Dewalt DW735 Planer Elevation extremely difficult to adjust...

Good Day Everyone:
My Dewalt DW735X planer arrived yesterday and the first thing I noticed was the elevation wheel on right side of unit is very hard to turn. Extremely hard to turn UP or down. The height limiter on the left side of unit isn’t an issue because I’m not near the preset depth. When I first tried to adjust the elevation wheel it was so hard to turn I would have sworn there was a lock on it somewhere. Eventually I was able to move it a bit at a time and it has loosened up a bit but still is a difficult two hand operation. I was able to plane a 2x5 pine board and it turned out great. Very pleased with the cut but the elevation wheel has got to get easier….
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Anyone have this experience? Any ideas as to what could be wrong?
TIA Larry

Hmmm. Brand new? We had one of these for field work for a long time and ran the guts out of it. Was a great little planer. As I remember the raise and lower was not silky smooth and required some effort compared to a stationary machine but dont recall it being "hard" to move. Does the head move when you rotate the wheel?

1. Check the chain tension inside
2. Try lubricating the corner posts

Since your machine is new, I would seek a replacement. Unless you know specifically what is wrong and it is an easy fix, you should have complete assurance of a fully functioning machine with a full warranty.

Good luck,
David

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Originally Posted by David Utterback

Since your machine is new, I would seek a replacement. Unless you know specifically what is wrong and it is an easy fix, you should have complete assurance of a fully functioning machine with a full warranty.

Good luck,
David

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Straight to return/replace? With no diagnostics?

The manual states there's a turret stop to set it to common thicknesses. I don't have this planer, but maybe this is engaged?

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Originally Posted by Mark Bolton

Straight to return/replace? With no diagnostics?

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That is what I would do. No diagnostics, nothing but return it. My DW735 is several years old and is still silky smooth both up and down.

Any real planer should have a lock so it does not changer thickness during a cut. I would expect it to be locked down for shipping. Do you mean there is no lock so the height does not change?

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Originally Posted by Robert Hayward

That is what I would do. No diagnostics, nothing but return it. My DW735 is several years old and is still silky smooth both up and down.

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Thank heavens for no retail. It'll be interesting to see if there is some internal packing stop or some other issues. Good lord.

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Originally Posted by Bill Dufour

Any real planer should have a lock so it does not changer thickness during a cut. I would expect it to be locked down for shipping. Do you mean there is no lock so the height does not change?

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One of the features of the 735 is that it is "supposedly" self locking. There is suppose to be no need for an external lock. That doesnt mean there wasnt a shipping lock of some sort.

I would agree with those who suggest returning it. If you try to fix it, you just make exchange harder.

That said, the one thing that I've seen cause the problem you have is having the four height gears not adjusted to co-planarity. Not hard to fix if that's the problem, but no way it should be necessary on a machine new from the box.

Mine was smooth out of the box and remains smooth years later. Unless DeWalt can diagnose and fix it, I'd return and replace.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill Dufour

Any real planer should have a lock so it does not changer thickness during a cut.

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Hmm, guess I should cancel the planned restoration of my Oliver 399. No lock. Wonder what the going rate of scrap iron is? I’ve got 1300 pounds of it.

;-)

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Originally Posted by Matt Day

Hmm, guess I should cancel the planned restoration of my Oliver 399. No lock. Wonder what the going rate of scrap iron is? I’ve got 1300 pounds of it.

;-)

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Piece of garbage! I'd pay to take it off your hands but hearing it doesn't have a lock I can only offer to haul it to the dump for you free of charge! ;-)

Mark: Yep brand new s of yesterday… “Does the head move when you rotate the wheel?” I’m not sure what the head is (new to wood working and this is my 1st Planer) but if your referring to the main body where the cutters and rollers are, yes it moves with the elevation wheel. I was able to adjust and plain a 1x5 pine board down to just a tad over ½ inch.
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Jerry: Lubed the corner posts yesterday and that may have helped a bit but still need 2 hands to adjust elevation. Will check chain tension tomorrow. Thanks
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Steve: Good thought on the 4 corner threaded posts. I will check that out tomorrow also. They are only held in place by a 6 mm allen head bolt. Worth a try... :)
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To all those who suggested returning it that is definitely an option but would be without for weeks until another arrives and then no guarantee it won’t have troubles also. Since all else seems to work flawlessly I’d rather fix it, but alas if I can’t fix it I’ll have to send it back.
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Thanks for all your suggestions. Great bunch of people here.
Larry