Tired of the Dewalt 735 planer...what's next?

[Dee Dee Martin]

Things I like about my Dewalt 735 planer:

• Small footprint.
• Leaves a very smooth finish
• Easy knife changing
• Planes down to 1/8"

But, it goes thru knives like I go thru wax worms when fishing for bluegills.

I do a LOT of planing, so I need to step up.
I need some planer recomendations that must fit my last 3 bullet points, above...tho the "easy knife change" need not be a shopping point, if they last long.

What's my next planer purchase, gang?

[Matt Tawes]

Being in the same situation and looking ahead this is top of my list for the $$: http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0453

[Michael Ballent]

What type of wood are you mostly using? Are you looking for a replacement for you "lunch box" planer with another "lunch box" planer or are you looking for a stationary planer? If you are using mostly exotics then I do not believe you will have much luck with any planer unless you get something that can take carbide blades or carbide tipped blades or some special steel alloy blade that it name escapes me something like M42 or something...

[Philip Glover]

Dee Dee,

You need to bound your request with the price range that you are working with.

Regards,

Phil Glover

[Allen Grimes]

Woodmaster has a planer that doubles as a sander. It can also be used as a jointer and a ripsaw. I dont have any experience with it, but the people who own it that I've talked to seem to be pretty happy with it.


http://woodmastertools.com/s/index.cfm

[Dave Richards]

I guess I don't know if there's a difference in the knives in a planer like the Grizzly G0453. Maybe disposable knives just don't last as long as the non disposable ones.

However I would expect you'll be changing knives just as frequently if the head has the same number of knives. You might want to consider getting a planer with a helical carbide cutter. At least the cutters are easy to reset, the carbide is tough so should last longer and you can turn individual cutters if they get knicked.

Carbide can't be sharpened as sharp as a steel knife but those helical heads are nice on highly figure stuff like birdseye maple.

[Jim Becker]

I agree somewhat with Dave but will add that I really like the Tersa knife system on my J/P combo. They are double sided and changing them or flipping them takes about 5 minutes. (Could probably do it faster, but would probably slit my wrists...) They are also available in different metal formulas, so you can have a little more control on life when working on nastier materials.

[Dev Emch]

OLIVER MODEL 299, TYPE TWO

No further discussion needed..........

[Jerry Dickens]

For the money I think you would be happy with the Grizzly , listed below your post. I know what you mean about going thru some blades. I ran some cherry thru at Christmas making four clocks, and had to rotate my blade during and now the blades needs to be replaced. I made four mantle clocks. Most of the lumber I ran thru the band saw first to get close to half inch and finished on planer. But my 735 does put a nice finish on the lumber.

[Clint Malone]

If you don't like changing blades, one of the spiral cutterheads like the byrd shelix and the grizzly knock off of it use carbide inserts that last much much longer and are changed using a Torx screw. They work great. I would consider the grizzly 15 or 20" model that comes with it already installed b/c installing one is not for the faint of heart.

[Dee Dee Martin]

Matt, that Grizzly won't go down to 1/8".

Michael, almost everything. Maple, Oak, Walnut, Poplar, Beech, Elm, Butternut, Hickory, Purpleheart, Rosewood, Bloodwood, Pink Ivory, Leopardwood, Tigerwood, Snakewood, and on, and on...

Philip, the cheapest that'll leave a nice, smooth surface, planes down to 1/8", and has knives that'll outlast the Dewalt 735. I do not want to build up the bed, to get to 1/8".

Allen, I've been looking at the Woodmaster. I like the "all in one" features. But I can't locate info, on whether or not it'll plane down to 1/8".

Dave, I will consider a planer with helical carbide cutters. Like whos?

Jim, I've heard good things about Tersa knives. What planer with these, would you suggest?

Clint, I'm pretty sure those won't go down to 1/8"....but I'll dbl check.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I've heard good things about Tersa knives. What planer with these, would you suggest?

Well....mine came out of Austin Texas after a little boat ride from Italy. Standard on the MiniMax, but Tersa is available for many planers, just like the spirals, via 3rd party.

[Dev Emch]

The 299 will go down to 1/8 inch. It has power bed rollers which are adjustable. The front infeed roller is metal and its segmented. The outfeed roller is steel. The chipbreaker is segmented and stable and can be precisely adjusted. The 4.25 inch steel cutter head provides a flywheel effect giving very smooth performance. Bearings are precision and the motor is direct drive or DMD. I have put a glass smooth surface on heavy walnut burl with absolutely no blow out. Most have onboard knife grinders allowing you to hone the knives in place. No tersa head can compete here because no matter how careful you are, unless you hone in place, your always going to have a single knife doing the finishing cut. Not so with a honed head. Even the shavings comming off a tuned 299 look different. They are more like feathers from a gosomer's wings. Nice and fluffy shavings. These were the standard of the US patternmaker's industry. You know how picky the old patternmakers used to be.

[Matt Warfield]

Although I have not tried them yet, Infinity tools makes replacement blades for the 735 that can be resharpened.

http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1111

[Matt Meiser]

that Grizzly won't go down to 1/8"

Dee Dee, you can use a backer as a sled to carry wood through the planer to get it down to 1/8". If you were to use, for example, a piece of 3/4" MDF as a sled, you could set the planer to 7/8" and get to 1/8" thickness. If you have problems with slippage, just add a couple small pieces of doublestick tape. If you are looking for a solid advanced-hobbiest or pro entry level machine, I'd recommend one of the 15" planers from a variety of manufacturers. The Grizzly is probably the best deal, but Yorkcraft, Jet, Delta, and a few others sell virtually the same planer. Personally I have the Delta because I got a great deal on a closeout.