DW735 Planer problem

[Anthony Scott]

I just bought this and it cuts beautifully except when I set it for a deeper cut, 1/16" or more, it leaves a small ridge down the length of the board. It is a very small ridge which could be easily sanded out but it seems to me it shouldn't do this in the first place. It doesn't do this on a 1/32" cut. The rest of the board is baby-butt smooth.
Any thoughts on what causes this?
Thanks

[Mike Reinholtz]

I've got the same machine, first thought is you are over-loading it. The wider the board, the shallower the cut. Also what kind of wood are you using? Harder woods need to be planed with a lighter cut. Also the speed you are cutting at will affect the surface, dimensioning (96 cpi?) can be a little rough. I always use the finishing speed, easier on the machine and the blades.

[Myk Rian]

You have a chipped blade/s. Open it up, unplug it, remove the blade cover, loosen one blade and slide it over. Tighten things back up and try it.
You can find out which blade/s have a chip by running a piece of scrap wood down the length of them.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

You have a chipped blade/s.


This would be my guess too, although it's odd you don't get it on the lighter cuts.

[Anthony Scott]

Yeah, that is what I thought too.

[Fred Belknap]

Check and be sure that one of the screws that hold the blades isn't loose.
Fred

[Tony Shea]

Slight nick in a blade. It really doesn't take much to put a nick in the blade. I've seen blades come right out of the package with a tiny burr on them that produce a line down the length of a board. Depending on the size of the line on the boards and how bothersome it is I would just keep using it till it got worse. Also it is sometimes very easy to hone out a small burr on a blade and give it a longer life.

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

I have the same planer & have noticed that if I run a board all the way against the edge of the planer bed that I will some times get a tiny ridge. I figure that I could get rid of it if I shifted my blade around a little. For the most part I just run all my wood down the center of the planer & I do not have that problem.

[Anthony Scott]

Actually I took a look at the blades and couldn't see any defects. I ran some pine and maple through it. When I feed a board down the center I can see a tiny ridge. If I feed it to the sides it looks ok.
My only concern is that if the problem becomes bigger down the road.

[Myk Rian]

Just take a card scraper to the line. Presto, gone. When it gets too bad, flip the blades over.

[Allan Froehlich]

My 735 makes about 5 ridges. I can usually get around this by sending the board through for a second pass at the same height.

[David Prince]

My 735 makes about 5 ridges. I can usually get around this by sending the board through for a second pass at the same height.

+1 on this. I had a single line show up. I ran it back through the second time at the same height and it cleaned it up perfectly. The second pass a the same height doesn't change the thickness any.

[Leo Vogel]

I've had that happen several times. It has always been a small nick in the blade. Many times it is almost impossible to see. As soon as I change or move a blade, it's gone. If you change the blades, be really careful removing the screws. I use a new allen bit in my racket.

Also, stay away from knots in the wood, or you will see lots of ridges on the wood.

[Anthony Scott]

thanks everyone. Cosmetically it isn't a huge deal. i just wanted to make sure it wouldn't turn in to one down the road.

[Tony Shea]

it's def not that big a deal. It is nothing to do with the planer, just the knives. As soon as they get to messed up to your liking and you change them, the issue will be gone. Believe me that you will end up with more than one line down the board before you decide to change the knives.