Dewalt Dw735 Surface Planer

[Richard Gillespie]

Any input on this surface planer, good, bad or indifferent? Is it worth the money? When they first came out I heard that some were self destructing their gear boxes.

My 19 year old craftsman is about to bite the dust. Murphy's law says that it will die right in the middle of an important job. I need to get my head straight on what to go out and get as a replacement when that happens.

[Mike Henderson]

I have one and I'm satisfied with it.

Mike

[Bill Dunn jr]

I like mine also. The two speed feed rate is nice.

[jim gossage]

i have had one for 3-4 years now, mostly weekend work. last year, some bearings wore out and the machine started sniping. i ifixed them an now it doesn't snipe. its a solid machine with good dust collection. i've replace the blades one in all that time. overall, a good performer at a fair price. if you need something wider or sturdier, get one of the 15 or 18" floor models from grizzly.

[Mac Cambra]

Good planer, loud as hell, a lot of complaints about the blade life - I don't share that experience.

[Travis Rassat]

I have one and I like it, although I've never owned any other planer. I bought it based on the good reviews it got in a couple of magazines. After having it about 7 or 8 months now, here are a few thoughts about it:

1. I had a very good experience with DeWalt's customer service - I had sent them an e-mail with a few questions about maintenance and blade wear, and they were very helpful and very informative. I was really impressed with that, and while I've been a Bosch fan for most of my portable tools, I definitely consider DeWalt now, just because I was so happy with their customer service.

2. I recommend spending the extra $50 for the infeed/outfeed extension tables. You might also consider the planer stand right away - the planer is over 100 pounds, if I remember right. I don't have a stand yet, but I really wish I had one (I'm going to build one after I finish up my current project). If you're not going to build a stand, for $100 or so the DeWalt planer stand is probably worth it.

3. The blades don't seem to have the best life, but they are reversible and can be shifted left/right to prevent grooves. The DeWalt blades run around $50-60 a set, but there are alternatives out there. I haven't tried any others yet.

4. The planer has two speeds, but I would suggest just using the dimension (faster feed) speed rather than the finishing speed - there really is no noticeable difference and it actually keeps the blades cooler so they last longer (this was something the DeWalt CS rep suggested).

5. The dust collection works really well with my dust collector (a 1 1/2 HP Jet) - having no prior planer experience, I expected the worst when it comes to dust and woodchips, but the dust collection works very well.

6. The manual is pretty light on maintenance guidelines, but once again, the Customer Service people were very helpful. One tip: keep the rollers clean using mineral spirits. I let mine get too dirty, and I experienced some slipping and subsequent burning.

7. While the manual states the thickness gauge is all set from the factory, you'll definitely want to test and recalibrate it. Mine was about 1/32" off.

With that said, if you accessorize the DW735 as I mentioned above, you'll end up spending around $700-750. In that price range, perhaps there's a decent 15" stationary planer that can be had. For example, Grizzly offers a 15" for $795 on their website (I have no experience with Grizzly tools, I'm just using them as an example). If you can get a unit with blades that can be resharpened, you might save money in the long run. Maybe the used market is an option?

I hope that helps, and good luck with whatever you decide to do for a planer!

[Fred Voorhees]

Good planer, loud as hell, a lot of complaints about the blade life - I don't share that experience.

That is about how I would sum it up. Blade life for me hasn't been an issue. Four years or so now on the original blades.

[Wayne Cannon]

Its especially easy to work on. Everything is easy and quick to access. I broke a feed-drive sprocket (my fault), but it was an easy fix.

I think its weight is closer to 75 lbs than 100 lbs, but it is wider than the competing planers, so it's more cumbersome to lift. Since the center of gravity is further from your body, it would be easy for one person to hurt their back.

[Richard Gillespie]

Thanks to all for the information. I now have some guidance to go with.

[Russ Sears]

Travis: I'm interested in your response #4. I heard that it's best to keep the planer on the finishing speed and that the knives last longer! The reasoning is that they are cutting less wood per pass. Of course, they are making more passes. Your response makes more sense.

I also heard that you should take light passes which is what I do. I take about 1/32" per pass. I'm a hobbiest so speed of production is not high on my list.

[Travis Rassat]

I thought the same thing you did - I thought it was counterintuitive. I am like you - I am a hobbyist more concerned about making my machinery investment last than getting speed out of it!

The way the DeWalt person explained it to me, that actually taking more wood per cut will result in bigger chips, which take the heat away with them. Since fewer "swipes" are being taken at the finished piece, there is fewer times the planer blade is being dragged across the surface of the finished piece, less friction, and therefore less heat.

So, it seems that the higher amount of time spent cutting at the finishing speed creates more heat concerns than the higher amount of material removed at the dimensioning speed.

Oddly enough, the DeWalt CS person also mentioned that taking smaller passes will really not help anything regarding blade heat. That will be more important for taking care of your motor and the rest of the drivetrain.

[Charles Lent]

I've had the 735 for about a year, but have only used it about 5 times, still on the same set of knives. It has performed flawlessly, so far. I bought a Delta Miter Saw/planer stand and mounted the planer on it because I found that the weight of the planer was a bit more than this old body could handle safely and this has made a huge difference. I do all of my planing outside the shop in the driveway and moving the planer on this folding handtruck style stand makes moving it in and out of the shop very easy. The extending roller supports in the stand help ease feeding the boards in and out of the planer too. When not being used I store it in the corner of the shop in it's on-end position, which ninimizes shop floor space needed for it. I bought the chip collector hose after the first use - the thing blew chips all the way to my neighbor's yard without it.

Charley

[Bill Fellmy]

Richard, I have owned the DW735 for 3 years and have been very satisfied with its performance. I do have the extension tables and would recommend them to you. Attached is a pic of the planer stand that I made. BTW, I owned the DW734 for 2 years prior to purchasing the 735. It was a solid performer also.

Bill

[Michael McCoy]

I find mine half as noisy as the Palmgren it replaced. The only gripe I have with it is (IMO), lousy placement of the DC fitting. It's easy to work around but has to be worked around as my floor run DC hose is smack dab in the center of the outfeed.

[James Suzda]

I find mine half as noisy as the Palmgren it replaced. The only gripe I have with it is (IMO), lousy placement of the DC fitting. It's easy to work around but has to be worked around as my floor run DC hose is smack dab in the center of the outfeed.

The next time you are at one of the BORGs pick up a 4" adjustable metal elbow. Slip that over the DC fitting and adjust the angle so it points to the side and slip your DC hose onto it.
Works for me anyway!
BTW, I did the same thing to my Performax 16/32 drum sander.