My decision on new lunchbox planer...

[David Tolsky]

I ultimately decided on the Makita 2012NB over the DeWalt 735. Too many people complaining about blades dulling too fast and the noise level of the 735 and too many people praising the easy blade changes and quietness of the Makita. I read a review of a guy for years looking for an excuse to buy a Powermatic 15" planer but year after year the Makita takes anything he puts in it, with occasional blade changes. I'm going to try and adapt my dust hood from my old DeWalt 733 to this new Makita and see if I can get away with it. Amazon had a pretty good deal for the Makita, at $505 + tax, free shipping. Thoughts?

[Scott Brandstetter]

I don't think you made a bad decision and the tool will work for many years. The only option would be to add dollars to the total spend and get a larger, wider setup. It's like boats though, always wanting a bigger, more powerful craft. I spent prolly ten years with a similar lunchbox planer, did what I asked, never had an issue. It wasn't until I got serious about turning the weekend play yard into a business and then went bigger. As I said before, bigger means more money.

[John Schweikert]

The Makita is a solid planer. I've had one for over a year, very pleased and no issues. It's lighter and slightly quieter than the DW733 I've owned for about 15 years. I still use the Dewalt for rougher, more questionable boards and the Makita for final planing.

[Jim German]

Keep in mind that one of the big selling points of the DW735 is the blower on the chip ejection. This allows it to be used at a job site without dust collection. Its also got two speeds which can be handy too.

If you're going to be using it stationary in a shop with dust collection, I'd suggest looking at the Dewalt 734 instead of the 735. The 734 is more comparable, and blade changes on it are a piece of cake. I can't speak to longevity, I always seem to need to change the blade because it gets a nick in it rather than from getting dull.

[David Tolsky]

Well I have an old 733 that I'm going to take to DeWalt service center for a refurbish. I just can't afford a 3 week stoppage of work so I ordered the Makita and I'll either have the 733 for backup or use it for rough boards and use the Makita for finish planing as John is doing. For $215 DeWalt will replace everything and have it running like new, including a new motor which it probably needs. I don't really have the space in my garage shop for 2 planers so I'd probably end up selling the DeWalt.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Did I miss something? What is hard about changing blades in the Dewalt? Is it because you need to take the top off?

My carbide tipped blades in my Dewalt last a very very long time...

I do not remember what they said about the Makita, but in general they make great products. Enjoy your new planer!

[David Tolsky]

As far as the DW735 goes, I haven't read reviews saying the blade changing is difficult, just that the stock blades dull before 100 bd ft. I'm sure an aftermarket carbide blade is the way to go on that model. For me anyway, the blade changing on my old 733 was tougher than it should have been.

[Daniel O'Neill]

Did I miss something? What is hard about changing blades in the Dewalt? Is it because you need to take the top off?

My carbide tipped blades in my Dewalt last a very very long time...

I do not remember what they said about the Makita, but in general they make great products. Enjoy your new planer!

I've read that about 1/2 the people who buy a 735 feel like the blades last a long time and the other 1/2 feel like they last a really short amount of time. I think OP might be referencing that. I'm really appreciating this thread as a Planer is my next tool purchase. (maybe after tax return ) In the meantime I'll continue to read up on each model. I appreciate the above reference to a DW734 vs the 735 and am still trying to figure out which one but I do like the chip ejection. but is it worth a lot of sound & a couple hundred bucks? .....

[Jeffrey Martel]

As far as the DW735 goes, I haven't read reviews saying the blade changing is difficult, just that the stock blades dull before 100 bd ft. I'm sure an aftermarket carbide blade is the way to go on that model. For me anyway, the blade changing on my old 733 was tougher than it should have been.

Both of those are completely untrue. Changing blades is easy. You remove the plastic cover and use the included tool to get the blades out. And the blades last a good long time, and are reversible. I'm still on my first set of blades. Still get no tearout and fairly smooth finishes. The 2 speeds, automatic cutterhead lock, and chip blower all make it a vastly better machine. They're all noisy. Saying that one lunchbox planer is less noisy than another is like comparing one jumbo jet going immediately overheard to another jumbo jet going immediately overhead. Both still loud enough that you will need hearing protection.

[Jim German]

They're all noisy. Saying that one lunchbox planer is less noisy than another is like comparing one jumbo jet going immediately overheard to another jumbo jet going immediately overhead. Both still loud enough that you will need hearing protection.

+1 FWW tested the Makita at 99dB and the DW733 at 98dB. I'd assume the DW734 are about the same. All of that is way above where you'd want hearing protection.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I've read that about 1/2 the people who buy a 735 feel like the blades last a long time and the other 1/2 feel like they last a really short amount of time. I think OP might be referencing that. I'm really appreciating this thread as a Planer is my next tool purchase. (maybe after tax return ) In the meantime I'll continue to read up on each model. I appreciate the above reference to a DW734 vs the 735 and am still trying to figure out which one but I do like the chip ejection. but is it worth a lot of sound & a couple hundred bucks? .....

I believe that it was FWW (fine wood working) that has a review of these in their latest issue. give it a read.

[John Schweikert]

As an owner of both the DW733 and 2012nb, here is my testing of the noise levels.

Using an iphone dB app for purely a comparison tool of the level difference and not calibrated actuals, both units side by side, center line 3 ft from phone, each one run by itself.

Makita 2012nb 87 dB
Dewalt DW733 92 dB

The other noticeable difference is that the pitch of each machine is different. The Dewalt pitch is higher and Makita pitch is lower. As a result the Makita is noticeably "quieter" in relative terms to the Dewalt.

I like both machines, use both regularly and for space and no 220V line at the moment, have no desire for a large stationary planer. I also prefer both of these because at times I carry them outside when planing large amounts of wood and simply let the shavings be bedding in the backyard. The Makita is quite a bit lighter weight than the Dewalt by 20 pounds. Another reason I did not have any interest in the DW735 which is even heavier. My shoulders and back are not what they used to be.

I have the stock dust collection adapters for each machine. The Dewalt was included and the Makita was an extra cost accessary. The Makita has a 3" port which connects to an extra 4" hose. The Dewalt has a 2-1/2" port which I connect to the same 4" hose when planing inside via a quick connect on the hose. I would say the Makita has the edge in slightly better collection.

As for blade changes, both have supplied knife gauges to align the knives correctly. Going only by memory, the Dewalt has 8 bolts per knife, 2 knives and the Makita has 5 bolts per knife, 2 knives.

The knives on both machines can be resharpened easily. I made myself a foot long "Deulen" style block to sharpen blades on fine grit papers on a granite block. I have not needed to sharpen the Makita yet since it's only a year plus old. I've resharpened my current Dewalt blades multiple times over the past few years. I can't say either has better or longer lasting blades, no reasonable data there to comment.

The elevation handle graduations on the Makita is a little odd at 5 x 1/64" per rotation while the Dewalt is an easy 4 x 1/64" per rotation. This makes turning the handle on the Dewalt require no thought at all, just work in quarter, half or full rotations. The Makita unfortunately requires you to actually look at the markings.

I really like that the head auto locks on the Makita whereas you manually lock the head on the Dewalt.

In all my use, I virtually experience zero snipe on either machine. I have the beds adjusted well and vary my technique as needed when doing multiple boards. But many times I have put pre-dimensioned stock through both and used as final pieces in builds. That is much harder to do with many larger stationary planers as I have heard from most users.

[Mac McQuinn]

The Makita IMO is a very nice planer, I owned one for several years and was pleased with it's performance. I purchased because of the lower weight and noise output. I was coming from a Delta which was loud and heavy.
Mac