DeWalt DW735 Planer won't feed

[Bob Daniel]

Good day and Happy New Year!

Thought I would sneak in some shop time today, hoped to mill up some boards, business as usual. My DeWalt planer has been giving me trouble lately, getting more and more reluctant to feed the wood through. Needing more and more of a push from the next piece in line, or a pull from the outfeed side.

Today, it got to the point where it finally won't feed the board at all... normally you can feel it grab the wood and feed it into the blades. Today it just stops. Feels like the rollers aren't rolling.

I take very tiny cuts, I'm not in a rush, so I'm definitely not bogging it down.

I did the only thing I could think of, which was to flip the blades around, which was due anyway. No obvious problems there.

Cranking it to full height and looking at the rollers, no obvious problems there either, except, should I be able to turn them by hand? I can't remember if I ever tried that when it was working normally, wouldn't have a reason to. For now, the rollers will NOT turn by hand when nudged from underneath. Didn't want to get too aggressive under there, but with medium force they won't turn at all with power off (and unplugged!) ... Is that normal?

Any insights appreciated... be a while before I can get it looked at, with the holiday, so thought I would try here first. Cheers!

[Jason White]

Is it cold in your shop?

The rollers won't work right if they're cold because the rubber gets too stiff.

I usually wait until the shop is around 50-60 degrees before using the planer for anything.

Jason

Good day and Happy New Year!

Thought I would sneak in some shop time today, hoped to mill up some boards, business as usual. My DeWalt planer has been giving me trouble lately, getting more and more reluctant to feed the wood through. Needing more and more of a push from the next piece in line, or a pull from the outfeed side.

Today, it got to the point where it finally won't feed the board at all... normally you can feel it grab the wood and feed it into the blades. Today it just stops. Feels like the rollers aren't rolling.

I take very tiny cuts, I'm not in a rush, so I'm definitely not bogging it down.

I did the only thing I could think of, which was to flip the blades around, which was due anyway. No obvious problems there.

Cranking it to full height and looking at the rollers, no obvious problems there either, except, should I be able to turn them by hand? I can't remember if I ever tried that when it was working normally, wouldn't have a reason to. For now, the rollers will NOT turn by hand when nudged from underneath. Didn't want to get too aggressive under there, but with medium force they won't turn at all with power off (and unplugged!) ... Is that normal?

Any insights appreciated... be a while before I can get it looked at, with the holiday, so thought I would try here first. Cheers!

[Bob Daniel]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, cold, very! The shop is unheated, except for an overhead IR heater for when I'm standing at the lathe... Probably about -5C (25F) in there today, which is plenty mild for my comfort, but not for the planer, you say... interesting!... maybe I'll park it under the heater for a couple of hours, see if that helps... otherwise, no planing until spring, aaakk!! ... thanks again...

[John Buzzurro]

Bob,

If you haven't already done so, you might try waxing the planer bed. I find that occasionally I need to do this on my DW735 to keep the boards feeding smoothly. Good luck.

John

[Ed Griner]

Dull blades will sometimes cause this type of problem,the harder the wood the worse the problem, plus the tips already mentioned. Hope you get squared away.

Ed

[Dan Bowman]

Have you been using an uncommon wood? I've had similar problems with certain woods that deposit oil (or something slippery) on the rollers - just clean them with a detergent and soft cloth and they work, at least until they get slippery again. Quaruba seems particularly bad for gunking up the rollers.

[Joe Scharle]

Actually my manual recommends cleaning the rollers with mineral spirits.
But if you have a broken chain or sprocket you can tell, if you crank the unit all the way up, turn it on and visually check the rollers for rotation. From a safe distance! Because the cutterhead will be flying!
With a well waxed bed acting as a mirror, I can easily see what's going on in the reflection.

[Leo Vogel]

Bob, my Dewalt planer was doing the same thing. I wipe off the rollers with mineral spirits and waxed the bed and it worked like new. I was really surprised. Give it a try.

[Bob Daniel]

Great tips everybody, will definitely do all the clean and wax type things, it's probably due. Nothing too strange wood-wise, mostly walnut lately...

Have to ask again though, should I be able to turn the rollers from underneath? And if not, how can I clean them properly? Could they be seized up?

[Joe Scharle]

I can turn them from the top using the small gear (interlock depressed) but they are stiff from the rollers themselves. Too much gear reduction or I'm getting weak!

[Bob Daniel]

I think you lost me there Joe: I just had the top off to change the knives, and you can't even see the rollers. Are you talking about the interlock that locks/unlocks the knives, so you can rotate them for changing? Is that what allows the rollers to rotate as well?

I can turn them from the top using the small gear (interlock depressed) but they are stiff from the rollers themselves. Too much gear reduction or I'm getting weak!

[Fred Voorhees]

Is it cold in your shop?

The rollers won't work right if they're cold because the rubber gets too stiff.

I usually wait until the shop is around 50-60 degrees before using the planer for anything.

Jason

I thought of this also and I might add to check to see if the rollers are "gunked up" withany dirt or resin from previously milled lumber. The rollers could need some cleaning up.

[Joe Scharle]

Look at the chain 'train', and if memory serves you will see a small gear that drives the sprocket. I'll look again tomorrow. But turning the cutterhead should also drive the chain. The cutterhead probably makes a thousand RPMs to 1 for the rollers, so the motion will not be much.

[Tim Livingston]

One thing I do if I have a board that is not feeding well I will turn it over without changeing the cut and run it through again. It almost seems like sometimes they cup a little and won't feed well but I am going to hit the rollers with mineral spirits and wax the bed.

[Joe Scharle]

One other thing is the speed control lever. If it's not fully seated the rollers won't turn, but I suppose you already knew that.