Replies

1. 
   DSW | Dec 30, 2003 06:55pm | #1

   I haven't checked this planer out yet either but on paper, it looks mighty nice. I'm considering this unit myself. I don't believe it was available at the time of the review you mentioned.

   Doug

2. 
   JMartinsky | Dec 30, 2003 07:16pm | #2

   Think...Makita. Very good unit.

   John

3. 
   PeterDurand | Dec 30, 2003 07:26pm | #3

   I have that model and it is a very good machine indeed. Dead on accurate right out of the box. And would you believe it, no snipe. I don't know how they did that but it works. The 2 speeds are quite useful. I would highly suggest you splurge on the dust/shaving collector attachment. It fits over any standard garbage can and well worth it. The thing is 100 pounds so it helps to have a helping pair of hands to unpack it.

   Hope this helps.

   Cheers,

   Peter

    

4. 
   DexAZ | Dec 31, 2003 09:01am | #4

   I've had the DW735 since Oct and I love it.  It is very stable and solid.  At 92 lbs it should be!  The height adjustment crank engages smoothly and has no play whatsoever, unlike the 734, 733 and the Deltas I have seen.  As another poster mentioned, it was dead-on accurate right out of the box.  The preset depth settings are exact.  Get the dust collection kit if you do not have a DC system.  It blows dust/chips 20-30' down the driveway without any dust collection.  Lots of fun if your neighbors don't care.  As for the finish, GLASS SMOOTH!!  I've been taking off little bites (1/32") at 96 CPI "Dimensioning Mode" and it just does a great job.  I do not do production work so I am in no big hurry to get the board surfaced.  A few more passes at 1/32" just means I get to play with my new toy that much longer.  The last pass I run at 179 CPI "Finishing Mode".  The only snipe I have had was my own fault.  _IF_ you run long (+6') stock through without providing proper outfeed support, ANY planer will do some sniping to remind you that you were careless with your setup.  With proper outfeed support, I have had NO snipe whatsoever.  I do not have the optional in/outfeed table kit.  My roller stand seems to do the job...when I use it.  I've seen some mention that the 735 is noisy.  Not a problem for me so far.  My ten year old ShopVac makes much more noise.  As I live in the Phoenix, AZ metro area, I have the luxury of opening the garage/shop door and rolling the planer outside to use...when it is not too hot out.  (No home owners ####'n to bitch about noise either)  As for brands, I don't care what color my tools are.  The 735 looked like a good product, it has the "feel" of a well built product and it turns out a wonderfully smooth piece of wood.  What more could I want from a planer?  Sure I could wait until next year and have saved some $$$ but have sure enjoyed it now.  As for where you can fine one, I think the LOWES have had some delivered lately.  And WOODCRAFT in Tucson said they expect some in mid Jan.  A friend has one being delivered soon from AMAZON.com so they must have/have had some.

   Good luck with whatever planer you choose.

5. 
   RANGERP75R | Dec 31, 2003 07:05pm | #5

   Dale

      The new Dewalt looks good so far. I agree with John (JMar) that the Makita not only looks good, but has been proven good. Sounds like you got a little decision to make. ha.. ha...

      I really can't see you getting injured on either choice..

   Regards...

   sarge..jt

   Proud member of the :  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

6. 
   alexlisa | Jan 01, 2004 06:56am | #6

   I bought my Delta 12.5" before the Makita came out. It does a good job, but it aint no Makita. Other than cost, I chose it over the Dewalt because of the double sided disposable blades, which I think the Makita has also. That gives you two blades for the price of one resharpening, which will add up over the years. I had the use of an older 12' Makita where the table moved up to a fixed head. It did a beautiful job on small stuff, but how did they think you were going to handle infeed and outfeed support? Glad to see they jumped on the moving locking head bandwagon. Get the Makita!

7. 
   SplifJoint | Jan 01, 2004 08:22am | #7

   I have both the Makita 2012NB and DeWalt 735. My work habits are such that I find it convenient to have two planers around. It helps when I have multiple projects going in parallel. Anyhow, both are great machines. I had an older Makita 2012 for around 10 years. I've had the new 2012NB for around two years, I think. The Makitas have proven to be reliable. The older Makita is gone because I just plain wore it out. So, I bought the DeWalt at a woodworking show. I've had the DeWalt for only three months. Here are some thoughts on each.

   - Either will snipe if you don't support long boards at the input and output. The Dewalt much less than the Makita.

   -The DeWalt has an excellent dust/chip ejection system. It actually has a fan motor that assists in ejecting material. Hook it up to a dust collector and you have one heck of a chip collection system.

   -Both the older dead Makita and my new one are only ok in the chip collection department. The dust hood for the Makita had to be purchased separately. I feel it's a necessity. I don't know why it wasn't included. However the seal around the hood is crappy. I had to put some adhesive backed foam around the perimeter to get decent chip collection. Even with this, a more than acceptable amount of chips end up in the cutting area such that I have to stop and clean it out. Some get between the rollers and stock, causing indentations on the nicely planed surface.

   -The DeWalt leaves a smoother surface than the Makita. The DeWalt has two feed speeds. The slower "finishing" speed leaves a super smooth surface, BUT I'm not really sure it's necessary. It has a three knife cutterhead, so the faster feed speed leaves a pretty darn good surface to begin with. I usually sand or handplane to finish a project, so the smooth-as-a-baby's-butt finish doesn't really make a difference to me at the dimensioning stage.

   -Both have reversible knives. So you get twice the mileage. However, the DeWalt has some latitude to offset the knives in case you nick them. The Makita has only two knives whereas the DeWalt has three as I stated above. I have not changed the Knives on the DeWalt yet, so I don't know which is cheaper to replace. I would guess the Makita blades are cheaper. Changing the knives on the Makita is very easy and foolproof. It takes me less than five minutes. Since I haven't changed the DeWalt knives yet I can only say it's easy and fast because I had the DeWalt rep demonstrate it for me before I bought it at the show.

   -The Makita is the most portable of the two. It's lighter and smaller. I would pick the Makita if I were someone that needed a planer to lug around from site to site. I believe I heard the DeWalt is marketed as "portable", but, at around 100 lbs, I think it's somewhere between a portable and stationary machine.

   -I have the manufacturers infeed and outfeed tables on both. Can't remember if I had to buy them separately on the Makita, but I did on the DeWalt. The DeWalt's function better than the Makitas. They seem to provide more support. Both machines are mounted on rolling carts. I may have to find a permanent place for the Makita with some type of homebuilt infeed/outfeed table arrangement.

   -Overall I think DeWalt did some serious homework while designing the 735. I personally think they "hit a homerun" with this model.

   That's all I can think of off the top of my head. If you have any specific questions let me know.