Love my planer

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  • durango dude
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2011
    • 934
    • a thousand or so feet above insanity
    • 50s vintage Craftsman Contractor Saw

    Love my planer

    Although I live to hand plane, sometimes, I need to plane a lot of wood. I just picked up a surplus dewalt 735, and man..... I'm in love.

    I cleaned the unit up first. Blades are super easy to change, plus, they're two-sided

    Today, I planed 50 bf of oak. LoVE the head lock. Great consistency,, and wood is spot on 3/4", cut is wonderful.

    I'll miss my delta lunch box, but this machine is a whole new ball game. Wish I would have done this earlier.

    Two thumbs and a big toe up. wish
    Last edited by durango dude; 03-09-2019, 04:50 PM.
  • mpc
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2005
    • 979
    • Cypress, CA, USA.
    • BT3000 orig 13amp model

    #2
    A few "lessons learned" on the 735. I too really like mine. I never used any other planer so I can't say "wow, this is so much better than..." but before buying mine I did read magazine and user reviews and pretty much all of them picked the 735 as the best until you get to the multi-thousand dollar big pro machines. The other good unit was the original Ryobi unit which originated the "lunchbox" style planer according to some folks... I remember reading about a pro shop that used their "big iron" planers to get stock close and then they ran it through their old Ryobi planer that was permanently set to 1/2 inch (or was it 3/4?) for the final pass!

    Anyway, my 735 has been solid. Lessons learned:
    1: the "side pods" cover sprockets and chain mechanisms for the drive. Open those up once it a while and make sure shavings and dust aren't accumulating; lubricate the chain if necessary. I've never had an issue with mine but somebody else I know had one of those small sprockets snap in half. So do a little preventative maintenance.

    2: the internal dust extraction blower works remarkably well. As the owner's manual states, it might overwhelm a shop vac's airflow! I used to use a Delta 50-720 dust collector with it and had no problems. The 735'b blower would fully inflate the Delta's bags before I even turned the Delta ON.. Make sure whatever hose you clamp to the 735's port is tightly clamped. I used those plastic "quick connect" cones on my flex hose and if it's not really tightly applied the 735 might blow the hose clean-off - mine blew off once rather violently. The hose didn't just fall down - it was tossed several feet back. It would have hurt had it hit me or whacked another tool. (Yes the Delta dust collector was ON when this happened!). Then shavings were spread everywhere quite rapidly by the 735's blower.

    3: notice how "loud" the planer is right now - get one of those freebie cellphone "noise meter" programs if nothing else. Note the size and type of board you're running through the planer too for future reference. Then, if processing boards of similar size and composition seem to be making more noise that's a sign the planer knives are getting dull. I was amazed at how much quieter my planer got the first time I flipped the knives. It was never quiet... but the "before" and "after" noise levels from changing blades was VERY noticeable. If the sound has a fair bit of a high-pitched shriek/wail to it that's a sign it's beyond time to sharpen or change the knives.

    4: My 735 sits on a roll-around storage cabinet I built - almost all of my "benchtop" tools live this way. I sometimes put small items on top of the cabinet, next to the 735, such as the remotes to the overhead air cleaner and my newer Laguna dust collector (anybody in SoCal want to buy a Delta 50-720?). Before lowering the planer, take a quick look around it and make sure nothing has "migrated" into the side openings. The 735's height adjustment mechanism works quite well and can easily turn the 735 into a remote compactor if you don't pay attention. I didn't "feel a thing" in the735's height adjustment handle as the overhead's remote got folded in half by the 735's guide rails.

    mpc

    Comment

    • capncarl
      Veteran Member
      • Jan 2007
      • 3564
      • Leesburg Georgia USA
      • SawStop CTS

      #3
      Right out of the box my Dewalt 735 produced snipe free cuts! I thought that was great, maybe I won’t waste lots of time trying to work around snipe like I had to do with my Craftsman planer. After I read the instructions I figured I had better set the infeed and outfeed tables like the book said. Since then I have had snipe on a regular basis. I think it knows how expensive the wood is or maybe knows it is the last piece I have. Nothing I have been able to do has remedied the snipe.

      Other than snipe I really like this planer.

      Comment

      • reddog552
        Established Member
        • Dec 2006
        • 245
        • Belleville Il.
        • Bt3000

        #4
        I have a Dewalt 733 Works great. I did have a Grizzly This is a **** of a machine G1037Z under 1 grand
        Last edited by reddog552; 03-10-2019, 08:45 AM.
        The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low cost is forgotten!

        Comment

        • reddog552
          Established Member
          • Dec 2006
          • 245
          • Belleville Il.
          • Bt3000

          #5
          Cant get photo to load
          The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low cost is forgotten!

          Comment

          • durango dude
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2011
            • 934
            • a thousand or so feet above insanity
            • 50s vintage Craftsman Contractor Saw

            #6
            So - earlier this week, I attached some vacuum tubes and a Rikon dust bag to the planer.......

            I planed 1/4" off of about 8 board feet of oak.

            Holy smokes -----there's almost no dust to worry about!!!!

            Have I mentioned that I like this tool?

            Comment

            • rogerparker
              Handtools only
              • Jan 2021
              • 2
              • Toronto, Ontario, Canada

              #7
              Is Dewalt 735 the best deal for my DIY woodworking tools? Or I should go for other types of hand planers? I was read that article. But didn't decide which one is perfect for me? They talking about 5 to 6 types of hand planers.

              Comment

              • LCHIEN
                Internet Fact Checker
                • Dec 2002
                • 20914
                • Katy, TX, USA.
                • BT3000 vintage 1999

                #8
                Originally posted by rogerparker
                Is Dewalt 735 the best deal for my DIY woodworking tools? Or I should go for other types of hand planers? I was read that article. But didn't decide which one is perfect for me? They talking about 5 to 6 types of hand planers.
                DW733 and 735 are thickness planers, power planers that trim a board to a constant thickness from top to bottom. Ideally, you run the board through a Jointer to smooth one side completely flat before trimming the thickness.
                Hand planers really only smooth a side and so its really laborious to smooth one side and then flip it over and not only smooth the other side but to make the two sides perfectly parallel so that its a constant thickness over the entire length.

                They are not cheap, and probably shouldn't be your first tool as opposed to a table saw for example.
                Loring in Katy, TX USA
                If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                Comment

                • capncarl
                  Veteran Member
                  • Jan 2007
                  • 3564
                  • Leesburg Georgia USA
                  • SawStop CTS

                  #9
                  I recently changed my 735 cutter head to a Byrd Shelix cutter head. The cutter head cost almost as much as the planer originally cost, but it made a different machine out of the 735. Unless the cutter blades were really sharp there was always some tear out in cherry and walnut ( depending on it’s grain), now with the shelix head there is no sign of tear out. The noise level dropped a lot as well. The snipe problem is almost non existent now, but I do plan on getting a melamine plank to fasten through and cover both I feed and outfeed tables, that seems to be the general consensus to remedy snipe on this machine.

                  When I installed the new cutter head it required me to remove both side chain drives. I found that the “imported” chain had locked up between several links. ( a sign of really cheap chain). Repairing them requires a good cleaning and light oil bath and a lot of flexing. The chain plates slipped off the rollers and were binding on the pins because the chain is not precision and is too loose. A few taps on the pins with a small hammer against a vice tightened them up and branded the end of the pins. This is a must watch item to add to our maintenance check list, and probably should be replaced by a better chain.

                  On other forums write up on the DW735 I noted some complains of the 2 speed gearbox failing. While the chains were removed for the cutter head installation the gearbox is also loosened and slid out of the way. While it was loose I went ahead and pulled it off and tried to check it’s grease and found hard grease that had slung against the gearbox walls and didn’t seem to be lubricating the gears very well. A real problems for small tools that has factory installed grease in a gearbox, it works for several years, at least until the warranty expires, hardens and stops lubricating and the gears wear out! I added 4-5 pumps of my favorite red tacky wheel bearing grease through the output drive shaft hole before I put it back together.
                  capncarl

                  Comment

                  • rogerparker
                    Handtools only
                    • Jan 2021
                    • 2
                    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada

                    #10
                    Originally posted by LCHIEN

                    DW733 and 735 are thickness planers, power planers that trim a board to a constant thickness from top to bottom. Ideally, you run the board through a Jointer to smooth one side completely flat before trimming the thickness.
                    Hand planers really only smooth a side and so its really laborious to smooth one side and then flip it over and not only smooth the other side but to make the two sides perfectly parallel so that its a constant thickness over the entire length.

                    They are not cheap, and probably shouldn't be your first tool as opposed to a table saw for example.
                    Thanks for your comment. I think now I can easily make decision.

                    Comment

                    • LCHIEN
                      Internet Fact Checker
                      • Dec 2002
                      • 20914
                      • Katy, TX, USA.
                      • BT3000 vintage 1999

                      #11
                      Originally posted by rogerparker

                      Thanks for your comment. I think now I can easily make decision.
                      Note that you can buy planed, thicknessed lumber at the lumber stores and Lowes and HD also.

                      Loring in Katy, TX USA
                      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                      Comment

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