Which Planer??

[Wade Samuelson]

Hi there,

I need help making my final decision. I've narrowed it down to one of these three:

1. Craftsman 13"(http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00921743000&subcat=Jointers%2C+Planers+%26+Shapers)? $360

2. Delta 12.5" (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00923556000&subcat=Jointers%2C+Planers+%26+Shapers) $285

3. DeWalt DW735 13" Factory Reconditioned for $351 (includes shipping) at ToolKing.com.

[Lee DeRaud]

Re your #2: Delta's website doesn't show that model (22-560) but the picture and specs on the Sears site certainly look like the TP400LS, minus the stand. Been quite happy with mine so far, even more so once I picked up the DC hood for it.

[Jason Morgan]

I've got the DW734 and love it. Its not 2 speed, but I have heard the 735 had a plastic drive gear that would wear out before too many hours of use. They may have fixed that though. 734s should be in that price range and even cheaper if you can find one reconditioned.

Good luck!

[John Miliunas]

Lee, I just sold my DW735. Were it not for the fact that I'm looking at planing down a LOT of thick and long, hard stock, I'd still have it! It's a great little planer and served me well. I would recommend the accs. in/out feed extensions. The blade sets are a bit steep ($45.00/set), but they are double-sided and index for depth automatically, though they do leave you room to "slide" a blade over if they get nicked. The dust collection on it is nothing short of fabulous!:) :cool:

[Mike Stanton]

I have the dw735 and it is great. Idon't have to sand very much.I have had mine over a year stiil works great. mike

[Frank Hagan]

Another very happy owner of a reconditioned DeWalt 735. It is a really impressive tool. But, I have to be honest ... it is the first planer I have owned, so I can't give you a fair comparison between it and the others.

[Wade Samuelson]

Thanks everyone--it looks like DeWalt is the winner!

[Allen Bookout]

Looks like that you have already made up your mind but I will just add another vote for DeWalt 735. I bought a reconditioned one from ToolKing a few months ago and could not tell it from new. I have not had it long enough for a long term assesment but am really impressed so far. I agree with John, the dust collection is excellent.

The thing that I do not understand though is why does ToolKing have so many reconditioned units available when the ones of us that have responded find them so great? Could it be the plastic drive gear that Jason was talking about or what?

Allen

[Larry Norton]

My Dewalt 735 will be 2 years old the end of Oct. I use mine every day. The only problem I have had is one set of knives that wore out in 3 months. I emailed Dewalt and they sent me a new set, no questions asked. I have friends who have gotten theirs after I got mine and they had the gear problem. I keep intending to order an extra set in case mine break, but I keep forgetting to do it.


I absolutely love mine. Changing the knives couldn't be easier, one supplied allen wrench does everything, and the 2 magnets in the handle make it much easier and safer to replace them. When you remove the top, there are safetys to prevent the planer from accidentally starting. The depth stops are dead on.

In my opinion, the dust collector bag is a waste of $50. The concept is good, but I tried 2 different trash cans and the blower on the planer kept blowing the bag off the top. I took it back to Woodcraft. After I did, I thought that maybe I should have tried tying the tightening string in a knot. I just hooked the planer back into my DC system.

[Allen Bookout]

I should have made the "dust collection is excellent" statement noting that I use it with a dust collector and did not try a collector bag.

[Frank Hagan]

My Dewalt 735 ...

In my opinion, the dust collector bag is a waste of $50. The concept is good, but I tried 2 different trash cans and the blower on the planer kept blowing the bag off the top. I took it back to Woodcraft. After I did, I thought that maybe I should have tried tying the tightening string in a knot. I just hooked the planer back into my DC system.

I hacked together a system one afternoon, intending to make it pretty later on, but it has worked so well I have left it as is for now. I'll improve on it when I get some of the pending projects completed.

I took a trash can ... a really cheap one for the test ... and use 1" foam pipe insulation around the top as a gasket. Then I took some scrap 3/8" plywood and made an inlet for some inexpensive aluminum dryer vent hose. A scrap piece of 3/4" ply was placed on top of the trash can, with a hole for a 4" PVC coupling cut in the center ... I thought I would need to maybe add a downpipe if too much sawdust came out to get the downpipe below the bottom of the inlet. Then, a box on top of the plywood sized for a cheap furnace filter, and I had my prototype dust collector.

It works better than I had imagined it could. There is no visible dust coming out the top, so when I make my "better" one, I'll use a finer filter on it. But for now, this works like a champ.

Some pics are attached ...

[Karl Laustrup]

Wade, if you were closer, I'd make you a deal on my Cman Professional. I'm going to be going bigger soon.

No complaints with the Cman. It does a great job, just not big enough for what I plan in the future.

Karl

[Larry Norton]

Frank, I like your idea! I was thinking about something similiar, but I really like your approach. I never would have thought of using a furnace filter.

[Frank Hagan]

Frank, I like your idea! I was thinking about something similiar, but I really like your approach. I never would have thought of using a furnace filter.

To be honest, I expected a cloud of dust coming out of it, because the filter I have on there is the cheapest one I could buy (3 of them for $4 or something like that). But in operation, there is very little that gets to the top chamber and nothing I could detect that was on the bottom of the filter. I suspect performance will decrease as the can fills up, but so far, its worked well. There's about 10" of chips in the bottom.

I was hoping that the design would work ... its kind of a cyclone upside down combined with a "large expansion in air flow area" that some of the larger DC are based on ... but it has exceeded my expectations. The only problem with that is that I'll probably never get around to improving it!

[scott spencer]

Hi Wade - Your price range certainly allows for a Delta 22-580 two speed and is another that I'd be considering. It has a large and loyal following and was considered king of the hill prior to the intro of the DW735. I'm happy with mine, and was happy with my 22-560 (TP400) prior to that.

The Craftsman might be fine, but it's a lot less proven than the others. For about the same price, the DW735R has a chip ejector system too, plus it has two speeds, a larger following, and a slew of #1 ratings .

[Kent Cori]

I have a Delta 22-565 which is a 560 with a stand. It has served me very well for the past three years. However, I bought it before the new Dewalts and Delta 22-580 came out. If I were to buy one today, I would look at the Dewalt or Delta 22-580 first.

[John Miliunas]

Hey guys, regarding the issues surrounding the DW735. One of our rather "newbie" members sent along a PM to me today regarding the sprocket problem. This is an explanation, which he apparently has gleaned from Dewalt themselves, and I quote:
********************

Just for info sake, the sprocket on the DW735 would break due to bad bushings. The sprocket was made out of metal. Some bushings (bearings?) apparently had burrs on them and some may have not had enough oil, as they were self-lubricated from what I was told. This would cause things to come to a halt and the sprocket would crack under the stress :( (there is a keyway on the sprocket).
********************

Just as a note, the member sending me this info didn't want to throw this out here, so as not to cause controversy generated from a "new guy". I did convey to him that we don't bite and always welcome knowledge from anyone, "newbie" or not!:)

At any rate, this looks like some additional details on the 735. From what I've seen/heard, it appears that most folks have not encountered this anomaly, though for those who have, you may be able to get better info from Dewalt with these details in case something does go awry.:) Thanks again to David, who passed this info on to us!:) :cool:

[Dale Rodabaugh]

Bought the DeWalt 734 a couple months ago for around $350.New ,not reconditioned.Have used it quite a bit,and I am very satisfied with it.;)

[scott spencer]

Hey guys, regarding the issues surrounding the DW735. One of our rather "newbie" members sent along a PM to me today regarding the sprocket problem. This is an explanation, which he apparently has gleaned from Dewalt themselves, and I quote:
********************

Just for info sake, the sprocket on the DW735 would break due to bad bushings. The sprocket was made out of metal. Some bushings (bearings?) apparently had burrs on them and some may have not had enough oil, as they were self-lubricated from what I was told. This would cause things to come to a halt and the sprocket would crack under the stress :( (there is a keyway on the sprocket).
********************

Just as a note, the member sending me this info didn't want to throw this out here, so as not to cause controversy generated from a "new guy". I did convey to him that we don't bite and always welcome knowledge from anyone, "newbie" or not!:)

At any rate, this looks like some additional details on the 735. From what I've seen/heard, it appears that most folks have not encountered this anomaly, though for those who have, you may be able to get better info from Dewalt with these details in case something does go awry.:) Thanks again to David, who passed this info on to us!:) :cool:
Thanks for passing on that explanation John (& David! :D). Along those lines, I've heard that the sprocket/bushing issue was more common in the earlier versions and that they have since addressed the problem.

[Wade Samuelson]

I had heard of the DeWalt "sprocket" problem by reading reviews at Amazon. That's why I was interested in a factory refurbished model. You get a 1 yr warranty from DeWalt, and you just have to figure that DeWalt knows what the problem is and is going to make darn sure that it's fixed before they send it out the door.