Setting Replacement Planer Knives - DW735

[Joe Hollis]

I am in the process of replacing the original factory-installed knives in my DW735. The holes in the new knives are slightly elongated; I would say there is about .005 -.008 play when the knife is in position on the cutterhead pins. I don't have the equipment to measure knife projection, so can I just set all the knives the same so they are all against the pins in either the most forward or most rearward position and leave it at that?

Thanks,

Joe

[Randy Heinemann]

If you purchased Dewalt replacement knives the holes would be elongated horizontally which permits staggering the knives slightly from side to side. This covers up minor nicks in the blades for a short time till new nicks appear. The knives are indexed to fit right over the pins. There should be no vertical elongation of the holes and thus, nothing to do when replacing except place the knives on the pins and tighten the screws on the plates. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen replacement knives for the 735 with vertically elongated holes. You may have incorrect knives.

[Jerry Miner]

I've been using a 735 for years, and have replaced the knives many many times, from at least three different sources, including DeWalt. My experience is in line with Randy--there should be no "vertical" adjustment in the knives, only a slight horizontal adjustment.

[Joe Hollis]

Thanks for your comments. I measured both the DeWalt knives and the replacements. The elongated slots that fit over the cutter head locating pins on the OEM knives measure about .2415 long x .1610 across. The replacement knives (I think they are made by Dimar), measure about .2425 long x .1665 across. I see where the .005 or so play comes from.... These knives were listed as replacements for the factory knives, so I reaonably (?) assumed that they would fit the same... I will contact the supplier; no planing with this machine for now I guess... Darn....

[Rick Malakoff]

I'm thinking of getting a 735 is there any reason that I should look at anything else.
Rick

[Geoff Crimmins]

I'm thinking of getting a 735 is there any reason that I should look at anything else.
Rick

If you need to plane boards wider than 13", take deeper cuts, or plane a large quantity of boards on a regular basis then the DeWalt probably isn't for you. Otherwise it's a nice planer and seems to be the most popular lunchbox planer.

[Rick Malakoff]

If you need to plane boards wider than 13", take deeper cuts, or plane a large quantity of boards on a regular basis then the DeWalt probably isn't for you. Otherwise it's a nice planer and seems to be the most popular lunchbox planer.

Geoff,
Thanks 735 will suit my needs size wise and budget wise.
Rick