I have the opportunity to purchase a Grizzly g0505 for $280 or a Dewalt dw735 for $400, but needs new blades. I’m wondering if I’ll be better off with the cheapie because its blades are sharpenable, so I’ll save over the $50/set disposable dewalts. I plan to put a custom feed table in either. Thoughts?
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Well, I don't know about the Grizzly, but the Dewalt 735 is a great machine. I've had it for about 18 months now and have changed blades once. The blades are reversible (so $50 buys you two sets really) and extremely easy
to replace. I'd be wary of trying to sharpen a 13" knife accurately enough;
it has to be sharp and dead straight.
And don't forget that the G0505 is a 2-knife machine and the 735 a 3-knife.
I have had the dw735 for 4 years and love it. Not so much the blades, as they dont hold a perfect edge long. But the machine is great. I have upgraded to the Byrd shelix head and a wixey digital read out. That makes the Dewalt a great tool. The Byrd head last so much longer than factory knives. It is also quite enough I dont feel the need for hearing protection. Never had the Grizzly so cant speak about it.
I’ve had the DE735 for about 15 years and love it. All I do is keep it clean and change the blades from time to time. Blades are super easy to replace.
Check out the crank handle placement and direction of dust collection ports - both are very different. If you have a small shop, these could be tie breakers. I also once had to return a new spiral cutter head Grizzly planer due to two quality issues and so I no longer recommend the brand.
I have had the Dewalt 733 2 head machine for over 20 years. I've replaced the belt once. It's a fantastic tool. If mine died today I'd buy the 735 without hesitation.
I let knives go a long time between changes. It's just for getting the right thickness. You'll never see a surface right off the planer in something I make. Every surface ends up being hand planed, scraped, and/or sanded, depending.
As jpe52 said above, I would not try to sharpen planer blades like that myself. For what replacements cost, it's not worth it.
Yeah, what John_C2 said.
I have the DeWalt 735, and love it. Bought it at least in part because a friend who has had the DW 733 for about as long as John_C2 has had his has had an equally positive experience. And ditto re the blades.
For what it does, at the price it does it, I see the DW 735 as a fantastic machine. I named mine Marvin.
Now mine is upset that it doesn't have a name.
Should I send you a link to baby names? ;-)
I unplugged my J/P so it cannot react to this. I don't want to see it angry or watch it come unhinged. It is hungry enough in normal times.
I've got the 735, it is a good machine and popular (which has the advantage of lots of information about it being available. When I got it I got 2 sets of knives (part of a sale package). I will probably get a shelix head for it, mostly because most of the time I have to do something with the knives is because I get a nick and not because they are dull.
The 735 allows some lateral movement when you insert the blades. When I get a nick, I reposition that blade so the nick doesn't line up with the nicks on the other blades and I end up getting a clean cut.
I also have had the Dewalt for years, and it’s a good machine. Have you considered the new Laguna with carbide inserts as a 3rd option? I don’t know much about it. Same HP as the 735. https://lagunatools.com/classic/planers/px12/
Just an FYI. The Dec/Jan 2021 issue of WOOD magazine has a test and review of bench top planers, including the two you're looking at.
I have an older dewalt planer thicknesser (called Walter since we're all sharing...)
I have found that a kiss with a diamond stone can triple the time between sharpening the blades. I don't remove them, just carefully hone in place.
I have never regretted a deWalt tool purchase.
Not trying to steer you to the Laguna, as I said I don’t know much about it. I do have the Laguna 18BX band saw, however, which is a great machine. But I just got an email from Rockler that the PX/12 is on sale. One of the pluses of this machine is it comes with a segmented cutter head with carbide cutters if that interests you. https://www.rockler.com/laguna-px-12-quadtec-i-2hp-12-benchtop-planer?sid=V20843&utm_medium=email&utm_source=batch&utm_campaign=20211125_B_D_6-AM%3A-Happy-Thanksgiving%21-Feast-on-Black-Friday-Power-Tool-Savings-–-Shop-Early-Coupon_V20843&mcID=922%3A619d206b897f202e175ca5b8%3Aot%3A5ebf03c3aeae5cc060820012%3A1&linkID=
The real question is why if you want to step up from 12-13 inches for these planers, plan on spending two to three thousand dollars for 15 inches. Why there can't be a 15 or 20 inch machine built like the DW I don't know.
You'd think they could corner the market with even a 14 inch machine. Until everyone copied them.
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