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Thread: comparison: Dewalt DW735, Ridgid r4330

  1. #1

    comparison: Dewalt DW735, Ridgid r4330

    Well, I bought both planers over the weekend

    It started while making cutting boards and realized there was no way in hell I was going to hand plane the boards level.

    so, to home depot i go. i read good things about the older ridged model, and it comes with a stand, so i looked for it. they only had the dewalt and r4330 shown at my local. dewalt for 549 and ridged for 369. couldnt find either, i guess they arent big turnover items. finally found 1 of 2 ridgids buried under table saws. took that home.

    i reviewed the receipt that night and saw that they charged me 399 not the advertised 369.
    so, back to HD for a price adjustment on sat morning. then, home to test it out.

    man, its nice, I thought. no setup, just plug and go. some minor tweaks with the tables to get them level, then all done. ive never used one, just my uneven hands and a block plane, so the results on a 2x4 blew me away. this is unreal! i thought this has to be the next tool after a table saw in anyones shop. now im scared to see the results a jointer could bring..lol

    It worked nice, gave a really clean cut, but bogged on hard maple/walnut. i also noticed the table was scratching easily. not much snipe but it did gouge thw wood a couple of times.

    I had issues with end grain cutting. (posted in another thread, but not necessary related to this comparison).

    after cutting, i looked at the blades and they didnt look happy. are they that soft?

    overall, for this planer: use was easy, adjustment is a snap, and its fairly portable at around 60-70lbs. i just didnt care that it bogged with harder woods.

    so, sunday rolls around, and i go to return/exchange b/c of the blades being dulled from a few passes. while looking, they changed the price on the ridged from 369 to 399. boo. i was happy with the machine, and with all the reviews, just assumed mine had some defect to it.

    so, as i looked for the 2nd of the 2, i realized that the dewalt was listed at 549, but retails everywhere for 649, even amazon, where its normally cheaper. ebay had them cheaper, but 100lbs shipping vs interest free was an easy choice, esp with my wife reminding me to buy for long term quality.

    re: the price drop, i guess dewalt is coming out with a new model?

    so, planer #2-dewalt dw735.
    its HEAVY. ~100lbs. no way does that mean portable!
    out of the box, impressive looking, but no tables? wtf? for the added cost, some tables would be nice.

    use is the same, simple. when sitting on a bench, it slides more. the ridged must have had rubber grips on the bottom, this is all metal, so it slides a bit. (both recommend to be mounted, ill have to build something dedicated to this now..)

    the vac port attachment is annoying. its above the outfeed, in the middle, so the vac tube hangs right in front of the outfeed. no prob if you have overhead dust collection; not me. the ridged is on the outfeed side, but to the right.

    the vac port seems to create static. maybe b/c it has a blower for debris, it charges the dust? this worries me a bit. it is much less messy though. virtually no mess, just some pieces left on the table. thats impressive. the ridged had dust everywhere.

    it has 2 speeds, which i hope conserves the knives a bit!

    cutting seems much better, the final product is smoother; though without the tables, heavier boards snipe easier. i used hard maple and purpleheart and walnut through this one, so equal comparison there.

    it grabs the wood more solidly, and the rollers must be further from the blades than the ridgid because the wood seems to settle better before it hits the cutters.

    the gauge indicator on the dewalt is nicer. it has a row of gauges about 2/3 the length of the infeed, the ridgid had just a few in the middle.

    one thing, the dewalt tripped a breaker while it and the shop vac were plugged in. guess this guy draws more current. im still working on shop wiring, so this will go away soon. (gotta find time to put a sub panel in)

    For almost $200 more, im not sure its worth the price difference, but it does seem more solid and better built. ive only used each of the two a handful of passes, so sorry if my review is a bit limited. if possible, ill expand on the dewalt as i use it more, though, with such a simple device, im not sure how much more i can add, but will answer questions!

    Thanks and hope this helps..

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    1,372
    Leo - you mention a lot of points that are consistent with most reviews of the DW735:
    Get the extension tables....they should be included!
    It's a HEAVY unit
    The DC port can be annoying (but it does work well!)
    it really does need to be mounted to a stand or a bench.
    Nice material removal gauge.
    It draws a lot of current - mine often trips a 15A breaker that also has a few shop lights wired to it. I need to get a dedicated circuit.

    As for the price - "re: the price drop, i guess dewalt is coming out with a new model?" - I think what you're seeing is a price **increase**. It was 549 for the longest time, and is now starting to be seen for 649. Looks like you got one of the holdovers from the lower price

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    SE PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Leo Zick View Post
    ...the vac port seems to create static. maybe b/c it has a blower for debris, it charges the dust?...
    It sure does. In fact the dust hose / bonnet accessory comes with a grounding strap, which if you forget to connect will throw a spark about 6" and loud enough to hear over the planer noise.


    Quote Originally Posted by Leo Zick View Post
    ...one thing, the dewalt tripped a breaker while it and the shop vac were plugged in...
    Careful if you're connecting the vac to the planer as the 735's blower delivers considerable pressure and volume all by itself. Combined with the vac power it could damage the bag or filter. One poster on another forum said it overpressurized his vac to the point the top blew off!
    - Tom

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Esh View Post
    It sure does. In fact the dust hose / bonnet accessory comes with a grounding strap, which if you forget to connect will throw a spark about 6" and loud enough to hear over the planer noise.
    really? wonder where its hiding..

  5. #5
    Leo - the placement of that exhaust is a bit inconvenient. What I've done is I have a piece of light chain about 15" or so long, with a couple of key rings on the ends. I keep this looped around a handle, and when I set up the planer I put this around the 4" DC hose, and then loop it over one of those big screws that support the planer head. This keeps the DC hose directed to the side and out of the path of the stock.

    IMO a small price to pay for the stellar dust collection you've observed.

    I've never encountered static, but having bought mine used, my guess is that as you get a film of wood dust inside the shroud and port that this will subside. My DC system is all ungrounded PVC pipe, and I got accustomed to getting a good poke every time I touched the pipes or the DC itself for the first week or so. After that, the static problem disappeared and I'm attributing that to there being less friction between the dust and chip particles and the plastic due to a thin film of residue.

    Like you, this has been my first planer and I've been very pleased with it. Many have complained about the knives wearing out quickly. I'm not sure that this is as much an issue as some have made out. I thin that the real problem that folks are reacting to is that you can't sharpen the knives - you replace them, so instead of spending $25 (at a guess) you're spending $50. A friend just bought a Byrd Shelix head for his. Very pricey but super effective on hard and tight-grained woods, much better cutter life, quieter and much more cost-effective even when you do replace the carbide inserts.

    Oh, one last thing. Some have suggested that the "finishing" feed rate isn't usually necessary to get a good finish, and increases the knife wear. I find that I only use the slow feed rate when working with something that's prone to tear-out, and only on the last couple of light passes.
    --Steve--
    Support The Creek - click here

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Wink Take VERY LIGHT passes grasshopper.

    End grain is tough enough without tryin' to hog off a lot of material.
    FWIW.
    Bill
    On the other hand, I still have five fingers.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Sawyer View Post
    Leo - the placement of that exhaust is a bit inconvenient. What I've done is I have a piece of light chain about 15" or so long, with a couple of key rings on the ends. I keep this looped around a handle, and when I set up the planer I put this around the 4" DC hose, and then loop it over one of those big screws that support the planer head. This keeps the DC hose directed to the side and out of the path of the stock.
    i like this idea.. can you post a picture?

  8. #8
    Thanks for writing this up, Leo. I'm interested in this particular comparison since I'm in the process of moving from the Ridgid to the DeWalt. I'm relatively happy with the Ridgid, but I wanted to get a Byrd Shelix head while the live.com eBay promotion was still going on, and as far as I know they're only available for the DeWalt.

    My Ridgid 4330 has noticeable infeed snipe. I've played with the adjustments on the infeed table several times but haven't been able to make much of an improvement. I just allow extra length for it and cut it off.

    The dust collection is pretty poor - most of the shavings seem to scatter rather than being vacuumed out the exhaust port (I'm using a shop vac as a collector).

    I've also had some of the same bogging problems you mention - it often seems to labor a bit in the middle of longer boards.

    I know this probably sounds like a litany of complaints, but other than these specific issues it's a pretty nice little planer. Solidly constructed and easy to stow. Access to the blades and the dust collection chamber is very easy. The adjustment wheel and depth of cut indicator work well.

    I haven't received the DeWalt yet for comparison.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    Brookline MA & Grantham NH
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    DeWalt 735 vs. Ridgid TP 1300 vs. Ridgid 4330?

    It's interesting to read these comparisons (the initial post). When the DeWalt 735 first came out there were a lot of complaints about the blades dulling quickly. Perhaps DeWalt listened or perhaps we woodworkers learned how to baby it just a bit.

    I have a two-year-old Ridgid Model TP 1300LS planer and it handles maple and cherry quite well. It hasn't had heavy use but the finish has been consistently smooth. I'm carefully not to try to take too much off in a single pass -- 1/32" or maybe 3/64" at most.

    I'm not familiar with the Ridgid 4330, but if it's a new model perhaps Ridgid (Emerson) will respond to complaints about dull knives, or perhaps we'll all get used to taking smaller bites on these machines.

    Mike

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    One thing of note; the "optional" infeed/outfeed tables for the DW735 should not be optional; you will be virtually unable to avoid snipe without them, so figure that in your cost calculations.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Sandman View Post
    It's interesting to read these comparisons (the initial post). When the DeWalt 735 first came out there were a lot of complaints about the blades dulling quickly. Perhaps DeWalt listened or perhaps we woodworkers learned how to baby it just a bit.

    I have a two-year-old Ridgid Model TP 1300LS planer and it handles maple and cherry quite well. It hasn't had heavy use but the finish has been consistently smooth. I'm carefully not to try to take too much off in a single pass -- 1/32" or maybe 3/64" at most.

    I'm not familiar with the Ridgid 4330, but if it's a new model perhaps Ridgid (Emerson) will respond to complaints about dull knives, or perhaps we'll all get used to taking smaller bites on these machines.

    Mike
    I wouldn't fault the Ridgid or any planer really. I'm just a novice, but if you're running an endgrain cutting board through the planer you asking for trouble (as I've been told by other more experienced woodworkers). You'd be better off buying a used drum sander if you plan on making a lot of cutting boards or else you'll be replacing blades really quikcly....

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Tim Marks View Post
    One thing of note; the "optional" infeed/outfeed tables for the DW735 should not be optional; you will be virtually unable to avoid snipe without them, so figure that in your cost calculations.
    yup. im seeing this more with every use.

  13. #13
    as an update, i made another cutting board, and this planer worked great. i didnt end grain this board, but it did smooth the uneven boards up really well.

    i got some snipe at first b/c the board wasnt flat. it seems that if the board shifts in any way or has waves in it, snipe becomes more prevalent. so, as the board smooths out, snipe diminishes. no tearout or gouging at all, but some crazy static.

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