Dewalt dw735

[Jeff6445]

Hi all I am in the market for a new thickness planer and would like to get some input on the dw 735.I use mostly hardwoods and build furniture as a hobby.I have the original delta 560 lunchbox planer now and was thinking its time for an upgrade.If you have said planer I would really appreiate any input you have with regards to noise,blade life and snipe.I did some searching online and there is so much conflicting info I thought I would try here.Thanks, Jeff.

[Rob Brown]

Hi Jeff,

I did an article in our pages (Oct/Nov '10) that tested all the main planers. I found the blade life on the DW735 was quite poor. They might have fixed that problem by now...not sure. It was definitely a loud machine, so if you're working in your basement with kids & wife trying to sleep you're doing yourself no favours. It does eject chips EXTREMELY well, as it shoots them 15' away. It has all the bells and whistles though. Check out the article as it may help you decide.

Good luck.

[Dean]

I agree with what Rob says about the dw735 but would add that the claims that there is no snipe with this unit are somewhat optomistic. There is definitely snipe using the dw735 but its certainly less than I had with my Delta lunchbox unit. Chip ejection is [U]really[U] enthusiastic.

[kookie_guy]

I have it and love it. Can't really compare to anything else because it's the only one I've owned, but I love it. I don't really use the lower feed speed since even on the higher feed speed my 8" wide oak boards come out the other end feeling very nice.

As far as the blade life, I've run over 500 linear feet (6-10" widths, mostly 8") of oak through it, and it's still the same as when the blades were fresh. The blades are double sided for it, so when one side gets dull, you can flip the blade around. The blades now have an R or something laser etched in them, where the original blades did not. Not sure if they did something to prolong their life with the revision.

Noise wise, it's a noisy machine. Again, I have nothing to compare to if its louder or not, but it's loud. I need to wear my ear muffs when running it, and feel bad for my neighbours, lol.

Like stated, the chip ejection is awesome. When I power up the planer before my dust collector, there's more than enough pressure just from the planer to inflate my DC filter bag. Combine that with a dust collector, and you have 0 clean up.

[matt.mackinnon]

I will give my totally unfair opinion.

I have owned a CT lunchbox, the DW735, an old 15" Taiwan import, and now a 20" Grizzly spiral carbide. The CT unit worked but what do you expect for the price. It did give me the know-how for what to look for. I upgraded to the Dewalt unit and it was much better. But for the price i think you can get a much better older user cast iron 15" planer from Kajiji or Craigslist. The blades didn't last all that long and it was very noisy to run. You are paying a premium for the lugability of the unit, but that is a push if you ask me. I would not want to be picking that unit to put it onto table to use for an hour and then lug it back away. The bigger cast iron beasts gave me far more consistent cuts and the thicker blades did last significantly longer. Yes they are more of a pain to change than the throw-away ones that come with the DW.

I personally shake my head at people that take the DW735 and rip out the guts to put in carbide. I'd save up the money and do it right with a large unit. I personally don't have the time or the skill to rip machines apart, so I just bought a larger 20" unit with the carbide already installed. Once you go carbide, you will never want to go back.

[Jeff6445]

Thanks to all who replied.Yes Matt I was kinda wondering the same ,that is if I am better offf to get a used floor unit I do have the space for it.What would be some of the things to look for to determine if the unit was well taken care of .thanks

[GolfSteve in Calgary]

Very noisy. No snipe(*). Chip collection excellent. Dewalt mobile stand is excellent. Great value. Blade life pretty good. Blades extremly easy to change. Parallel alignment almost perfect.

After about 5 years of ownership the machine is still perfect. I'm on my second set of blades. I've run a lot of material through it. It's not an industrial duty machine, but is well built.

(*) I don't have extension tables. I find that by supporting the board lightly with my hand as the board is exiting the planer I get no snipe at all. Without support I do occasionally get very minor snipe.

[stevem]

i have a 735, nice machine, id call it semi portable. if i really needed to i could toss it in the worktruck but we have my old mastercraft for that!!

noise? yes its loud, hearing protection is a must, but all portable planers are loud

blade life is an issue, the newer knives do seem to be lasting longer. on some projects, i'll take the knives out and give then a few strokes on a diamond sharpener for a fresh edge. they cant be reground. i also keep an older set of slightly chipped knives for planing rough cut lumber, changing back to the "good" set for finish planing. changing knives is very quick

chip ejection is awesome, dc is a must!!

my 735 is for sale, its in the swapmeet. its being replaced by a 50 yr old parks

[matt.mackinnon]

Thanks to all who replied.Yes Matt I was kinda wondering the same ,that is if I am better offf to get a used floor unit I do have the space for it.What would be some of the things to look for to determine if the unit was well taken care of .thanks

There really isn't much to these big cast iron beasts. Things that you can check.

1. Check the motor. The older Taiwan units didn't have the best of motors all the time. It might have been replaced already.
2. Check the oil in the gearbox. If it's thick sludge then it's probably needs a more expensive overhaul.
3. Check the column worm bushings on the 4 posts.

does it feel grinding when moving the bed up and down. How much back lash is there in the worm gear?

Give it a general look over. You can tell if it's been abused.. cracks etc..

jeff. If you put on your location in your profile, then we can help you find some equipment near to you.

[RPLeon]

I'm really happy with my Ridgid R4331 just to throw an alternative into the mix. Had it for a few years now, and it's never let me down. Wouldn't dream of using it without ear protection, but with a vac connected there is minimal clean-up and snipe is also minimal.

[MrMac204]

I went from a CT mastercraft to the DW735 and it's a huge upgrade. I was fortunate that a buddy of mine was selling his so I got it for a good price

I don't see any snipe, but I purchased the outfeed tables and stand.

I measured- the chips go for 24' 9" into my driveway LOL not sure about dust collection as my garage is now full with tools. Dear wife insists that we be able to park both vehicles inside, so I'm limited to the "fringes" If I've got a lot of planing to do I lay out a tarp. makes it easy to clean up, I just lift the edges to get the sawdust into the middle then use a dustpan and broom.

[Jacques Leclerc]

I also have a DW 735, and you are right the chips ejection is something else, mine is connected to a 4 inches hose and goes directly outside my shop thru the wall and back in the wood with no help at all.
Jacques

[hoss10]

I agree with Matt the old cast Taiwanese machine can be quite good. I have a 20 inch Toolex and I like it a lot, which is saying something because the last Planner i used (for decades) was 24 inch Delta monster. The offshore unit seem to follow the same two design, motor on top and belt driven motor below. IMO the bottom mount is a better design. I don't have any experience with the Chinese clones of the same designs, although some of the Chinese stuff doesn't seem as well made.

[venom813]

I bought mine earlier this year and have used it a few times. I was able to buy the Byrd head at the same time. I didn't even use the stock blades once. With the Byrd head I put a 12" piece of bloodwood through and the result was a very nice smooth board.

[Bidule]

I just ordered one yesterday.
Busy Bee has a promotion until July 28th, you get an extra set of knife and the extension tables for free, and yes, they come with the hardware !
Just did a quick look on internet before i did the purchase and carbide knifes can be purchased for 149$, so if i am not happy with the HSS that's what i'll do.