Dewalt DW735 Planer Opinions Please

Re: Dewalt DW735 Planer Opinions Please

JL

>I've had the DW735 for several years now.

Pluses:

I like having two speeds - even though I rarely use the finishing speed.

The capacity (13" wide x ~6" high) is quite good.

It is very stable.

It is relatively easy to change (or flip) the blades.

The scale on the front right post is fairly accurate (once you learn how to read it) and reproducible.

The stops for the various thicknesses are nice to have.

Minuses:

It is one heavy machine - at 90+ lbs, it is "interesting" getting it from its resting place on my bench shelf to the top of the bench or table saw table.

You really need the infeed and outfeed tables - or you may end up with an objectionable amount of snipe.

I'm looking at the Shelix heads for mine - but I'll gladly let you be the guinea pig :). So keep us posted.

Planer "Mission Creep"

Stephen Roth

>I had the exact same thoughts.... $600 for the planer and $500 for the Shelix head, give or take $100 plus shipping, gets you in striking range of a 15" stationary machine. Then the thought is, do I get the stationary machine for a few more bucks?

This is exactly the dilemma when you go full bore for the router table/lift set-up and could have gotten a shaper for the same money (or less) instead. Actually, the parallel may be closer than that. That is, one reason to get a router set up rather than a shaper for me was that I was told I would get a better finish with the router bits for most of the cuts I was making. I didn't need the production value of a shaper. I wanted a clean cut for the 100 feet of wood I run through it once a month, not per day like a real shop.

So the real question for me is "if I had $1,000 to $1,500 to spend on a planer, what should I buy?

Any suggestions?

I hope this is not stealing the thread, but helping the discussion of this common issue.

Re: Planer "Mission Creep"

Bart Goldberg

>I welcome this addition to the thread as it will afford me a broader set of options. BTW- HD still sells the planer for $549, and if you mention that Lowes is selling for the same price, HD will reduce their price by another 10%.

Regards

Bart

Re: Dewalt DW735 Planer Opinions Please

mdclor

>I recently purchased the Grizzly G453Z with their flavor of spiral cutter head. It is more money that you are considering, but I am very impressed with the quality of cut, zero chip out on QSWO. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Beware, the sucker is heavy to move until you get it onto a smooth floor with the wheel assembly in place.

HTH,

Merle

Re: Planer "Mission Creep"

JL

>Some thoughts. A friend bought a Shop Fox 15" planer on an open stand about a year ago. It works great (~2 hp). I think it runs about $750. As I recall from the Shelix planer prices, a head for it would run about the same. The Sunhill planers and head are similar in cost. Of course you have to pay for shipping :).

So figure on maybe $1600 out the door. As opposed to $1000-1100. Do you need the 2" - I don't know. The power would be really nice :).

I took some 10/4 slabs of cherry over to my friends place to plane them down - it was really nice and fast. The advantage with a heavy stationary machine is that you can do large slabs without much trouble.

Re: Dewalt DW735 Planer Opinions Please

Chuckb

>I'll just lay out what I would do with a $1000-1500 budget. I would get an acceptable planer like a older Delta or a Ryobi for hogging things down, and spend the rest on a performax drum sander for finish passes. That way you can work veneers too, you just couldn't do production pace.

chuckbeck

You would be wasting your money!

Brad12

>Chuck, I have had both a 16-32 and 22-44 Performax drum sanders and would never buy one again. First they really aren't useable for veneer as commercial veneer is just to thin, one slightly too deep pass and no more veneer, unless you are resawing your own. Second they really can only sand about 5-6" wide pieces efficiently, any wider and you need to go very slow or take ultra light passes, both a waste of time. Save your money and buy a Festool RAS instead.

On the other hand, I have had a Dewalt 735 for about 3 years and it is the best tool in my shop. Clean cuts, minimal snipe or none if you use a backup board first and last. Easy knife changes although the knives are getting expensive, just look for sales. I can't see why you would need the shelix cutter head personally, the finish is good enough right off the planer and needs minimal sanding. Keep some extra knives around for when they get dull an switch them before you do the final pass.

Just my two cents worth...

Brad

Re: You would be wasting your money!

Tony - Memphis

>I've been using a 735 for a couple of years now. It has been a really nice machine. I upgraded from an old Delta and it was worth the money to me. I can't really see why I would need the new cutter head. I've not had any issues to warrant that. I've not had any issues actually. I read some of the reviews, but I think those were on early models. Mine hasn't skipped a beat. Haven't really noticed any issues with pre-mature knife wear. I mostly use cherry, mahogany, walnut, etc. No oak or anything else particularly hard. I am building a teak project now and the teak has ruined every edge in my shop.

I've forgotten to hook up the dc hose a few times (or had it come disconnected) and the turbine inside the planer is very strong! I had shavings blown all over one end of the shop. It was actually kind of funny!

Overall, I am impressed with the design. Its obvious they put a lot of thought into it. The dust collection works great, knife changes are easy, depth change is very smooth. I don't rely on the rulers or stops much, but they come in handy now and then. I really like the depth of cut gage. I've "gotten the feel of it" and I can tell how much I am removing by how much the indicator moves (again, I'm not looking at the numbers, just relative movement).

I got mine before the price went up (which is unusual for me!), but I can't imagine spending the cost of the planer again for the new head. I've run some pretty figured wood through it with not much problem.

Tony

Re: Dewalt DW735 Planer Opinions Please *LINK*

Tim in SE Michigan

>I've had my DW735 for 2 years and have been very happy with it. I bought a reconditioned one off Tool King ebay store. At the time they had free shipping which was great. I saved about $100 off HD price. I haven't had any issues with the reconditioned unit. Link to Tool King ebay store is at the bottom. You can buy also off their web site. Toolking.com. No affiliation just satisfied customer.


Tool King Ebay