DW 735 dB Level

[David Ragan]

Hi,

Just wondering-has anybody ever tried dampening the noise from this machine?

Seems like kind of a stretch on account of the necessity of the table being open beneath the spinning cutter head.

Is there a spiral cutterhead available (which is quieter, right?)

David

[Patrick Harper]

I just got mine, and haven't measure it yet. I know a lot of people complain about the noise, but I didn't think mine was too long while planing some oak. I don't think it's any louder than my router. There is a spiral head available. I have the Byrd head, but have yet to install it.

[ken masoumi]

I don't find this planer any louder than my other benchtop tools with universal motors,infact when I got it I even prepared myself for the noise but to my surprise it wasn't that loud although you still need to wear ear plugs .
As far as spiral heads,yes it is available and some owners replaced the knives to spiral ,haven't heard anything negative about it,only know some recommend to use the higher speed with it.

[Viking Mountain Tool Works]

I sell hundreds of Byrd cutterheads for the DW735 every year. One of the benifits in addition to staying sharp 40 times longer is a greatly reduced noise level.
Scott

[Charles Lent]

It's not as loud as my previous Delta planer, but I still do all of my planning outside with hearing protection muffs and safety glasses. The " outside only" began when I got the Delta and it made such a mess of the shop. With the 735 and the optional dust hose and can cover there is almost no mess (unless the can cover gets loose), but the noise is still too much to go without the hearing protection. I also limit this outdoor use to the middle of the day so I don't upset the neighbors.

Charley

[Mike Ontko]

There is a spiral cutter head available, and I'm going to consider investing in one just as soon as I've worn out the factory blades on my DW735. But my neighbors may have to wait a while for that.

I agree with the noise issue. I expect to be doing all of my work within the confines of my shop, which is surrounded on three sides by insulated and sheetrocked 2x6 walls, though there's still a lot of sound transferred or emitted through two fiberglass garage doors and two 3x4 windows. To keep on the good side of my neighbors, I restrict all of my milling, sawing, routing, etc. to the same general daylight time frame as I do any other significant noise generating activity.

Sure, the potential for disturbing others with the noise from our workshops should be something we're at least concious of. But to help put the whole residential noise pollution concept into perspective, I don't do any serious milling, sawing or routing work every week. But on the other hand, on an almost weekly basis, I do spend about one to two hours pushing a barely muffled 6.5 hp Briggs & Stratton motor around my yard as well as following up with an electric weed wacker, leaf blower, and sometimes an electric edger. Nobody has complained or given me wry looks yet about my use of those implements. Come to think of it, we do have one neighbor who has a high-anxiety Setter or Pointer mix that will bark continuously--for hours it seems--when left alone in the house. I'm a dog person myself (English Springer), but to my ears 10 minutes of on-and-off operation with a DW735 is a whole lot more tolerable than constant barking.

[Victor Robinson]

This may be helpful...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb-OUeBRQ24

[Myk Rian]

I have a Byrd in mine, and read 82db @ 3ft distance.

[Rick Moyer]

Easily the loudest tool in the shop as far as I am concerned. I just wear hearing protection but a Byrd head should be less loud. Plus the benefit of less tear-out on figured woods. One of these days I'll upgrade....

[Clay Crocker]

My DW735 was much quieter after installing the Shelix head. With the straight blade cutter head it was very loud, although I must say my prior Delta portable planer was ear-spllitingly loud in comparison!

[Peter Quinn]

Hi,

Just wondering-has anybody ever tried dampening the noise from this machine? David


The machine is loud before the wood goes in, something about that universal motor whining at high RPM's and turning what amounts to a turbo to push out the chips. Its a nice little machine, but holy loud batman. I can't imagine it would be easy to dampen without risking over insulating and this over heating the motor. Maybe a big box made of high R board with slots for infeed and out, a flap at the depth wheel, something knock down with aid baffles? My strategy was to sell mine to a guy that live 15 miles away and buy a floor model with a shelix head. I can barely hear the DW735 from here now!:rolleyes:

[lowell holmes]

In addition to safety glasses I wear ear muffs for hearing protection when using the jointer or planer.
Actually I wear them when running any power tool.

[David Ragan]

Yes, the shelix head is much quieter (YouTube). Maybe for Christmas....even quieter with no wood running thru. Must be the turbulence caused by straight blades. Im glad Peter mentioned the risk of the motor overheating.
Yes, I always do plugs. Add muffs onto that when running the DW.
Loud noise have been found to have a variety of adverse effects on your body. Noise pollution for sure.
However, with the other equipment, stereo headphones work fine sometimes.

[Scott Reed]

I would love to have the Byrd head on mine but can't get the past the fact that the price of the head is about what I paid for the machine. Plus, I haven't had any problems with the blades. I got over a full year out of one side of the double sided factory blade. It's definitely loud but with ear protection it hasn't been an issue.

[Myk Rian]

Some have removed the fan from the shroud to make it even quieter than with just the Byrd. Just as long as you have good air flow from the DC you'll be ok.

[Steve Baumgartner]

Some have removed the fan from the shroud to make it even quieter than with just the Byrd. Just as long as you have good air flow from the DC you'll be ok.
Many people have removed the fan blade to reduce noise. I tried this and felt it didn't make all that much difference - it was still terribly loud. I then installed a Shelix head, and it does reduce the noise somewhat but nowhere near the level of a stationary machine. Still need hearing protectors. I conclude that much of the noise comes from the motor and drive.

If you decide to remove the fan blade, just bear in mind that the fan does double duty, both blowing out chips and pulling cooling air through the motor. The passages inside the machine are pretty narrow, requiring high static pressure. Your DC may have trouble pulling enough air through them to keep the motor cool.