Gloat / Planer Question

[Frank Hagan]

I found a DeWalt 735 factory reconditioned planer on Amazon.com for $349, with a $25 off coupon and free shipping, so I bought it. Took 8 days to arrive, and I wanted to finishing cleaning up the shop before I used it :eek: so it wasn't until today that I got to use it. After using it, perhaps I should have waited to clean the shop ... :rolleyes:

I was going to build a stand, but found a universal tool stand at Sears for $29 that works fine. The pics show the planer on the stand, and my first attempt at re-directing the sawdust from the planer into a trashcan. I have some 4" aluminum dryer vent attached to the dust collection fitting, and my hope was that the dust ejection was slow enough that it mostly stay in the can. But the 735 ejects the dust with quite a bit of force ... I'm thinking I should probably make a "baby cyclone" and use it as the first stage of my dust collection efforts. I'd love to get a proper DC one of these days ... for now, I wear a dust filter, open the garage door, and try to use the prevailing breeze to minimize my exposure to it.

Set up for the DeWalt is simple ... attach the handle, mount to something, and away you go. The planer doesn't look like its ever been used. It came in a plain box, and except for a small label on the box stating who it w as reconditioned by, I couldn't tell it wasn't brand new. Set up is very easy on this planer; attach the handle, plug it in and you're good to go.

It works well, with no snipe until you get under 1/4" in thickness. That may also be a function of my outfeed method ... roller supports. I suspect that perhaps an outfeed table might be a better way to go.

I planed four red oak boards down to 5/16" for my current project, a cradle boat's planking. I'm really very impressed with the operation of this planer. Does anyone have a better idea on the chip collection? That's the only downside ... there's a ton of sawdust made by these things!

[John Miliunas]

Congrats on the new acquisition, Frank! Definitely a great price on a nice planer. :) I've got mine feeding into a central DC system, so I'm not sure if this would work. In looking at what you've got going on there, maybe something as simple as an old sheet draped over the whole can and duct and maybe just hold it on the can with some hand clamps or similar? Just about anything to help contain it a bit more. Even a piece of ply with a hole just big enough for the dryer vent? Obviously, you wouldn't want to seal it off completely and I'm sure there will still probably be some blow-by, but just something to tame it down a bit. :) Yeah, I know that the blower on the 735 has some gusto behind it! Wait until the first time you go under the hood to turn your blades around; You'll be impressed by how clean everything is in there!:) :cool:

[Jack Norfleet]

The dust collector that is made for the 735 is just a piece of dryer hose and a cloth hood with a drawstring. I have one and it works pretty good. The drawstring is used to keep the hood attached to the top of a trashcan with the dryer hose connected in the middle.

[Mike Cutler]

Nice Planer Frank. The Dewalt is fine planer, and it gets great reviews and feedback on all the woodworking forums.
As for the "dust problem" I'm pretty much certain that you have a DC gloat in the near future ;). All planers put out alot of waste, and wait 'til you get a drum sander :eek:
Once again, nice planer ya' got there.

[James Biddle]

Congrats! I've got the same planer. I've got mine hooked up to my central DC also. Before that, I tried to use a Shop Vac. It just kept blowing holes in the bag, so I don't recommend that method. I saw the Dewalt bag accessory demo'ed at a WW show. It seemed to work fine, but the cost was ~$50 IIRC. Since you already have the hose, you could try buying a DC bag and tywrap it to the hose. Grizzly has them for ~$20.

[scott spencer]

That's a great deal Frank. Congrats and enjoy!

[Frank Hagan]

The dust collector that is made for the 735 is just a piece of dryer hose and a cloth hood with a drawstring. I have one and it works pretty good. The drawstring is used to keep the hood attached to the top of a trashcan with the dryer hose connected in the middle.

Thanks, Jack. I'm half way there ... I did try throwing a shop towel (old bath towel) over the trash can, but had to let it "vent" out the side you see all the chips on. I'll bet an interim and cheap solution would be to use something a bit more porous and tie it on the can like the DeWalt solution.

Of course, I don't want it to be TOO good ... have to convince TLOML that a DC is a necessary tool!

[Frank Hagan]

Congrats on the new acquisition, Frank! Definitely a great price on a nice planer. :) I've got mine feeding into a central DC system, so I'm not sure if this would work. In looking at what you've got going on there, maybe something as simple as an old sheet draped over the whole can and duct and maybe just hold it on the can with some hand clamps or similar? Just about anything to help contain it a bit more. Even a piece of ply with a hole just big enough for the dryer vent? Obviously, you wouldn't want to seal it off completely and I'm sure there will still probably be some blow-by, but just something to tame it down a bit. :) Yeah, I know that the blower on the 735 has some gusto behind it! Wait until the first time you go under the hood to turn your blades around; You'll be impressed by how clean everything is in there!:) :cool:

Thanks for the tips ... I did open it up when it was first recieved to see if the blades were nicked or anything, but it was clean as a whistle inside, and it didn't look like it had been used. But after seeing the output of the thing, I'm not sure anything COULD stay in there. I'm toying with making a "mini-cyclone" for it and seeing if that works with the planer "pushing" air through the cyclone. A bath towel over the trash can still vented up out the side, but it kept the chips from coming back at me (my shop has a breeze through it when I open the door behind me and the garage door, so I have good ventilation. But it does make a mess!)

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Frank,

I have the "dust collector" for the Craftsman planer. As the other have said, take an old sheet, cut a whole in the middle and tape your hose to the middle of the sheet. Then take the other ends and wrap them around the trash can as secure with a band clamp.

The sheet will let the air out, while holding the chips in. As you said, still need your dust mask.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Heck, I'm interested in the tool stand you found at Sears for $29. Looks like it works well.

[Frank Hagan]

Heck, I'm interested in the tool stand you found at Sears for $29. Looks like it works well.

It does ... the pictures up there are a bit distorted, so the stand looks uneven. But its pretty solid, and the legs are all angled the same way in "real life!"

I didn't save the Sears info to give you the number of the stand, but they had it on a rack in the Sears store. Minimum top dimensions are something like 23 x 15, and the top can be expanded to 23 x 23. I have it at 23 x 18 for the planer. I was hoping to add locking casters to it, as the feet have provisions to take a 3/8 threaded rod for leveling ... but I couldn't find those casters with threaded studs. I may use an axle and larger wheels (heading out to the Harbor Freight store this afternoon.)

[Norman Hitt]

Thanks, Jack. I'm half way there ... I did try throwing a shop towel (old bath towel) over the trash can, but had to let it "vent" out the side you see all the chips on. I'll bet an interim and cheap solution would be to use something a bit more porous and tie it on the can like the DeWalt solution.

Of course, I don't want it to be TOO good ... have to convince TLOML that a DC is a necessary tool!

Frank, to meet your stated requirements (immediately above) :D you might get an old Burlap Bag, or stop by a Cloth store and get some cheap Burlap and use it to hold the chips in, yet allow the air to vent. It probably wouldn't keep the finer stuff in, but should hold the chips.