Dewalt 735. Upgrade or Replace?

[Mike Congiusti]

Hi all,
I posted last week on an issue with my DeWalt 735 planner. I’m getting ridges on the wood and while they sand off easy, it’s a concern. I’ve had this machine 2 years with no issues and after replacing the knives the issue comes back. No, I don’t store the wood vertically and the ends are cut off. Also, my garage floor has an epoxy finish. I don’t know what can be nicking the blades after just a few passes.

So, my question is, should I look to upgrade the cutter head to a helix or look to buy a new planer with the helix head. I searched out some models from Grizzly, Jet and Shop Fox. None of them received stellar reviews. Am I just wasting my money looking to upgrade the cutter? The cost of the 735 + the new cutter head puts the unit over 1K. I can buy any of the above for a lot less. I can't put in a floor model, no space.

I’m spoiled as before I retired and downsized my basement shop sported a 20” Powermatic 209HH. It would never fit into my garage.

Thanks,

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

Those knives are thin , the steep bevel of the 1/8th knives makes the difference. Even the 1/8th inch thick knives will have striations
unless they are of the best steels like M2 , or T1. The remedy for removing striations is sandpaper or a “card scraper “.
Molten gold has no scratches, but as soon as it cools down …it gets scratches.

[Bernie Kopfer]

If your considering replacing it, you might look at the Oliver planer with a Byrd head factory built.

[Andrew Hughes]

I recommend infinity carbide tipped knives. Infinity also sells a high speed knife that I haven’t tried but heard reports they are better then oem tin foil blades.
I had a 735 with the carbide knives and it left a far better surface then my planer with a bryd head.
Good Luck

[Mark Wedel]

While you note that a new 735 + helical head is more than other new options, you already have a 735. So for a fair comparison, you would have to see how much you could sell the 735 for towards buying a new planer.
I upgraded my 735 to a helical cutterhead and I am happy with it. It sounds like you are sort of trying to compare how good the 735 is versus the alternatives, and I can't speak to that (not having any of them). But it sounds like the other ones are cheaper, but maybe not as good a helical 735, so then it becomes evaluating that cost difference, which is probably a fairly personal thing.

[George Yetka]

Whichever way you go a helical head will also be saving your hearing. I moved to a combo machine but I can tell you that I bought my machine used and sold it for basically the same price, really only cost me a set of blades. So you can get money out of the 735 if you plan to sell it. So $3-400 on top of the 600 a shelix head costs puts you in at 1000. 15" Laguna/powermatic/jet with a Helical cutter all sit around 4500. At those prices you can also include Hammer combo machine. grizzly has a 13" lunchbox with helical for $700 and a few offerings in the 2k range. You may have better offerings in the 1k-2k region used.

https://www.grizzly.com/products/gri...tterhead/g0940

[Aaron Inami]

I actually use the Infinity knives for my 735:

https://www.infinitytools.com/hss-kn...alt-735-planer

They are definitely NOT thin metal blades. They seem to work well. However, I hate using my 735 because of the noise. Other bench-top planers are said to be quieter, but you really need a good dust collection system for those.

I also have the 4" dust port upgrade in my planer:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1386229...r-dust-upgrade

[Brian Gumpper]

Out of curiosity I looked up the Shop Fox, too bad they don't show a picture of the head but it appears to be the Shinmax or similar. I did notice the inserts are HSS and not carbide which isn't an issue just need to replace more often. The one thing I would make sure is that the inserts are not proprietary because Grizzly can be very proud of their inserts.

[Mike Congiusti]

Out of curiosity I looked up the Shop Fox, too bad they don't show a picture of the head but it appears to be the Shinmax or similar. I did notice the inserts are HSS and not carbide which isn't an issue just need to replace more often. The one thing I would make sure is that the inserts are not proprietary because Grizzly can be very proud of their inserts.

To answer some of the questions asked. I have min gorilla for dust collection. I looked at the Shop Fox, Grizzly and Jet. Too many comments on sniping and insert issues. I checked out the Oliver unit and it received very high marks and I read an article on Fine Woodworking from a year ago and it too gave it high marks. It comes with a real shelix head and a wixy gage as well. The cost is $999. I checked out the price of replacing the shelix on the DeWalt and Amazon has it for $429 & $499 from different sellers. Buying it directly from Byrd is $525.

I will think about it over the holiday's. I can probably sell the DeWalt with the wixey gage on it for $500. It I bought the Oliver it would be a wash and I also would not have to go through replacing the head on the DeWalt.

[Patrick Varley]

There are other (cheaper) options for a spiral head in the 735. Earlier this year I put a spiral head in an older Grizzly jointer from FindBuyTool. Have been quite happy with it. They have a head for the 735, and I'm probably going to pull the trigger when it's on sale for the holiday.

Admittedly, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. Not a great website name. But seems like it may be somewhat similar to SpeTool.

https://www.findbuytool.com/products...5&_ss=e&_v=1.0

[Mike Congiusti]

There are other (cheaper) options for a spiral head in the 735. Earlier this year I put a spiral head in an older Grizzly jointer from FindBuyTool. Have been quite happy with it. They have a head for the 735, and I'm probably going to pull the trigger when it's on sale for the holiday.

Admittedly, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. Not a great website name. But seems like it may be somewhat similar to SpeTool.

https://www.findbuytool.com/products...5&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Patrick,

Thanks for the link. It's an excellent price but it does not show who manufatcures it. I found the Byrd head at Holbren for $399 and free shipping. I've bought lots of stuff with them over the years. I'm affraid if I have an issue with it who do you call?

I think I will pull the trigger and get the byrd head ordered today.

Thanks,

Mike

[Keegan Shields]

The 735 works well with the Byrd head. Just take shallow (1/4-1/2 turn depending on stock width) passes. You’ll like it.

[Dan Barber]

Mike, it looks that helical cutter head that Patric linked too is a two row design, not 4 like the Byrd. It looks like it's probably from China, that fact and fewer cutters might explain the hefty price difference. I wonder based on the reviews if it takes less HP and might be quieter than the Byrd? I have the Byrd in my 735 and it does a great job.

[Patrick Varley]

Mike, it looks that helical cutter head that Patric linked too is a two row design, not 4 like the Byrd. It looks like it's probably from China, that fact and fewer cutters might explain the hefty price difference. I wonder based on the reviews if it takes less HP and might be quieter than the Byrd? I have the Byrd in my 735 and it does a great job.

That company sells a 2-row and a 4-row. The 4-row (which I linked), actually has more cutters than the Byrd (56 vs. 40).

Now the point of "who makes this" is absolutely accurate. It's coming out of some Chinesium factory, fronted by a Hong Kong-based distributor. I'm on the record as being ok with taking a gamble on some of these things, understanding that I might be SOL if something goes wrong. But if you aren't one for gambling, the Byrd head is the right choice.

[Dan Barber]

Patrick, yes you are correct about your link to the 4 row, I forgot I then clicked on the two row link that was even cheaper. I'm not opposed to other country of origin products, I have many and sometimes I have taken that risk too - Banggood for some tools for instance. It can be a bit of a roll of the dice, but sometimes the quality is quite good for the price.