I thought I had done my due diligence in researching the 13″ DeWalt DW735 planer. I was ready to spend $550 this week, when I discovered user ratings that are extremely mixed. Those that love them totally love them. Those that dislike them seemed to have the same concerns: The blades cannot be sharpened and are disposable to the tune of $50/set. I envisioned routine sharpening and honing of the blades. This now seems like a deal breaker to me. I want to make lifetime purchases as much as possible.
What is your advise in investing in a planer.
Edited 2/19/2007 10:18 pm ET by Cincinnati
Replies
Cincinnati,
You'll find people who would bellyache about taxes if they won a million dollars. The DW 735 is one of the finest planers on the market. In the "portable" classification, it is hands down the finest. The blades are replaceable, yes, but they are double-sided. This means you get 2 sets for one, you don't have to fool with adjusting them, never any fun, and if you get a nick in them, just scoot one to the side a little bit, and the nicks cancel out. As to longevity, I have been using mine pretty steadily for two years now, and have yet to have to flip them. When finally I have to replace them, $50 will buy me TWO sets. That's not a deal breaker. Trust me. You can't go wrong with this piece. As far as routine sharpening, there are people (myself included) who break into a cold sweat sharpening a 1" chisel. Three 13" bouble-sided planer blades? Give me a break. I don't think you could afford the band-aids! Hope this helps.
Steve
There are two secrets to keeping one's wife happy.
1. Let her think she's having her own way.
2. Let her have her own way. President Lyndon Baines Johnson
Edited 2/19/2007 10:53 pm ET by fussy
My experience is similar to fussy's. If you read carefully, most (not all) of the negatives occurred early on with a sprocket problem, since resolved. Have not had issues with the knives, and I believe there is now a third party supplier.Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
It seems like the portable planers are always going through modifications and changes. The basic stationary planers are essentially the same for the last 30 years and more. You need to supply 220 power and have adequate dust collection. The knives are easy to change, can be sharpened many times and alternate bevels can be done. You can upgrade to helical or spiral heads if ever needed. You have full adjustability of all the working parts, parts are, and likely, will be available. If you want a life time machine, I'd buy a good stationary planer, even though it is twice the price or more. 20 years from now, you won't regret the purchase. If I couldn't swing the stationary, I'd buy one of the less expensive portables to get me by for a few years.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I bought one of these a little over a year ago and have sent a few hundred board feet through it with no problems. In fact, it works beautifully! I bought a "refurbished" model from Tool King. I like to buy refurbished. If you purchase a tool of this type you are guaranteed that someone actually looked at it and checked out the specs. In manufacturing one out of a few hundred is acually pulled off the line for inspection. I have bought "refurbished" equipment for many years and find the quality excellent. It's also cheaper!!
All the best ...
Barry in WV
I've had the planer for over two years without a problem. It is expensive, but it leaves a great surface. I'd recommend the outfeed tables, or building some right away. As a note, I always see these things go for a great deal at woodworking shows (Free stand, extra set of blade and outfeed table...). If there are any coming up in your area, you may want to wait.
If you're actually looking for a planer that would last a lifetime, and you have the room I'd spend the money on a stationary planer.
I bought a factory reconditioned 735 about 2 years ago. It has served me well and was $200 off the new price. Gotta love that. I went through ToolKing.com - good experience. Tyler Tool also sells reconditioned tools.
I purchased a new set of knives last year anticipating changing after nicking a knife. However, shifting that knife over fixed the problem. Last week I flipped over the original set and am good to go again. Still have the reserve set of knives waiting. I am a winter woodworker, but am currently working through 300 LF of hard maple on a house trim. The planer set, on Finish, leaves a beautiful surface on that maple.
I've owned the Dewalt 733 for about 8 years now and it has served well as a portable planer. BUT, it does not even come close to a stationary planer for power and speed and probaly longevity. I've already bought an old Belsaw 5 HP. planer and its the diference is like a hand saw and a power saw.
Hmmm. That might be overstating it a bit.I have a 735, and I have also used large, professional stationary planers.As far as I can see the differences are not speed ("hand saw vs power saw"), but width, durability and knife longevity.The DeWalt had some early production problems (sprockets), and reliability was an issue. A heavy duty, well machined stationary planer would be more reliable. Many of these have carbide knives that will last longer, and they are often wider (>/=15").For home or small shop use, these advantages begin to recede. In fact, you could make the argument that in a small production shop, having two DW735-type planers might be more cost effective than one large stationary machine. If you have one machine, and it goes down, you are SOL. If you have two, you have redundancy and you only have to stock one type of parts, knives, etc.YMMV,Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
If your only concerns are the disposable blades and they are double sided I wouldn't worry about it. Don't forget there are costs to sharpenning non disposable blades and if your work or free time is worth anything you'll be breaking even at worst.
A disposable blade replacement (or switching to the other side) is a 10 minute job on the machines I used to use. With the non disposable blades you usually have to buy 2 sets of blades or have down time when your one set is being sharpened and as far as setting the blades back up I doubt its ever taken me much less than one and a half hours on my 15 inch machine.
I don't think that you can consider any of the portable planers a 'lifetime' purchase. They have universal motors, plastic parts, and since the knives are throwaways, some day you probably won't be able to get them anymore. If you want 'lifetime' get a stationary planer.
Having said that, unless you're in a production environment I think that the total cost of ownership of the portable planer is very favorable. The cost of the knives are pretty much a non-issue: the cost of sharpening is about equivalent to the cost of the disposable knives. Plus, you won't waste your time fiddling around with getting the knives set and aligned properly like you would with a stationary planer.
Doc,I agree with you: portable planers are not a lifetime purchase. But I should get far more than $500 of benefit from the DW735. I haven't been able to budget for a stationary planer yet. I found a source for factory reconditioned DW735's for $360 but they are out of stock. If they come back in stock this week, I'll purchase one. If not, I will get a new one and take advantage of the $60 DeWalt rebate.
At $550 you're getting pretty close to the point where you could buy a stationary machine- lots of cast iron and induction motor. Chances are pretty good the finish will be no better than a good benchtop but you will gain capacity and the tool should have a much longer life span. Of the benchtop planer's I prefer the Makita 2012NB. Reliable and far quieter and more portable than the DW735.
hi,
Just wondering if it would be okay to hook up a "weeping tile" black tubing to my dewalt 735 planer. I was planing on attaching a length of 4" tubing to the round port (dust chute I guess you call it) and cutting a small 4 inch hole in the top of a large ordinary round Rubbermaid garbage container for the tubing to fit through.That way the dust chips would be contained to the garbage container. No good using a shop vac good because the tubing would get clogged very quickly. You would not believe the amt of dust chips that come flying out of the back of this planer. ( which is a good thing mind you) I couldn't believe how much wood chips I had to clean up after planing just one board last week.
Wish I had one of those Delta dust collectors but that is too costly plus it would take up space in the shop. Would the above method work. Or is it absolutely necessary to have some kind of suction?
Wanda
Wanda,
With the way the 735 puts out chips I have turned off my dust collector with the planner running and have seen no difference. You could run a 4 inch hose into a garbage can and it would work fine but you have to have an escape for the air, possibly cutting a hole in the lid and cover that hole with 3 or 4 layers of cheesecloth to keep most of the chips in.
Greg
Hi Greg,
Went to Home Hardware to pick up the tubing for the dust collection. The only thing they had was Aluminum metal flex ducting ( the stuff you use for dryer vents) Would that be suitable. I can't see why not. I can attach it to the dust chute with a metal clamp and some duct tape.
Wanda
Wanda,<!----><!----><!---->
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Ah yes, the Dewalt 735 chip ejection. It truly is an amazing system. The best solution I’ve seen so far for non dust collection systems is to run a 4” hose from the port into a box which actually acts as a mobile stand for the planer. No fuss.<!----><!---->
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Regarding the dryer pipe. I’ve got an amusing story about it, but I’ll get to that. It’ll work in a pinch, but it’s unlikely to stand up in the long term. I’d order some 4’ tubing from <!----><!----><!---->Lee<!----> <!---->Valley<!----><!---->, if you plan to use this long term. One problem with the dryer pipe is you’ll have to ground it. Trust me on this, when you get near it will discharge the entire length of tubing. It really is amazing.<!----><!---->
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Anyway, my story goes back to the first day I had the planer. I plug it in, turn it on and stick a board in it. It blasted chips onto the closed garage door, which cover the whole shop with an even layer of chips. That will not do. So I opened the garage door, and blasted the chips the length of the driveway… again that will not do either. By this time my wife had come out to see what I was doing. “Why don’t you get some dryer vent for that?” She said. So off we when to Rona to pick up some dryer vent. $10 later, were back in the garage. “Just drape it into the garbage can.” She said. Okay, that sounds good. Turn it on stick a board in it, it’s blowing so hard it’s actually blowing the chips out of the garbage. Wife goes to cover the top to keep the chips from adding to the layer already present… She bumps the hose which seems to set it off like a rocket. It was spraying around like a fire hose. Chips everywhere, even places that were not previously coated! No here is where it gets good. She grabs the thing to put it back into the can… Remember when I mention the charge buildup… The thing starts shocking her like crazy…. She ended up holding it in the garbage for about 50% of the length of the board. It’s the last tiem she voluntarily offered to help me in the shop.<!----><!---->
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So my advice. Build something that can secure both end of the hose (a connection on the lid of the garbage should be enough). The box or can must have an exhaust or you’ll just blow the lid off. Ground the hose in some manner if you’re using dryer vent. The 735 actually has an attachment to get ships into the can. It’s a good idea, and you can probably model your after it (it’s a hose that connects to a fabric bag that goes over the garbage).<!----><!---->
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Buster
Hi ... I tried that metal vent stuff. It didn't last too long. The chips ate it up. Finally, bought some real dust collector tubing.
Barry in WV
Hi guys,
I'm glad I asked the people here at the forum first before going ahead and attaching that metal dryer tubing.
I'll have to ask Rideout Tools if they have any proper dust collection tubing. If not I can always order some from Lee Valley.
Wanda
Use it for your better work. Buy a cheap planer for rough work.
I was very happy with the quality of the planing. Unfortunately, I sold my Delta planer at a yard sale with an extra set of knives. Now I realize that I should have kept the delta for preliminary planing and saved the DeWalt for quality work.
I think prices will go up for all tools soon. Get what you really want now.
I have the 735 and after several years still have not even had to use the second sharp side of the blades. When I eventualy have to pay $50 for a new set I will condider it a deal, since sharpening one set of blades is sure to cost more than $25.00
All of my small tools are Dewalt based on relibility and customer service, I would say you cant go wrong for most jobs unless you need to plane glue ups beyond 13" wide.
I dont think it matters which of the premium brands you choose, they are all pretty good, the ones that are so cheap it seems too good to be true will probabaly result in wasted wood and disapoinment.
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