it whenever the time comes. For $600 I couldn't turn it down. Thanks to all of you for helping to guide me in my journey of acquiring equipment for my new shop.


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

And you didn't supply any pictures.. Wasamatawithyou? ;-)


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## Viking (Aug 26, 2009)

When I started looking for a planer a couple of years ago, I did a lot of research also and was going for something in the $300-$400 range. Then another LJ posted that Home Depot was clearing out their DW735's for $264. Woo hoo!

Went to 3-4 stores before I found one and smiled all the way home when I bought what was probably the last one in Houston. The store manager was a great guy and found an extra set of blades and the infeed /outfeed tables in back area and threw them in on the deal.

I recently built a stand with drawers and HD locking casters for it (future project post when I have time) which makes it very portable. I am still on first side of the original blades and getting really good finish. I take very light cuts and don't run anything dirty thru it.


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## BlankMan (Mar 21, 2009)

Rick that was a sweet deal! I'd consider that a gloat! And deservingly so. I was glad I bought mine on sale when they first came out and were in the $400 range, now that they're in the $600 range that's kind of pricey.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

I have a 734, great planer. The most important item I gleaned form reading about any planer is the depth of cut, take lights cuts and all will be well. Just because a tool will take up to a 1/8" does not mean you can do it all the time and and expect to obtain the most tool blade life and the best results every time.


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## keith123 (Jan 16, 2013)

If I was Dewalt I would be embarassed over the 735 planner.When I first bought it I could stop the snipe,Dewalt told me to spend another $65 for the in & out tables on top of the $535 I had already spent. That was a waste of money ,it didn't help.I just aquired about 350 bf of chestnut that came from a barn.I know what a lousy set of knives dewalt sells so I hand belt sanded both sides to make sure it was clean then ran only 10ft of a 4" board and the blades were dull.I took an hour to flip these brand new blades over and the first pass I had several groves in BRAND NEW BLADES.I can't imagine how many sets of $55 BLADES and how many hours spent changing them its going to cost me.I wish I had spent the money on a powermatic instead of this piece of crap.Dewalt knows about the cheap crappy blades they are selling and apparently don't care. If you have had problems like this I urge you to contact Dewalt and complain !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I bought the old Rigid twin blade planer in 1999. I retired it just 18 months ago when I finally bought the Grizzly carbide spiralhead Polar Bear 15" planer.

I used four sets of blades in over ten years on the Rigid. They are resharpenable, and I did, over and over again. I found that they last just as long as the original grind out of the package when you burnish the backside a little before putting them back in. I planed hundreds, no…thousands of board feet of rough cut old oak through that machine, and it still works fine to this day, should I need something that is only 2MM thick. (My Grizzly will only go down to 2.75MM thick) I still have one set of blades that has only been sharpened once.

So although the Dewalt looks like a really fine machine, and has features that seem a little better than the Rigid, over time, blade cost is a REALLY big thing to me.


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## Edwardnorton (Feb 15, 2013)

Personally I have ran literally hundreds of bf through my 735 and over all I am pleased. The blade life depends A LOT on how the person operates it AND the type wood being plained. The harder the wood the shorter the life of the blade. I have double sided blades and after switching them around and they become dull I have it sharpened. I only sharpen a set one time and then I replace them. As far as cost, I search the net when I need a new set until I find the price like. Over all I give the DeWalt 735 5 stars out of 5!


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## iminmyshop (Dec 9, 2012)

The DeWalt 735 has worked well for me. After planing around 600 board ft. since I got it a year ago the blades are not showing any signs of wear. Best I could tell from my reading before purchase, it you are a semi professional get a more industrial planer. For the hobbyist it is an excellent machine. Get a good pair of ear protectors to go with it and don't even think about running it without attaching it to a dust collector.


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## moonie (Jun 18, 2010)

Do your self a favor save your money and get a good floor planer one with a 2 hp motor not a 15 amp like DeWalt DW735 alote of use has miter saw's with motor that big and Im down to taking only a 1/64" at a time anything more and I kill it in it's tracks and I go throw alote of rough oak bout dont get me wrong it is a good planer for a hobbie planer. In the past 5 years I started back to building dresser's my work has doubled so you can see waer a floor planer works batter.


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## Edwardnorton (Feb 15, 2013)

*I agree with David Dean, as I stated earlier I am more than pleased with mine. I don't wear ear protection (yeah I know I should) but I definitely hook it up to my vacuum before using it. The only thing I didn't like about my DW735 is that it would not allow me to go as thin as I wanted to but after building a table jig for it I can go as thin as 3/16ths. I have looked at the floor model planers and I know the DW can't compete with them but I prefer being able to take it (as well as all of my tools) any place I want to.*


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

The limitation on how thin you can plane boards has to do with the fact that as the leading edge of the wood contacts the knives, the knives are lifting the board (like an uppercut). Can lead to shattered wood and a lot of noise as chunks rattle around in there.


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## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

I'm dredging this post up from a long time ago but this looks like as good a place as any to post my question. I have the Dewalt 735 planer. I've had it well over a year and I run quite a bit of wood through it. I even have abused it by doing cutting board glue ups and using the planer to remove the dried up glue. The planer came standard with two sets of blades. After reading some of the reviews on here I assumed I'd go through both sets in a few months and then when that happened I had planned on buying a helical head for it and installing that. That is about a $400 upgrade.

Well here it is over a year now and just today I'm putting on the second set of blades after going through both sides of the first set. I can't tell you exactly how much wood I've run through it but it has been quite a bit. I still like the things I've read about the helical head, but now I'm wondering if it's even worth the money. Has anybody installed one on their DeWalt and if so has it improved anything? My wood comes out pretty smooth with just the standard blades and I have a Jet 16/32 drum sander so once I get the wood planed to size a few passes through the drum sander and it's nice and smooth.

Another option is carbide tipped blades. Anybody used those? They are about $150 for one set, versus $65 for a two pack of the standard DeWalt blades. I guess the question is since I'm getting such good life out of the standard blades, is there really any reason to upgrade to the carbide tips or the helical head?


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## DerekJ (Dec 21, 2015)

I know this is an old thread, but I need some help with my 735! I am noticing indentations on the table side of my boards coming out of the machine.

I cleaned the table with mineral spirits and am still having the problem. It feels (and looks) like there is a convex shaped bump right in the center of the table that could cause one mark, but I am noticing them all across the boards and the rest of the table feels and looks smooth.

I can take a picture tonight, but was curious if anyone else has had this problem and, if so, is there a fix? The planer is less than 3 months old so I could probably take it back if I need to…


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## Viking (Aug 26, 2009)

Mine still works very well, after nearly 4 years. Still on original blades and getting very nice cuts but, I always take light cuts and don't try to hog a bunch of material in a single pass. I have the Dewalt infeed / outfeed table and no snipe whatsoever.

I looked at the helical heads about 3 years ago but, they would cost as much as I originally paid for the 735 or more.

I'm happy.


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

That happens on mine from time to time, and I think it may be caused by foreign material (such as a wood chip?) getting caught between the table and the board. Usually they sand out, but I've also steamed them out.


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