Initial impressions of the Dewalt DW734 12.5" Planer

My DW734 12.5" planer arrived Monday The new planer is a joy to work with. I have only had time to throw a few boards through to see how it worked. Other than one nick early on thanks to a hard maple board with a knot, it has produced nearly glass smooth boards every time.

It is replacing a delta portable (don't remember the model number) single speed, basic planer. That was an 'ok' planer several years old and it did the job, until we noticed that the cutter head was out of alignment, it was while attempting to repair that problem that john cracked the casting and it was instantly a 'parts' planer. A friend of ours has the same model and now has spares on 90% of his planer. In the meantime, I borrowed a DW733 from a co-worker, and we were very impressed with it. after much agonizing over which to buy to replace the delta and the loaner, I picked the DW734. Visually and in basic operations it is the same as the DW733, only it has a 3 blade cutterhead, and the blades are disposable vs the resharpenable ones on the 733.
The loaner is a relatively 'low mileage' unit, as it is the secondary planer in my friend's cabinet shop, only gets set up for a couple of boards when his molder/planer is set up for a molding run. Given that ti is about 2 years old, it should be in (and is) in excellent condition. The Dw734, surprisingly is quieter in operation, perhaps due to the brand new motor, but possibly due to the three blade vs two blade cutterhead.

Of course I can't speak to longevity yet, but otherwise, couldn't be happier with the purchase. If I'd had just a bit more in the budget, I could have gotten a remanufactured DW735 it was enough out of reach that it wasn't practical at this time. I have zero regrets at this point, however as the DW734 does all that I could ask of it. If I really try, the only item I don't like is the design of the dust chute, might just have to make a shop built one eventually, for now the stock one works. It occasionally burps and leaves a spray of shavings on the infeed table. That is surely a combination of the duct design which tapers from 4" to 'zero' on the far right, and I not enough suction from my little 650cfm chip collector to be efficient.