Bought a Dewalt Planer

[buddyroo]

Just ordered the Dewalt DW735 recon planer from Amazon. They had them in stock a few weeks ago, but I hadn't researched it then and didn't pull the trigger.

The price was $364 and I got the $50 promo, so the net was $314. It has free SuperSaver shipping, so $314 is the true final cost.

I didn't see anything out there in the $314 price range that seemed competitive. Seriously considered the Homier, which is a very heavy planer and would have been about $420 shipped. But I figured that it would likely be a hassle to set up and get operating.

[Tom Hintz]

I've been using the 735 for a couple years now and have run a BUNCH of wood through it with no problem.
Take light cuts, wax the tables (!!!) and it will hum along effortlessly.
If you want to read more about it while you wait (I hate waiting..), see my review of this machine at the link below.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/dw735rvu.html

[ssmith1627]

Tom, that's great reading. Thanks for posting that link. Very helpful to us newbies to see some detailed information like that.

A question from there -- I've looked at the Dewalt model for some time as I ponder these tool acquisitions. It looks great and it's certainly on my want list. But for someone just into woodworking, is it really worth the money ? New those seem to price out right at $500. How does it compare to like the Delta TP305 that is priced $199 at HD ? Would I really see a huge difference in the results ? Just such a difference in price -- I could have that Delta planer and one of the lesser expensive 6" jointers for the price of the Dewalt planer.

Appreciate any feedback you can offer !

Thanks,
Steve

P.S. Now that I've thought about that a few minutes, that was kinda a hijack of the thread that was originally started. My apologies !

[buddyroo]

Thanks for sharing your review, Tom. It was well written and helpful. Having used the planer for some time, do you have any thoughts on the knife lifespan issue that seems to come up on the Amazon reviews?

[sweensdv]

Other than DeWalt, this is the only place I know of where you can get knives that will fit the DW735, http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1111 All though they run more than the DeWalt knives, being HSS they should last longer. I'm still on my first set of knives but when it comes time to replace them I intend to go with the Infinity knives.

[LCHIEN]

You'll enjoy that planer, but hope your back is good and strong!

[Knottscott]

Tom, that's great reading. Thanks for posting that link. Very helpful to us newbies to see some detailed information like that.

A question from there -- I've looked at the Dewalt model for some time as I ponder these tool acquisitions. It looks great and it's certainly on my want list. But for someone just into woodworking, is it really worth the money ? New those seem to price out right at $500. How does it compare to like the Delta TP305 that is priced $199 at HD ? Would I really see a huge difference in the results ? Just such a difference in price -- I could have that Delta planer and one of the lesser expensive 6" jointers for the price of the Dewalt planer.

Appreciate any feedback you can offer !

Thanks,
Steve

P.S. Now that I've thought about that a few minutes, that was kinda a hijack of the thread that was originally started. My apologies !

Steve - I think the TP305 will plane wood fine, but I don't believe it has a cutterhead lock and will likely snipe alot more than a machine that has some anti-sniping device. The DW735 also has a chip ejector which can come in handy if you don't have a DC. $314 is a terrific deal on that planer.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

That is a good deal on that planer. You will need the infeed and outfeed tables or build some form of tables (you probably know that but just making sure).

You will particularly love this thing when it comes to blade changing time. I have no idea why they can not put indexing pins on blades for the 15" and larger planers. Can anyone tell that I just changed a set? LOL!

[Tom Hintz]

A question from there -- I've looked at the Dewalt model for some time as I ponder these tool acquisitions. It looks great and it's certainly on my want list. But for someone just into woodworking, is it really worth the money ? New those seem to price out right at $500. How does it compare to like the Delta TP305 that is priced $199 at HD ? Would I really see a huge difference in the results ? Just such a difference in price -- I could have that Delta planer and one of the lesser expensive 6" jointers for the price of the Dewalt planer.
Thanks,
Steve

Steve, while I am always in favor of buying the best I can get, a planer is at the head of that list. Any planer when new will do a relatively good job (real cheapos aside) but its down the road a year or two that I am concerned with. The DeWalt is built tough and to date continues to perform like the day I got it. I think the investment here is a good choice, and one that can save a bunch of money down the road.

[Tom Hintz]

Thanks for sharing your review, Tom. It was well written and helpful. Having used the planer for some time, do you have any thoughts on the knife lifespan issue that seems to come up on the Amazon reviews?

The life of knives is a common issue with most planers but I think the popularity of the DeWalt more or less brought it to the forefront on the Internet.
I have not had a problem with the knives though I use the planer frequently. I like to qualify all of the wood I use to be sure everything in a project is exactly the same thickness. I have also heard from lots of other DeWalt users who have the same experience.
I think how you use it can be important to the life of the knives and ultimately the machine itself. I always take light cuts with the DeWalt bgut also my jointer, routers etc. The srain on the machines and their cutters is drastically reduced and the finish obtained is better. Both of those are important to me and I am not in that big of a rush.
For me the life of the DeWalt knives has been at least as good as with any planer I have used. I think it is important to remember that in the world of woodworking, like any segment of society, there are lots of folks who belive they can take however deep of a cut they want and the machine should handle it regardless of price. Many also do not see the point in looking wood over before machining it. I recently got an email from a very upset owner of another brand of planer that killed the knives on the first pass when it hit a broken screw in the wood. His point was that bits of metal are common in wood and the "blankety-blank" manufactuers should build their machines to handle that!