Dwalt 735 v Steel City Helical Head Planer

[Steve Mellott]

I have a brand new 13" Dewalt 735 planer I've never used, but I also have the opportunity to buy a 13" Steel City helical head planer at a good price. Any thoughts as to which one of these planers I should keep and which one I should sell? Is there any significant difference between these 2 planers? Thanks.

Steve

[George Bregar]

735 doesn't have a helical head for one. SS doesn't have multiple speeds. But really this is all stuff you should already know.

[Neil Brooks]

Run a few hundred board feet through both -- similar stock, running half through one, and the other half through the other -- and you'll know :)

[Kyle Iwamoto]

You have the DW 735 and you're thinking of buying another? IIRC the SC helical planer is NOT carbide. I'm pretty happy with my 735. Ran a couple hundred bf of maple. No problems. Although I ran only a few bf of pine through it and managed to get some rigde lines. But can move the blades a bit or swap them and you're back in business. How much is the SC? May be you can buy the helical for the 735 and have the 2 speeds and the helical head.

BTW I heard a wlhie ago that SC was on the ropes and struggling to stay alive. Have they come back?

[Jonathan Link]

I picked up an unused one for $300 a while back. I'm happy with it, but I don't have another planer, either. While it's true that doesn't have carbide heads, that may turn out to be a plus if you work with a lot of figured wood.