Dewalt 735 feed issues

[Jim Leslie]

My 735 is about 8 weeks old now, and I have noticed on a couple of occasions, it refuses to feed wood all the way through. It stops somewhere part way through and eats the wood, (I think a hunger joke is forming out there now!) causing quite a divot.I never had that happen to my old Delta one. The fix was easy; I just raised it to the 6" setting and cleaned the rollers with a damp rag. Problem solved. Wonder if anyone has experienced the same thing or is it me? Also it didn't seem to be related to wood width, type, cut depth or thickness either. Possibly the rollers are harder than other planers and more sensitive to sawdust and chip buildup?

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Jim, I've had that issue. There have been a lot of comments on the roller material, and it seems keeping them clean really helps. I also had a small burr on the planer bed (also a 735) that cause me all sorts of grief till I found it and knocked it down. The last item is dull blades - I was surprised how quickly mine went from working well to not working well at all. I ope you also put a good coat of wax (or something) on the bed.

[glenn bradley]

Yep, common problem and easy fix for lunchbox units; wax those beds and clean those rollers.

[Jeff Monson]

Very common Jim, make it a practice to clean the rollers and a coat of paste wax on the beds will help alot also.

[David Larsen]

I keep my bed waxed and haven't had a problem with it not feeding. I also try to keep it at several smaller passes instead of less bigger ones.

[Jim Summers]

+1 here. Clean rollers and wax the bed.

[Jim Leslie]

Forgot to mention; the second time this happened, I waxed the bed too. I didn't think of looking for a burr, but will check that next as well. Thanks to all!

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Forgot to mention; the second time this happened, I waxed the bed too. I didn't think of looking for a burr, but will check that next as well. Thanks to all!

Jim - it's always good to check for 'rough' spots or burrs. mine was from a screw that came loose from a planer sled (the one that uses wedges to support the work piece; the screw was supposed to keep the wedge in place). The sdcrew got jammed under the workpiece. Putting screws through my planer, even if on a jig or sled, scared the crap out of me so I changed to design to use set screws.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Have you flipped or changed your blades? IF you put one of them back upside down, you will have feed issues. DAMHIKT

[Jonathan Spool]

I cleaned my rollers with Gojo, and it tackied them up somewhat (old motocross tactic for grips).
Are you running your stock over a jointer prior to the planer? If not, variying warps and twists along the length of the lumber can cause it to be of different thicknesses,
which will also cause it to slip.

[Jim Leslie]

I went back and verified there was no burr. Also I thought dull blades was an early issue and that the more recent models were ok. Read that somewhere..

[Jim Leslie]

No, it's only a month or so old. I will be careful of that when time comes to change though..
I knew of someone who put a bandsaw blade on the wrong way.

[patrick lund]

I have found that the cold weather affects the rollers. They don't grip well when the temperature drops. Is you shop heated or just heated when you are there? That could be the problem. I remember reading somewhere that a Dewalt tech person had said that cold temperatures affect the rollers, but not sure.

[Mark Brinson]

Hi All,
I'm reading all the comments about the 735 with great interest. I also am having a feed issue, but mine has a strange twist.
I'm planing 8/4 white and red Oak, 7" - 8.5" wide and about 8 feet long. I have cleaned the rollers and kept the bed waxed. I haven't rotated or checked the blades yet, but that's the next step. I think I have planed enough to fill a 35 gallon dust collector so far, (Grizzly GO440).
Here is my strange issue. I am taking about 1/64 off per pass (yes, that's 1/64th) because I seem to be pushing the planer to it's limits. Even then, on the last two passes I noticed the depth control handle MOVING. It seems the blades are raising up during my pass. This is not the play in the handle either. It is actually moving.

I'm going to change the blades, clean and re-wax, but I find it strange that at 1/64th it would move at all.
Any thoughts?

Mark

[Mark Brinson]

Ahhhhhhh... what a difference new blades make! I guess this re-claimed oak was harder on my blades than I thought. I started with new blades but they sure didn't last long.
Lesson learned.

Mark