Dewalt 13" planer woes

[Dee Dee Martin]

I reciently bought the Dewalt 13" planer. Model 735 I believe.

I sure don't get much mileage out of the blades...and at $50 a pop, that really adds up. Plus on my hard maple, the feed rollers tend to slip a lot.

I'm planing a lot of 24" long material, 1/8" thick, and need a very smooth finish, which this planer gives...but the $50 blades are chewing up my profit.

Anyone got a solution to my dilema? I tried the drum sander route, but that's even worse.

-dirk

[John Hedges]

Not sure if you know but the 735 blades are 2 sided so they are really 25$ a set (if you look at it that way.)

[Tom Donalek]

Search the forum - this is a very common comment! (and interesting to me as I'm saving up for a planer!) The two most interesting responses are: Call Dewalt to 'ask' about the quickly dulling knives, and they may send you a free set, and that there are a few companies now making blades for this model that should perform much better than the stock blades.

[Dave Sweeney]

............there are a few companies now making blades for this model that should perform much better than the stock blades.

I've been looking, unsuccessfully, for an alternate source for blades for my 735. Do you happen to know who some of these companies are?

[Matt Tawes]

Infinity Tools http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1111 is now making replacements for the DW735. I ordered a set this week to try them on mine (I go through about 2-3 sets a year). Unfortunately they're on b/o at the moment.
Though the DW735 is a nice planer and when the kives are sharp it gives a nice finish it it is still purely geared to a hobbyist woodworker. I like the machine alright but in hindsight I think I made a mistake not going to a bigger machine with an induction motor.

[Carl Eyman]

Dirk supplied me with some thin walnut and I can attest it was excellent quality. So if you did this on your Dewalt, you can't ask for better results. I'm just wondering how many board feet you get from a set. I want to compare it with my experience with my old iron Chraftsman/Parks. For mine they sell carbide blades, but I've never felt I could afford them @ over $100 per set.

[Matt Tawes]

HI Carl,

That is a good question and one that I'd be curious to know of other planers knives. Reflecting back on the last couple of sets I've had I would have to say that I notice some slight veining (those fine lines due to nicks) and tearout after about 100 bd. ft. of hardwoods like cherry & oak and on softer woods like poplar and pine maybe I can get 200 BF before needing to flip the knives over. These knives afterall are only about 1/16 thick as opposed to most other at 1/8" thick and lower grade HSS feathered down to an edge on a 1/16" thick knife only holds up so well.
I've had my DW735 for about 3yrs. and I would say that I'm probably approaching what I paid for the planer just in the cost of replacement knives.
Occasionally, I get lucky since I have an Amazon card which accrues points and I get $25 coupons on so in some cases I've saved up those coupons and used them on the purchase of repl. knives so I guess in 3yrs. I've not had quite as much out of pocket expense. I still feel that the longevity of Dewalts knives is far too short. I've tried sharpening them on a wet stone or with diamond hones with some success but they don't hold a sharp edge long.

[Brad Townsend]

Ah yes....It's a familiar story. The initial elation at the glass like finish of a new Dewalt 735 quickly gives way to despair when the veins start to show up and the price of replacement blades sinks in.

I have had success resharpening mine. I know Dewalt says they are disposable, but at $50 a set, I had to try something. I have resharpened one set successfully once and am ready to install them for the third go-round and see how well they work. Even if I only get one resharpening out of a set, my cheapo Woodcraft sharpening system will be paid for very quickly.

The other thing is I've learned to live with a certain amount of "veining" in the expectation that it will be sanded out. Otherwise, one would be changing blades all the time.

[Dee Dee Martin]

Thanks for the replies, gang.

Yes, John, I know that.
Tom, I've eMail'd Dewalt...so, we'll see the results of that contact....

Matt mentions Infinity tools. I'm ordering a set from them, today. I'm also ordering a set from Hartville tools....so after a while, I'll have lots of info for the rest of you.

Thanks for the comment, Carl. I may have sanded your boards, too, Carl, as I make sure my thin boards go out the door perfect.

I'm seriously not getting much mileage out of these blades, at all. I'll run 10 Sugar Maple boards thru, that are 24" long, and 8" wide...maybe 3 passes each board, and I'm dull.

I'm either going to buy a resharpening system, or a different planer...(i smell a new post coming up)....

-dirk

[Matt Tawes]

Hey Dirk,

I'm anxious to get those infinty knives myself to see if it's even a slight improvement. I can definitely see a new planer in the future but having just upgraded jointers I have to be realistic about buying and upgrading.

[Mike Henderson]

I posted on the same problem a while back (short blade life on the DW735). I e-mailed DeWalt about the problem and they sent me a new set of blades free.

I don't know if DeWalt has improved the quality of their blades or not - I'm sure they've gotten a lot of complaints about blade life. After I use the new blades a while I'll see if they hold up better.

I also contacted Infinity but their blades are "out of stock". A couple of people commented that they ordered the blades - please report back with your experience after you receive them.

The DW735 is a great planer in many ways but the blade life is a killer. After all, you'd be better off with a "lesser" planer that worked, than a multi-featured one that won't do what it's designed for.

Mike

[Barry Beech]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones with my dewalt 735. I bought it last year and have run probably 1000+ bft of walnut and pecan through it. I just turned the knives (1st set) and am still getting a really good finish on the wood and requires no sanding, well maybe a little but not much at all.

[Jarrod Nelson]

I started a woodworking class on Wednesday. The instructor was showing us their 20" Jet and had a great idea.

He advised us not to run the stock through the middle of the machine. Everyone uses the middle of the blades and they dull. Use the edges if the stock is small enough.

Simple little trick. Maybe a lot of you already do this, but I never thought of it.

[Alden Miller]

When I got my DW735 I went through the first side of the set of blades after just a couple boards. Turns out I had one heck of a knot in a piece of cherry that ruined them.

I flipped the blades and they have run quite a bit of hard maple, cherry, and poplar through and are still fine.

I have had the roller slipping problem but that is also not specific to this planer (I've had it in the past on other planers). I coat the infeed table, outfeed table, and bed with Sandoro Top Cote. Makes them very slick and eliminates the problem.

I did have one gear snap on this planer, apparently a very common problem. It only took a couple minutes to replace (once I had the part) and the planer has been great since then.

All in all I am very pleased with the planer and the results it gives.

-Alden