DW735 Owners: Question for Ya'

[Jason Hanko]

Well I finally made some sawdust with my new DeWalt 735 planer this afternoon (making a stand for it). After running a few boards through, I noticed that the planer is really sniping quite a bit. Now I don’t have the infeed/outfeed tables for it, as Ill be building them into my stand - but still this seems like a lot of snipe, and its even happening on very short boards where extra support shouldn’t be needed.
To be fair I’ve never owned a planer before, so maybe this is just normal.
My main concern is that there seems to be quite a bit of play in the front-right post of the planer carriage. If you apply a bit of upwards leverage to the carriage, the front-right corner (nearest the height-adjustment wheel) will lift up about 1/16''. None of the other 3 corners seem to be this loose, and do not move an iota if you push up on the carriage near them.
In fact, the height adjustment wheel actually moves when you push up on the carriage. This is easy to see on the snazzy new YouTube video I’ve made of the phenomenon here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyN2r5bhFyU

You’ll also notice that it does this while planing – When the board enters the front roller, the carriage lifts up the 1/16’’ (you can see the hand wheel move), and then when the board passes out from underneath the front roller the carriage falls back down. I thought the DW735 didnt NEED a carriage lock...
Again the movement seems to mainly be at the front right post only… if I put the board all the way to the left, it doesn’t move as much and the sniping is reduced.
Someone tell me this isn’t normal....

[Mike Henderson]

I have a 735 and don't get nearly that much snipe. Something must be wrong with your unit.

How much are you taking off in one pass?

Mike

[Jason Hanko]

The pictures above are from a 1/16th pass. But 1/32'' of snipe on a 1/16th pass seems like too much to me...

[Gary Click]

My DW735 sniped until I added the tables but not this bad and it sniped worse on the left side.

I don't recall ever seeing the handwheel turn during operation. Is it possible that the post is loose in the base?

[Shawn Christ]

I recently bought a refurb 735, my first planer. Didn't notice the wheel lifting/carriage lifting problem you are experiencing. I too wonder about a loose connection to the base. If not, I'd send it back to DeWalt for repair.

I've had snipe (no extensions yet), but it lessened as my technique improved. I'll build extensions later to hopefully eliminate it.

[Tom Esh]

I've seen other reports of this leading and trailing snipe characteristic and mine does it too, but without the handwheel phenomena. I've not torn it down to see if it's possible to fix or adjust out, but it's seems clear the auto-lock is not 100% effective, particularly when only one feed roller is engaged, thus the change in cutting depth.
(For those who haven't experienced it, or who don't own a 735, Jason is not referring to the more common type of planer snipe caused by inadequate workpiece support. This is rather more pronounced change in cutting depth that occurs with or without aux tables or support.)

[Alan DuBoff]

The tables should have been included with the planer, IMO, as should have the "dust option". I use both on mine, and was just using it today. It is sure loud. They should include a set of ear muffs with it also, you actually need them...

[Sonny Edmonds]

This isn't normal, whatever normal is....
My DW 735 has never exhibited any signs like that (The apparent looseness)
Snipe is a naturally occurring trait in planers like this.
My summation of lunch box snipe:
As the board begins to enter the planer, the rubber in-feed roller presses down on the wood driving it into the planers maw.
The blades are next to find the wood and begin to plane it away. The force of the in-feed roller is pushing down on a very small footprint of the wood as this is happening it's causing the wood to spring ever so slightly upward.
The knives cut away at the wood until it is caught by the out-feed roller which presses the wood flat down to the table and the knives plane away at the board until the following end is released from the in-feed roller.
Then the tail of the board springs ever so slightly upward and gets sniped off as it clears the knives. Then the out-feed roller feeds the board clear of the machine.
There's your snipe sequence. And here's your face:

Bigger planers don't do this sniping quite as bad, or not at all, for a few reasons, again, in my opinion and observations.
They have steel rollers usually and they do not spring the wood, but rather compress the wood to a much heavier and stable table. Sometimes they will have an upper and a lower feeding roller that positively grabs the wood being fed.
Longer planing beds are also an advantage our "lunch box" planers don't have.
They offer us instead extensions that leave us to fend for ourselves to fiddle into an acceptable rise that compensates for the inadequacies of the smaller planer. A straight edge and a nickel on it's side is a good starting point for rise of the add-on tables.
Lifting the board as it is entering the planer can off-set some of the tendencies for snipe, but it doesn't always work that well.

One other method I use is when feeding multiple boards, I will try and get the first one started with the "English" or "Kentucky windage" of the lift, and keep adding boards when the first one is about half way through.
That way the roller is always loaded and can't single out a board to cause the end to snipe.
And do compensate by accepting you will have to waste the sniped ends at times. So if you want a 3' board, start your planing with longer pieces and cut your final thicknessed stock from the meat and potatoes of the board and burn the sniped ends to warm the shop.

Practice makes perfect.
Cut what you want from the middle, perfect is unattainable.

[Andy Casiello]

I have a 735. I don't have the tables for it. I usually either hand-feed the boards in and catch them coming out, or use some roller stands to assist. I get very modest snipe, if any at all. What you are experiencing is not normal. HTH.

[Jason Hanko]

Sigh...looks like Ill be giving DeWalt Customer Service a call tomorrow.
And JUST after I got my Wixey installed too....

[David Christopher]

my 735 works great I very seldom get snipe. if yours is new I would take it back and get another


Dave

[Gary Click]

The tables should have been included with the planer, IMO, as should have the "dust option". I use both on mine, and was just using it today. It is sure loud. They should include a set of ear muffs with it also, you actually need them...

The DW735 certainly is loud but after I installed the Byrd Shelix head in my planer the sound was dramatically reduced both running and cutting. I no longer get the siren whine when it is running or the harsh scream when cutting and you can actually hear the fan.

I wouldn't reccomend buying the head for that benefit alone but it is a nice side benefit in addition to the cutter life (not infinite but seems that way compared to the DW Knives) and the quality of cut.

[Jeff Bratt]

Being able to move the carriage up at the right-front corner, and the handwheel turning during planing is definitely not normal for the DeWalt 735. I'm sure this is contributing to the excessive amount of snipe you're seeing. With my in and out-feed tables installed - and raised up about 1/8" on each end, if I get snipe, it's an amount that can be removed with a couple swipes of a card scraper.

[Sean Kinn]

Just incase you needed to hear it again....not normal at all. I have one, and I don't have any infeed or outfeed tables. I've sent both large and small pieces through it, and if I even get any snipe it is well under 1/32 and probably about a 1/64th. And this is with feeding and guiding out by hand with the dw735 sitting on top of my workmate in the middle of the garage.

[Jason Hanko]

Well I FINALLY found some time to run a few boards through my newly-repaired planer. No Snipe!
Some part on the front right corner locking mechanism was broken. Repair shop took care of that (yay warranty) and we're back in business. The carriage doesn't move at all anymore at that corner or any other, and the wheel stays put now.
And whats most importantly', I ain't gotta deal with snipin' no more.