Replies

1. 
   joinery45 | Feb 09, 2005 09:00am | #1

   I like the Makita 12" It's light weight make it easy to move around on the job and it is much quieter than the rest.  Changing the blades or reversing them is a snap.

   I would get the optional dust hood with its oddball 3" dust port. It does have more snip than the others. But, I just use a waste piece as a follower and that solved the problem.

   Thanks, John

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/9/2005 1:01 am ET by joinery45

2. 
   StorminNormann | Feb 09, 2005 09:09am | #2

   FWW,

   Tools and Shops Winter 2002/2003 pg 74.

   TOOL TEST: BENCHTOP PLANERS

   by Lon Schleining

   For small shops, these machines offer good value and performance

   I purchased the

   Dewalt 734 based on this article -- so far so good for me.

    

   Steve

1. 
   john11 | Feb 09, 2005 05:32pm | #3

   Thanks, I knew I had seen the article, part of the problem is, when you start going through the magazines looking for the article, you come across so many other articles that you want to re-read, so it take forever to get through all of them.The Dewalt does seem like a nice choice.

3. 
   JMartinsky | Feb 10, 2005 02:41am | #4

   I second the Makita. mine is four or five years old and it works just like new. I use it commercially, its' quiet, powerful and accurate. It just does its thing. In fact, I have been trying to kill it to justify a 15" and it just won't give in. I've sent a mile of maple plus some Brazilian Cherry and Ipe through it, never even blinked.

   John

   PS I used to burn up a Delta a year prior to the Makita.

4. 
   frenchy | Feb 10, 2005 09:31pm | #5

   Let me tell you which brand NOT to buy and that's Delta.;  Had miserable experiance with them.  A friend bought a DeWalt and didn't have much luck either.

        Please remember if you are thinking of milling a lot of wood the portables work fine except none of them are capable of removing much per pass,   to do a really decent job you'll need several (5 or 6 passes) per board.;.

1. 
   Dave45 | Feb 11, 2005 06:08pm | #11

   Frenchy -

   I was reading this thread and planning on recommending Delta - lol.  I have the 12.5" benchtop planer and it's worked like a champ for the last five years.

   I bought it to resurface about 600 sq ft of 2" x 6" redwood deck boards then moved it into the shop.  I don't do a lot of milling, but it serves my purposes very well.

5. 
   bleubassplyr | Feb 10, 2005 11:07pm | #6

   I was in the same boat a couple months ago. There have been lots of threads here on knots. Do a search and you'll find them. I ended up buying the Dewalt 735, 13". It's got some great features and is right at $500. I added the infeed and outfeed tables for another $50 but you could definitely get away without them. The blades change easily and the 2 speeds work well. It also has a blower fan to eject chips. Good machine for the money. I'll try to find the thread and post it.

   There are more old drunkards than old doctors.  Ben Franklin

6. 
   bleubassplyr | Feb 10, 2005 11:12pm | #7

   Here's the link for the DW 735. Good luck.

   http://forums.taunton.com/n/find/findRedir.asp?webtag=tp-knots&mg=4ABF4CA6-F903-4309-AEA7-A4271D1E3BB5

   There are more old drunkards than old doctors.  Ben Franklin

7. 
   MatthewSchenker | Feb 11, 2005 12:10am | #8

   bobo,
   I have a DW735 13" planer. I spent $500 (plus tax). I had some problems with my first one, but then I got a replacement and it has been very nice for a while now. I run all kinds of soft and hard woods through it. I never take off more than 1/32" at a time. Actually, I usually take off 1/64" or less.

   The planer leaves a nice finish in either speed. I haven't changed blades yet, so I can't offer an opinion about that.

   I got the DeWalt infeed/outfeed tables and the chip bag. I think the infeed/outfeed tables are unnecessary, but the bag helps collect the chips into a container. These planers create a pile of sawdust very quickly.

   The DeWalt is pretty heavy. I think it's better in a shop and would be a big hassle carrying to a job site.

   Soon after I settled in with this planer, I started wanting a 15" model. This is not DeWalt's fault, just a classic example of "tool creep."

8. 
   jpohja | Feb 11, 2005 06:19am | #9

   For what its worth,  if  there is one piece of equipment I own that I would replace with the same model it would be my delta 22-580 planer. Can't seem to find anything about it  that I don't like except maybe the blades could last a little longer.    john

9. 
   Eric | Feb 11, 2005 11:24am | #10

   I have a DW735 13" planer.  I like it a lot, but there have been a number of threads on this site with people complaining about problems with the drive mechanism.  It seems that this is the planers weak spot, as either the sproket or the chain tentioner has some history of failure.

   If you do a search if the Knots archives on DW 735, you can collect those opinions yourself.

   That said, my synthesis is that people who do not have the drive failure occur love the 735, and those that did are understandibly upset.

   I don't think there is a better machine for the $.

   Cheers,

   Eric

10. 
    notrix | Feb 11, 2005 07:52pm | #12

    Another vote for the DW 735.

    I love mine. Works great. I passed some 12 3/4" boards through it and took 1/16" off them no problem. I've milled about 500 bd ft so far.

    I hit a piece of metal on first batch of wood. I was able to slide 2 of the knives in opposite directions and eliminate the gouge. A week later I did it again! Flipped one knife over which took about 5 minutes. So far so good.

    HD now stocks them as well as Lowes. HD says they'll beat any local price by 10%. Lowes says they will honor any price you find on the internet. I was able to get mine from Lowes for about $480 tax included.

    Shop around but buy local as returns via UPS gotta be a bummer.

    Notrix

1. 
   MatthewSchenker | Feb 11, 2005 08:09pm | #13

   "Shop around but buy local as returns via UPS gotta be a bummer."Yes, indeed they are...

   Edited 2/11/2005 12:09 pm ET by Matthew Schenker

11. 
    Glaucon | Feb 11, 2005 11:26pm | #14

    I'm in a similar boat- I need ~12-13" planer for a home shop I'm setting up.  I've been using a shared shop (in a school) with production equipment.  The DeWalt 735 has been highly rated- but it does get demerits for short knife life (as little as 50 board feet).  It seems that no third party or carbide knives are available, and that the DeWalt knives are reversible, but cannot be honed.

    So... what has been the experience of forum members with the DeWalt 735 and its knives?

    Is there another choice that has carbide knives available?

    In my present shop, since the machines are shared (i.e. abused), I don't expect to get a glass finish out of the planer.  I'm also fairly meticulous about taking off less than 1/64th at a time.  I still end up with ridges, that I usually address with a handplane or a card scraper.  Are those who complain about the DeWalt knives expecting too much?

1. 
   bleubassplyr | Feb 12, 2005 03:34am | #15

   I bought the 735 in December. The first thing I did was run a pine board through. Little did I realize there was a knot in the board which created a nick in the blades. I couldn't believe it. I turned the blades over-I know you can move one just left or right but I wanted to start fresh. Since then it's run beautifully. The blade reversal was simple and I love the fact that you don't have to spend time to set the blades. Pop them in and you're off to work. I hope someone comes out with longer lasting carbide blades for this machine.There are more old drunkards than old doctors.  Ben Franklin

2. 
   notrix | Feb 12, 2005 08:11pm | #16

   I can't tell if it's the knives or bad luck but I've put 2 dings so far.Of course you get 6 shots at eliminating the ding, depending on the severity of the ding-sliding side to side and/or flipping one knife over.The planed surface is glass on the red oak I've been planing recently. Actually too smooth to accept the stain I was using. I had to rough it up with 220 to get a dark color.It's a good machine.Notrix

1. 
   Glaucon | Feb 12, 2005 09:26pm | #17

   Thanks Notrix. Just curious- how long have you owned your machine? How much do you think you've planed with it?G

1. 
   notrix | Feb 12, 2005 10:15pm | #18

   I bought mine new about 8 months ago if memory serves. I posted earlier that I figured about 500 bd ft have passed through it but I use it a lot to edge plane pieces to get them all the same size as well as thickness plane. One could assume much of the 500 bd ft made 3-5 passes. So maybe 2000 bdft have been planed altogether.HTHN

12. 
    art | Feb 12, 2005 10:31pm | #19

    Another vote for the Makita. I've used mine regularly for 14 years, 1000's of bf of red oak, hard maple, cherry & ash, and the only maintenance required was  replacing the blades when they dull. A great machine!  Art