Blade change on DeWalt 735

[julian abram]

I have a Dewalt 735 planer that needs a blade change. This is a first time for me, any suggestions on which replacement blades to purchase or tips on the change out procedure?

[Matt Day]

I think you're knives are double sided, so just flip then around.

[Brett Luna]

I haven't used my 735 hard enough to replace the blades yet but I'm interested in the carbide knives from Infinity (http://www.infinitytools.com/Carbide-Tipped-Knives-For-DeWalt-735-Planer-3-Pc/productinfo/CPJK-041/). They're darned pricey but they claim a 10x longer life than OEM replacements.

[Doug Richardson]

As I recall there is a several real nice YouTube videos out there on changing out the blades on a 735.....

[Kyle Iwamoto]

They are double sided, and it comes with the proper sized tool, with MAGNETS. I discovered the magnets AFTER I changed mine and bled all over the blades.

[Steve Baumgartner]

It's really pretty easy, but here are a couple of tips:

The blades have elongated holes that go over pins in the head, so that you can shift them side to side. Install the new blades with one centered on the pins, one to the left, and one to the right so that you can shift them differently when they nick. And don't crank down the bolts like a gorilla! Firm but not massively tight else they are a bear to get loose again and you can easily round the wrench or the hex socket in the bolt.

I had pretty good luck with the steel blades from Infinity before I put in a Shelix head. Never tried their carbide.

[lowell holmes]

I've bought shaper blades from Infinity as well as a 1/2" diameter X 3" (?) cut length carbide spiral router bit. The quality was superb. I will have no issues with buying from them again.

The shaper blades were for a 1 3/4" thick panel door.

I wouldn't hesitate buying planer blades from them.

[David Helm]

Knives are two sided and sharpenable. I have two sets for mine so if one is in the saw shop I still have use of the planer.

[julian abram]

It's really pretty easy, but here are a couple of tips:

The blades have elongated holes that go over pins in the head, so that you can shift them side to side. Install the new blades with one centered on the pins, one to the left, and one to the right so that you can shift them differently when they nick. And don't crank down the bolts like a gorilla! Firm but not massively tight else they are a bear to get loose again and you can easily round the wrench or the hex socket in the bolt.

I had pretty good luck with the steel blades from Infinity before I put in a Shelix head. Never tried their carbide.

Steve, how do you like the Shelix head? I'm just a hobby woodworker, not sure I could justify the cost for Shelix, Infinity Carbide blades maybe doable.

[david minnery]

I got several stitches when I changed the blade with the provided allen wrench. It's too easy for your hand to slip as you apply torque. I use my impact driver now and I feel a lot safer. I was going through a single side of the dewalt blades ever 100bf of hard maple.
I have used the carbide infinity blades and have been reasonably happy with them. I plane a lot of maple, cherry and walnut. I've probably gone through 3 sets of the infinity blades. I think they are closer to 7-8 times longer lasting.
The other benefit is less blade changing which can be dangerous.

[julian abram]

I got several stitches when I changed the blade with the provided allen wrench. It's too easy for your hand to slip as you apply torque. I use my impact driver now and I feel a lot safer. I was going through a single side of the dewalt blades ever 100bf of hard maple.
I have used the carbide infinity blades and have been reasonably happy with them. I plane a lot of maple, cherry and walnut. I've probably gone through 3 sets of the infinity blades. I think they are closer to 7-8 times longer lasting.
The other benefit is less blade changing which can be dangerous.

David, thanks for the good info. I'm thinking I will order a set of Infinity Carbide blades but hope to skip the stitches part!

[Myk Rian]

I got several stitches when I changed the blade with the provided allen wrench. It's too easy for your hand to slip as you apply torque.
Really? Your hands are 5-6" away from the blades. How the heck do you cut them?

I've heard of people re-sharpening the stock knives, but they're awful thin. I just replaced them until I got a Byrd head.

[david minnery]

Really? Your hands are 5-6" away from the blades. How the heck do you cut them?

I've heard of people re-sharpening the stock knives, but they're awful thin. I just replaced them until I got a Byrd head.

The allen wrench is a softer metal than the bolts. Wrench deforms and slips. The real problem was the cheap sheet metal that supposedly 'locks' the spindle holding all 3 blades in place. There is play with that locking mechanism and on my planer it has movement. Perhaps I over tightened the blade bolts. Either way, impact driver is much safer.
I've planed probably 2,000+ bf on this planer. However, I can't justify doubling the price of the planer by putting the byrd head i it.
Saving my money for a powermatic planer.

[Steve Baumgartner]

Steve, how do you like the Shelix head? I'm just a hobby woodworker, not sure I could justify the cost for Shelix, Infinity Carbide blades maybe doable.

So far I like the quality of cut quite a lot. The straight blades only surpassed it when brand new - they dulled pretty quickly and always seemed to get nicked. Only time will tell whether the idea of just rotating a cutter instead of replacing an entire blade will pay off. I haven't needed to rotate any yet.

Some downsides I have noticed: The Shelix head seems to be a slightly smaller diameter than the original, so the feed rollers press down quite hard before it starts to cut and a board hits the mouth of the planer while the cut is still well under 1/16. I couldn't adjust the depth of cut scale far enough to make it accurate (not a bit problem, as I use it only as a very crude guide anyway). Also it puts a heavier load on the motor, and I have to take a fairly light pass to keep it from straining and popping the circuit breaker.

Steve

[Tony Leonard]

I swapped out the head on mine too. I like it very much so far. It realy does well on figured woods. I agree about the brand new knives producing a nicer surface, but the surface I get is fine. i haven't noticed the increased load issue. I typicaly don't take much off per pass though.

Changing the stock knives is not hard at all. A couple of things...the t-knobs that hold the duct on can be split and the duct tabs witht he holes are easy to break, so go easy on them. My bolts almost alwyas felt stuck. They refuse to turn, then all the sudden let go with a loud pop. Never had any issue getting cut. I used the magnets on the end of the provided allen wrench. Make sure the allen wrench is well seated and aligned with the bolt - you can strip them out. Not much else I can think of. You might put some thougt into how they are indexed to one another (ie shifted one way or the other) so that you have room for adjusting out knicks. Overall, a pretty easy job. I bought my knives on ebay. Still have some laying around somewhere I probably ought to put on eBay!

Good luck with it. Great planer.

Tony

[Myk Rian]

Heck. Just sell them right here.

[julian abram]

Hey fellows, thanks for the input on blade changing. I changed the 735 blades this afternoon, very simple process, probably took 45 minutes at most. I've put this job off for a long time thinking it would be some tedious, complicated process. I wish all equipment was this maintenance friendly. When I finished I ran a 5/4 test scrape though the planer and it came out perfectly smooth. Had my wife come out to the shop and listen to it run (I'm recently deaf). She said it was loud, I told her that was normal just as long as she didn't hear any metal parts clanking around inside we were good to go!

[Dan Hahr]

Changing knives on the 735 is one of the easiest tasks and is one of the reasons why the 735 is my favorite planer, even though I have a nice 15" one. However an impact driver is way overkill. I use a cordless drill to speed up removal and replacement of the screws but I always set the torque very low. I snug them up with the included t handle but never hard enough to strip them. They always pop when you back them out.

I sharpen mine with a jig that holds two blades at a time. I have one set of Infinity HSS blades that I've sharpened once. They last at least twice as long as the Dewalt knives.

Dan