Looking for Info on DW735 Planer

[gmack5]

I'm seriously looking at acquiring a DW735 Thicknessing Planer for my shop.

Has anyone seen, read, or heard of any problems with either the operation or reliability of this thicknessing Planer?

How about Snipe? Any real problems out of the ordinary there?

So far, I've heard nothing but good about this unit, just don't want any surprises down the road.

[Uncle Cracker]

My BIL has one. Although I have not personally used it, he says he likes it OK, but has had it in the shop twice for feed roller problems. Also, he says the blades seem to wear out unusually fast, and that the screws holding the blades on tend to seize. He also says snipe was an issue on his unit until he built some long infeed and outfeed tables for it.

[drumpriest]

I have this planer, no snipe problems as of yet. I did get the bed extensions, but haven't gotten around to putting them on. Consensus is that the dewalt blades nick easily, but there are aftermarket blades are much better. (infinity, I think). The dust extraction is superb, has been a problem for me, as I use a 4" quick connect from my DC to it, and it has a tendency to blow off that connection. Also, it combined with my 1 1/2 hp DC creates enough static over a 10' run to create a small shock.

Overall, I'm happy with it.

[sweensdv]

I got mine in July of 05 and so far have no complaints at all. I keep reading negative things about the life span of the knives but my experience has been that they do not wear out prematurely. Part of that might have to do with the fact that I don't try and hog off a bunch of material on a single pass. Without hesitation, I'd recommend the DW735 based on its performance and features.

[cwsmith]

Unforntunately I can't offer anything on the DeWalt. I just purchased the Ridgid TP1300 last week and in doing so, noted that HD has a new Ridgid 3-blade model that is now in most stores. Not sure it it compares, but thought it worth the mention:

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/R4330-Th...laner/EN/index


CWS

[mpc]

Add me to the satisfied DW735 owners list. I bought a factory reman from Amazon and it works fine. So far the blades seem to be okay; I too have heard they wear quickly. I don't take much material off per pass either so that may be helping. A recent post on this website mentioned Dewalt recognized the low blade life issue and said it was a materials issue... maybe they fixed the manufacturing process for the lastest new blades? Don't know...

I later added the infeed/outfeed tables and even though I've adjusted them dead-flat, I get a teeny bit of snipe at the end of the cut... and I didn't have snipe prior to adding the tables. If the machine is mounted to a beefy stand it works quite well without the add-on tables.

Dust collection work pretty well. Dewalt warns NOT to hook the DW735 to a typical shop-vac; it'll out-flow the vac. It did on my old Craftsman unit but my "5HP Peak" rated Ridgid more than keeps up with the Dewalt.

I haven't experienced the too-tight blade retention screws on mine. I'm careful to not over-tighten them too.

mpc

[Bruce Cohen]

George,

I got mine when it first came out, that's at least a few years. Never had a problem, although I do have the "extension tables" for it.

I've run 12/4 Mexican Rosewood, 6/4 Macassar Ebony, 5/4 Hard Maple with no problems. I do have it on an isolated 20a line and do not use an extension cord. And I DO have it hooked up to a Crapsman 16 gal shop-vac, never had any problems with that either. But you have to empty the vac before it gets half full.

As to the blades, not more changes than I expected, but I lucked out and got a bunch of them at Lowes for $35.00 a set, probably die of old age before I use them all up.

Good luck, it surely is the right choice.

Bruce