DeWalt 735 problem

[David Huston]

Upgraded from a porter Cable planer to a used DeWalt 735. Flipped the blades and replaced the broken drive belt. Overall it runs great and I get very little to no snipe. Problem is that when I run a wide board (11 inches or more) through it seems to slow down when it reaches the blades then the speed picks back up when it hits the second set of rollers. I have cleaned both indeed and outfeed rollers with mineral spirits several times. Even with the slow down it isn't causing any snipe to speak of. Could I have messed the blade alignment up when I changed the belt. It was a bear to get back on. Seems to slow down more on the right side. Any help is appreciated.

[Bill Dufour]

What slows down? The blades all rotate together they run at the same rpm all across. Is there a segmented infeed or outfeed roller you are taking about?
Bil lD

[David Huston]

The feed of the board slows down

[Jim Morgan]

Mineral spirits often leave an oily residue. You will be better off cleaning the feed rollers with VM&P naphtha or DNA. Wax the bed & extension tables to minimize friction.

[Steve Eure]

You mentioned that you flipped the blades. Did you check to make sure they had not already been used on that side. Dull blades will cause this issue. If its only on one side, I would bet that the previous owner planed on that side more often than moving his pieces all over the width of the machine.

[Randy Heinemann]

How deep a cut are you making? I generally don't make any cuts more than 1/32" at a time; many times less than that. The 735 is a great planer, but we all have to realize that it isn't a heavy duty tool like a 15" planer would be. I get the best results in taking shallower cuts and running the board through more times rather than trying to take a full 1/8" or even 1/16" cut.

[Jon Nuckles]

How deep a cut are you making? I generally don't make any cuts more than 1/32" at a time; many times less than that. The 735 is a great planer, but we all have to realize that it isn't a heavy duty tool like a 15" planer would be. I get the best results in taking shallower cuts and running the board through more times rather than trying to take a full 1/8" or even 1/16" cut.

I agree with Randy. With a narrow board, I'll take off a sixteenth at a pass. If you are planing an 11" wide board, however, I'd stick to 1/32" (half a turn) or even 1/3 of a turn at a pass.

If you aren't taking deep cuts, I think you should check to make sure the second side of the blade had not already been used. It is hard to tell by looking unless there are nicks in the blade. (I have to leave a note inside the machine to remind myself that I've used the second edge when I change the blades.) You'll need new blades soon in any case; if you order them now you can change to the new ones and see if that fixes the problem. If the performance is the same, meaning that the edge you are using now is sharp, you can change it back when the new edge gets dull.

I really like my 735 and the surface it produces, but it does require many more passes than a 15 inch planer would.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Use slow speed? I agree with the above, taking too much would be a problem. It's a table top planer........
Another thought, boards long? If the are, outfeed rollers may help. It's a tiny motor to drive long boards.

[David Huston]

It slows down right when I feed the board in and then goes back to normal speed so it doesn't have to do with length of the board. As far as depth of cut I am only moving the wheel maybe 1/8 of a turn. I will try it with some narrow stock tonight and see what happens. Pretty sure the blades had only been used on one side since the guy I bought it from didn't even know they had two sides. I will pick up a new set just to rule that out. I waxed the bed when I got it and have only ran maybe 20 bd ft of white oak through it so far. Love the planer overall. No snipe compared to the porter Cable I had before.

[Julie Moriarty]

You mentioned that you flipped the blades. Did you check to make sure they had not already been used on that side. Dull blades will cause this issue.

And Dewalt knives dull very quickly.

[ChrisA Edwards]

It slows down right when I feed the board in and then goes back to normal speed so it doesn't have to do with length of the board. As far as depth of cut I am only moving the wheel maybe 1/8 of a turn. I will try it with some narrow stock tonight and see what happens. Pretty sure the blades had only been used on one side since the guy I bought it from didn't even know they had two sides. I will pick up a new set just to rule that out. I waxed the bed when I got it and have only ran maybe 20 bd ft of white oak through it so far. Love the planer overall. No snipe compared to the porter Cable I had before.

This is believe is the guy who I sold my 735 to. He is giving away the original planer head which has two sets of unused blades. I put the Byrd Helix head on it before I even plugged it in.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?269762-DW735-Planer-original-head-Free

[Randy Heinemann]

David,

I always notice a difference in cutter sound as the front edge of the board makes contact with the knives. This sound is very brief and I have never thought of it as a slow-down; merely the board making first contact with the knives. How long in duration is the "slow-down". Did the planer do this right from the start or after some use. If after some use, it is possible that the side of the knives being used after rotation wasn't new and had already been used. Other than the change in sound right at the start of the cut I've never noticed anything that even resembles a slow-down.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have cleaned both indeed and outfeed rollers with mineral spirits several times.As James Morgan mentioned above - mineral spirits has oil in it & will actually make matters worse.
Anything not specially made for treating rubber platens is going to either make matters worse or damage the rubber rollers.

Even then - the current crop of rubber platen cleaners has been gelded by the EPA to the point that most are ineffective - or - in the case of Fedron (all time best for restoring typewriter & dot matrix printer platens) the owner of the company died and took the formula to the grave with him..

Anyhow - having said that - solvents will remove the oils from the rubber - alcohol(s) will also remove the oil and moisture and eventually cause the rubber to dry out and crack.
There's all sorts of suggestions around on how to restore the rubber rollers - everything from pure ammonia to glycerin to plain soap and water.

Personally - I'd try a rubber restorer - something made specifically to add oils back to the rubber and restore it to it's normal dull, sticky state.