Why get DW735 planer?

[Drew Sanderson]

The DeWalt DW735 seems to be a default choice planer and putting in the byrd head is nice upgrade. Thirteen inch width is plenty for me. Is there something else I should consider? Is it "enough"? Am I missing out having something "beefier". My prior planer was a woodmaster 18". It wasn't great in that I found the feed to be poor. I used my buddy's crapsman lunchbox when I had molding knives installed on the woodmaster. The little thing had better feed than the woodmaster. Thanks!

[Charles Lent]

It will depend a lot on what you want to plane. If you buy a lot of rough sawn lumber and plane it to dimension, a larger, more heavy duty planer would be a better choice. It will dimension lumber faster as it can remove more material per pass. If you build small projects and want to occasionally plane a board to a thinner dimension, or plane a few rough sawn boards for a relatively small project, the 735 is ideal for this because it is a 2 speed planer and the slower speed leaves a very smooth finish and almost no snipe. I know several woodworkers who have both a large heavy duty planer and a DeWalt 735 for doing their finish planning. If you are a hobby woodworker, and can afford only one planer, the 735 will likely be your best choice. I've owned 3 planers, but now have a 735. I don't do big projects or plane a lot of rough sawn wood any more, so I'm very happy using only my 735 for all of my planning needs. My shop is now significantly downsized from what it once was and I don't have the room for more than one planer now. It is mounted to a Miter Saw / Planer Stand and the stand sits in the corner of my shop. When I need to use it I wheel it outside in the driveway and connect the accessory hose and barrel cover to a 60 gallon plastic barrel.

Charley

[Drew Sanderson]

Charley,
Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I really appreciate it :)
-Drew

[Peter Kuhlman]

Does the Dewalt 735 need a powered cyclone to work properly? My older Delta 2-speed doesn’t extract the chips fast enough without being hooked to a cyclone to eliminate denting of the wood. I have moved to a much smaller indoor shop and would love to not need to figure out how to mount my cyclone and run power for it.

[Steve Demuth]

Does the Dewalt 735 need a powered cyclone to work properly? My older Delta 2-speed doesn’t extract the chips fast enough without being hooked to a cyclone to eliminate denting of the wood. I have moved to a much smaller indoor shop and would love to not need to figure out how to mount my cyclone and run power for it.
I run my 735 with a shopvac and Oneida cyclone on a 5 gal pail. Works well, but not perfectly- there is a small blowback of chips through the planer and into the workspace, particularly when the collection pail nears full. Not a problem for me, but wouldn't suit someone who likes a dust-free workspace. I have never seen any denting of the wood.

[Jim Andrew]

Drew, you didn't really explain what your needs are. I too had a woodmaster 18" planer, and sold it and bought a Grizzly G0453px. I have a 3hp cyclone system, and can plane a number of boards at a time, as long as I empty my 50 gallon drum often enough. All my lumber is rough sawn, as I have a small bandmill and saw my own lumber. The G0453 is a good size for me, of course always bigger is better. The smaller planer is pretty reasonable, of course Grizzly is now pushing a 20"planer with the motor on top, have not used one, but looks like something that works.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I have had the 735 for several years and for my hobby needs, it does a good job. I really don't understand the idea of spending as much again to put a helix head into it, but many do. For me, if I were to decide that I needed a helix head, I would buy a machine that has one in it. The 735 can bog down very quickly with a helix head. You need to take very shallow cuts.Dewalt voids the warranty if they determine that any burn out was caused by the installation of a helix head, but for that reason.
That said, I get very good finishes off the 3 straight blades, and buying a better quality blade and honing them from time to time gets me a reasonably blade life.
Chip extraction is very good, stock. I have mine connected to a 4" adaptor to my dust collector. I removed the impeller from the Dewalt. It quiets it down a lot and with the dust collector on it, I have no chip build up in the machine at all.

[Jim Chan]

What did you guys not like about the woodmaster? I have the 18" one as well and like it a lot. The versatility is useful for saving space, and I like the simplicity of the machine. I've not had feed issues with the rubber rollers. There is a serrated option for the input roller if your doing a lot of rough lumber, but I since I havent had issues, never bothered trying it. I chainsaw mill my own lumber too. I do have the spiral head on mine, and that made a big difference in finish quality.

The main drawback I've had with the woodmaster is a bit of snipe, but I managed to mostly adjust it out by shimming the tables upwards slightly. I recall when I did that close 10 years ago I almost removed the snipe entirely for a while. (Cant remember if I messed with feed pressure) Today there is a little more than before, but I never bothered to tune it because it comes out in two finishing passes of a hand plane, which I would do anyway.

The other minor problem I've had is that it occasionally bogs down, I think because I have the belts on too loose ( motor keeps spinning), but I did that on purpose to make changing the head easier. I'm using power link belts instead of the v-belts. Nice thing about the infinite feed adjustment is that if I hear the head starting to slow down, I just turn the speed down a little for the head to regain momentum, and continue on.

I never used a 735, it's certainly very popular. I can't really see how a lunchbox planer would be an upgrade over the woodmaster though - one has a 220v 5hp motor, the other runs on 15 amp 110 - I would be very surprised if a lunchbox could compete on feed rate and depth of cut per pass.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I've not had a 735 but I've been using a 733 for several years and it's good for what it is. I had one of those Woodmaster 18" planers and it was a bad design, in my opinion. The rollers were much too far from the head, to leave room in case you wanted to set it up as a gang rip or a molder head or a drum sander. So instead of a good planer you got a crummy planer, and I bet it didn't do a great job at the other things it 'did' either.
Zach

[Drew Sanderson]

Drew, you didn't really explain what your needs are.

I want to go from rough to finish on domestics. I need versatility. I have a two car garage I like to use as a garage so the thought of storing the planer without needing its own floor square footage is ideal.

[Doug Dawson]

The DeWalt DW735 seems to be a default choice planer Is there something else I should consider? Is it "enough"? Am I missing out having something "beefier".

I got what I believe was the very first lunchbox planer thirty years ago. I lived in an apartment at the time (mainly a hand tool user.) The planer was a Ryobi (back when they were semi-decent,) and it was the only thing that would drown out my next-door neighbor's salsa music. Better than a router! I imagine the DeWalt should be similar. Is this what you need?

[Phillip Mitchell]

I'm not totally sure what the question or debate of this thread topic is, but the fact is that the DW735 is hands down the best lunchbox "portable" planer available.

I own one and use it as my only planer, but have also used other 735s, both with the 3 knife head and a Shelix. I never take more than a 1/32" cut per pass (sometimes taking even shallower cuts for various reasons), so it's certainly slower to dimension lumber compared to a planer with a bigger motor. However, because of this the finish quality is fantastic with sharp knives. I experience no snipe at all with my 735. I work with tons of rough lumber and routinely max out the width on my 735. I could benefit greatly from a big honking planer, but have spatial constraints and haven't yet absolutely needed to spend a couple thousand on a used, heavy duty 18" + planer, thought that time seems to be approaching.

The helical cutterhead is handy for some situations, but I actually prefer straight knives for overall surface quality off the machine. It does max out the capability of the 735 in terms of what the motor can handle. Once the carbide cutters start to get dull (and stay partially dull for a long time unless you rotate them at first signs of loosing sharpness, which would be a bit wasteful and expensive) it put a much heavier load on the motor than straight knives and in reality, I think most folks end up running with partially dull cutters for more time overall than with straight knives.

My ideal would be to keep my 735 and add something like a Yates 180, Oliver 399/299, or equivalent and use the DW735 for finish planing when appropriate or for quick runs of smaller stock, though I think the right big planers can be setup to achieve results equivalent to finish surface from the 735 so I may find it redundant to keep. I also have little motivation to sell it to try and recoup any initial investment because I was in a position to buy a brand new, warrantied, damaged box model for less than $300 several years back, which only makes me feel fuzzier about it.

[glenn bradley]

I want to go from rough to finish on domestics. I need versatility. I have a two car garage I like to use as a garage so the thought of storing the planer without needing its own floor square footage is ideal.

Good data. Normally when someone is going to buy a $600 lunchbox and throw another $400 to $700 at it in a spiral head I would suggest a floor planer. Your statement that you want to get close to a finished surface would direct you to a "finish" planer like a lunchbox. Floor planers will get you close to a finished surface depending on what your surface prep needs are. Nothing really goes from machine to finish in my shop so factor that in.

I have run DW734 (knives), DW735 (knives) and 15" (spiral) floor machines. The lunchbox machines do a great job but, I use a lot of figured wood which they do not do so well on, ergo the large spiral machine. On the upside, your spiral head will pay for itself in not replacing knives pretty quickly.

[Dan Friedrichs]

The 735 is really nice if you value a near-finished quality surface and small footprint. It's a heavy machine and has a really, really nice fit-and-finish and "feel" to it - it was obviously a (successful) attempt to build the very best-quality 13" planer possible. It sounds ideal for your situation.

[Drew Sanderson]

Good data. Normally when someone is going to buy a $600 lunchbox and throw another $400 to $700 at it in a spiral head I would suggest a floor planer.

Which floor planer would you point me to? I agree it seems a like a ton of money to put into a portable planer.



Nothing really goes from machine to finish in my shop

Me either, but people love to gush over that surface on youtube reviews of the 735 with the byrd head :)

[Andrew Hughes]

I had the 735 and a pm 15hh . The Dewalt will sit nicely on the top of the pm. I bought carbide tipped knifes from infinity tools for the Dewalt and I can say with reservations it left a better surface then the pm.
Insert heads take much more power to scrap out wood due to the bevel down insert. And they do leave a odd surface.
A bevel up knife take much less power leaves a excellent flat board and you can take a bigger cut. Plus the knives are indexed why anyone would want to dismiss that is beyond me.
Is this some kinds YouTube sickness teaching blindly for viewers.

[David Utterback]

I recently upgraded to the OEM diameter Byrd head in my 735. It does not seem to bog down noticeably although I rarely adjust the thickness by more than half a turn. I work mostly with cherry but have run a lot of walnut and some QSWO. It seems to have less tear out but does leave a visually noticeable corrugated surface. The reduced noise level is important to me.

The straight knives are reversible and can also be adjusted side to side to help correct small nicks in the blades. Others have noted that blade quality is not the same as formerly available. I operated mine with straight knives for at least 10 years so machine durability seems to be good.

BTW, the classified section has one listed for $200 but no pictures. It is located in Delaware. Good luck

[Randy Heinemann]

I've owned my 735 for about 10 years. While it's true that, for several years, while working, I didn't use it a lot, I've used it much more over the past 5 years. The biggest complaints people have about it are that the factory knives don't last long enough and you can't take larger bites with it. Both are, to some degree, true. However, because I'm not a production woodworker, it really hasn't mattered that much over the years I've owned it.

I generally take about 1/32" cut on each pass starting out with rough lumber for one of several hardwood lumber places I have access to. Mostly the starting thickness is from 13/16" to 15/16" (on some occasions a full inch). So, it does take a number of passes to get it to 3/4". If I need thinner stock, I try to resaw the board close enough that several passes will get me to the desired thickness.

I have not upgraded to the spiral cutter head made for the 735. It is a great upgrade but, given my planer's 10-year age, it doesn't seem like the most economical move at this point. I am now using the Deuhlen jig for rehoming the knives, but don't have enough experience with it to say it really extends the life of factors knives. However, If I can even get a second use of both edges, I would be saving half the cost of new knives, making the cost of replacement knives reasonable.

I would agree with others that, if you are running a large amount of hardwood through the planer because you are a prolific hobbyist or make furntiure for a living, you should consider a heavier duty planer. For the woodworker who builds projects in his/her spare time, though, the 735 is a great planer. Upgrading to the helical heads on a new planer would likely be worth it. I have a helical head jointer and the results are great. I still doubt you could easily take much more than a 1/32" off on each pass and it would still take you much longer to plane the needed wood. (However, the overall cost of the 735 plus helical head is probably about half of a 15" planer with a helical head so money wise you are probably still ahead.)

[Drew Sanderson]

This thread is fantastic. I am really enjoying everyone's contribution.

[Charles Lent]

Does the Dewalt 735 need a powered cyclone to work properly? My older Delta 2-speed doesn’t extract the chips fast enough without being hooked to a cyclone to eliminate denting of the wood. I have moved to a much smaller indoor shop and would love to not need to figure out how to mount my cyclone and run power for it.

The internal blower in the 735 does a good job of removing the chips from the planer, as long as there is no back pressure in the exhaust line. I use the hose and fabric barrel cover that was available as an option from DeWalt and when installed on a 60 gallon plastic barrel The 735 stays clean and the chips go into the barrel, as long as the draw string keeps the cover on the barrel. When it blows off and I don't realize it soon enough I have to clean the escaping chips out of my neighbor's swimming pool. I can fill that 60 gallon barrel in a little over an hour of planning. I would never try using a smaller barrel or 5 gallon bucket. It would likely fill in just 1 or two passes of a long board. You would need to be dumping it constantly. Planers make a lot of curly chips that don't stack well in the collection container. Around here, it's easy to find a plastic or steel barrel for just a few dollars. You may need to cut one end out of it, but then just keep it upside down behind your shop until planning time. DeWalt no longer sells this hose/barrel cover option for the 735 planer, but Black & Decker has what looks to be an identical hose / barrel cover except for the color that you might look into. https://www.lowes.com/pd/BLACK-DECKER-Leaf-Collection-System/50251977 Since DeWalt and Black & Decker are really the same company, it's quite likely that this will fit the 735, but I haven't tried it. If you do, I and probably others would be very interested in your test results. Since both the planer and the hose / barrel cover can both be found in Lowes, it should be easy to try the hose on the display model 735 to see how well it fits.

Charley

[Jeff Leimberger]

Drew,

while you can certainly store the 735 on top of or below a counter to open floor space, it is heavy for a portable planer. Let's just say while mine is "portable", I do think twice about moving it. Of course, when I was 40 it was more portable and the floor models aren't portable at any age! :)

[Steve Reich]

I've had this planer (bought on Craigslist) for about 4 years and have found it very reliable and have successfully planed all kinds of stock and species through it of varying lengths and widths. I guess I would call it heavy-duty hobbyist. I get very little (if any at all) snipe.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the interior parts are made of relatively cheap plastic that degrades over time. They can also crack. Last week I discovered that it was becoming increasingly difficult to raise the depth setting; I could barely turn the wheel that sets the depth of cut. I opened it up to find it loaded with wood chips and dust, so much that it had become embedded in the chain and sprocket. Now I knew why I could barely turn the wheel crank. After vacuuming it out and running all kinds of tests for several hours, I discovered that the fan housing set (a piece of plastic that fits together) over the small impeller had become worn along its seam, creating a sizable gap for dust to escape. Once I discovered this as the problem, I repaired it with a small piece of weather stripping and now it runs just fine. I discovered that others have experienced the same problem with that piece or with the dust shroud. So just beware that this is not an uncommon problem to encounter.

[Martin Siebert]

I have had a 735 for about 4 years now. I have the stand and wings and a Wixey DRO. I did not opt for the Byrd Shelix head. I would add this: the 735 is suitable for all but constant day in day out use. For the home wood worker that builds things and needs a good planer that will set thickness and leave a very smooth finish it is the best, especially for the money. They are tough. I used mine just about daily and when I got my sawmill a year ago I had to go with a bigger heavier duty machine.
I did not opt for the Shelix because the 735 does not require a dial indicator and a few hours to set the blades. I also felt that the straight blades on the 735 do a very nice job of planing a board with very minimal sanding. You can get some tear out though, especially with figured wood.
Apparently there were different grades of HSS used in the manufacture of the blades. I was told. or I read somewhere, that the "better" blades had a little diamond engraved on the face of the better blades. You can see the diamond while the blades are in the package. It is really nice that the blades are available at many hardware/building supply stores.
There is nothing quiet about the 735...you must wear hearing protection to run it. I think the chip blower makes more noise than the actual machine if there is no wood being planed. I never had trouble with mine expelling chips. The only issue I ever had was when I ran it in the cold the feed rollers got hard and didn't want to feed. Buy with confidence, as far as planing a board I guarantee you cannot tell the difference between an average board planed on my 735 and one done on my 20" Powermatic with a helical head.

[Andrew More]

Going to buck the trend a bit and suggest the DW734 over the 735. The 735 is slightly nicer, but when you look at what you're getting, I'm not convinced it's worth the extra money. Currently Home Depot lists the 734 at $450, and the 735 at $600, which is a bit misleading, because you're going to want the folding tables for another $50. So there is effectively a $200 difference between the two.

So what do you get for your $200?

* 1/2" extra width
* a blower to extract chips
* two speeds, with the "slow" speed matching the DW734's feed rate.

If you've got a dust collector, or you just sweep up after it, the blower is not useful. The faster speed is not going to be useful unless you're feeding a lot of stock all the time. For hobbyest work, the "slow" speed is plenty fast enough.

Both planers deliver excellent surface finishes, and make similar cuts. The DW734 will handle slight shorter stock, since it's rollers are closer together.

So for me, the DW735 is definitely the better planer, but I don't think it's worth the extra $200. YMMV

[Charles Lent]

I want to go from rough to finish on domestics. I need versatility. I have a two car garage I like to use as a garage so the thought of storing the planer without needing its own floor square footage is ideal.

Drew,

If you buy a DeWalt Miter Saw / Planer Stand for the 735, you can stand the whole thing, with the planer attached, up on end like a hand truck and it only takes a couple of sq ft of shop floor space. When you want to use it, wheel it into position like you would a hand truck, lay the handle down on the floor, and then lift the top portion with the planer on it up to working height. Gas cylinders in the stand do most of the lifting. The stand will lock in two different height positions. I have the 735 in and out feed tables, and use them, but the stand has rollers that can be extended and raised to help support longer work and they work together well.

When you have finished using the planer, the in and out feed rollers can be moved back into their storage positions and the in and out feed tables of the 735 can be folded, then you lift the stand slightly and press a lever to unlock the stand. Then you lower the stand and 735 back down into it's folded position. All that's left is to lift the handle end of the stand with the 735 still attached and wheel it back into it's storage position in your shop. The stand and 735 make a great combination, but the attachment of the 735 to the stand requires that you make an adapter because the stand has T slot rails that were designed more for attaching a miter saw and the foot print of the 735 is larger. My adapter is a piece of 3/4 cabinet birch ply with mounting holes to match the base of the 735 and mounting holes to match the rail position of the stand. Add a few bolts and the planer is mounted to the stand. I roll my 735 on my stand through a narrow doorway, so I always remove the hand wheel from the side of the 735 for transit. It attaches with one Allen head cap screw and the T wrench supplied with the 735 fits it, so this step is easy. I use one of the Velcro cable tie straps to attach the removed hand wheel to the upper part of the stand to keep everything together and replace the cap screw in the end of the hand wheel shaft so it doesn't get lost.

Here is a link to the stand that I'm using. They are available from many sources for about the same price. It isn't a cheap solution, but it is well worth the money.

https://www.maxtool.com/dewalt-32-1-2-in-x-60-in-metal-rolling-miter-saw-stand?google=1&CAWELAID=230005740000000719&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=19685619371&CATCI=pla-107150403731&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7YblBRDFARIsAKkK-dLXo6GZDORTSCRoXtC7aA9QFjp_LNd2IlyktG-4IDhlocEFa6pF4zkaAu4qEALw_wcB

Charley

[Phillip Mitchell]

I use the 2 different speeds on my 735 all the time and would now find it really lacking if I only had the slow speed. I use the slow speed on the last pass or 2 and usually the faster speed for everything else. Just my opinion.

[Michelle Rich]

If you are going to purchase a tabletop planer, check out Cutech..carbide cutters and costs in the realm of the 735..sometimes less on sale and free ship..the 735 is an absolute screamer, the cutech is a bit quieter

[Dan Friedrichs]

Going to buck the trend a bit and suggest the DW734 over the 735.

Both are nice machines, but IMHO, the 735 is the better value-per-dollar. I never used the folding tables on my 735, and never felt that they would be useful in any way.

More importantly, the 734 requires that you flip down a lever to manually lock the head after every height adjustment. That gets tedious in a hurry. The 735 has no such requirement - just turn the height adjustment and go.

[Andrew More]

I never used the folding tables on my 735, and never felt that they would be useful in any way.

Those tables help avoid snipe (http://www.newwoodworker.com/plnrsuprt.html). It's on page 7 of the DW735 manual as well. It's also important for support if you're planing longer pieces. If you're just doing small projects, or don't care about snipe then the outfeed tables probably aren't a necessity.

[Steve Reich]

When I bought mine used, it came with the folding tables. Once I properly set them, I've had no snipe to speak of (and they help with long boards).

[Dan Friedrichs]

I think the snipe issue is very user- and machine-dependent. I rarely had any snipe with mine, even without the external tables. YMMV.

[Andrew More]

BTW, here's a review from Jay Bates, who's owned the DW735 for a while. He mentions the snipe problems, bad blades, and concludes it's too much for what it does: plane wood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQvaoHN39Qg

[Andrew Hughes]

The 735 I had didn’t snipe unless my board wasn’t fairly flat. Then it was a off and on.
I did notice after sharpening the carbide tip knives several times I really didn’t snipe much at all.
Good planer someday I’ll get another. Lately my projects have been small.

[johnny means]

I didn't see anyone answer the question about missing out not having something beefier. In short, yes. The Dewalt is a really good portable planer, but it is just that. Any decent stationary machine is going to deliver better performance with less effort and fuss. Milling larger boards is going to be problematic with any portable, even the best one.

[Josh Kocher]

I have a 735... it replaced a Delta lunchbox.

It's okay, DC is okay, probably slightly better than most other lunchbox planers... certainly heavier, beefier. It performs better with the extension tables in my experience. But it's still a lunchbox planer... Light passes, slow stock removal... As others have said, I wouldn't spend on a helix head... maybe if you were working with lots of figured wood... but even then...

If you are getting to that, might as well get something bigger and better...

[Randy Heinemann]

While the planer does have an internal fan that pushes the chips out through the dust collector port, I personally have never used it without connection to a dust collector. I think there isn't really any good way to handle the volume of chips and dust a planer puts out without using a dust collector of some sort. I have a HEPA cyclone but I would assume that, because of the fan exhaust, any dust collector would be sufficient.

[Tom Bender]

Still lumbering along with a 733. The resharpenable blades work out for me. Have a spare set that I send out for sharpening but plan to sharpen myself.

[Larry Frank]

I have the 735 and a 15" 3hp Jet. I end up using the 735 more of the time. I use th 15" Jet when I have heavy planning to do. However, for light passes it leaves marks from the serrated infeed rollers.

When I want to get thinner wood and exact thickness, the 735 is great.

[Josh Belleville]

Does the Dewalt 735 need a powered cyclone to work properly? My older Delta 2-speed doesn’t extract the chips fast enough without being hooked to a cyclone to eliminate denting of the wood. I have moved to a much smaller indoor shop and would love to not need to figure out how to mount my cyclone and run power for it.


Dewalt says to not run it with any suction. They say it may cause damage.

I am a hobbyist. I run mine into 5 micron zippered dust bag.

[Larry Frank]

I have run mine for years hooked to a dust collector and no damage or problems.

[Gilbert Vega]

I had the DW735 for over 5 years and for the money, it can't be beat. I sold it after I bought the PM209HH that I bought after we built a new house and left all the built-ins and book shelves in the study for me to do. If you need to plane rough sawn boards in a hurry you can't do better than the 20" Powermatic.

[Dan Jansen]

I spent years peeling boards down 1/32” to 1/16” at a time with my lunchbox planer. I recently upgraded to a 15” G0453 with a Byrd head and don’t miss that noisy, slow, screaming box. The Grizzly recommends a max cut of 1/8” which is automatically twice as fast as the lunchbox. I saw a Powermatic 160 at an auction recently that had a tag saying max cut of a 1/2”. That’s really getting it done!

[Martin Siebert]

One thing I think is pretty important to consider when reading all these "reviews" is that most folks don't ever say how much they actually use the planer. I believe this might have some bearing on how owners and users rate the machine. For example, some have said they wish the blades were adjustable up and down instead of just side to side{so they could be sharpened???} If someone wishes for that they either love to piddle setting things up or they are just not using it enough to dull the blades very quickly. I ran a lot of board feet thru mine and found indexable blades to be great. Sharpen the blades??? They are $34.00 a set, why bother??? Having this feature kept me running mine a lot longer than I probably should have given what I did to it. It also kept me from spending money on a Shelix head and doubling what I had in the planer, because if I had to play with dial indicating blades every time they needed replaced I would have had to get the Shelix or a different machine.
Also consider snipe. Although I have to say the 735 is a very minimal sniping machine, it wasn't zero. Long heavy boards, especially rough cut sawmill lumber would do a little sniping and I had the tables. 5 foot or less in length and I couldn't get mine to snipe.
I don't use mine much anymore, having bought a 20" PM with a Shelix head. But I wonder why I spent the money sometimes when I consider the high number of boards I plane that will fit in the 735.

[Andrew Hughes]

Everyone with a 735 planer still using straight knives here a very simple jig to sharpen knives. If you have a deep nick it’s probably not going to help.
The knives come with a 45 degree bevel so cut 3 slots @ 45 so you can hit all bevels at once.
Stock knives are thin so rip some shims to make up the extra space.
Infinitys carbide are 1/8 no shims needed.
I used a cheap smith diamond plate.

[Robert Cherry]

Dewalt says to not run it with any suction. They say it may cause damage.

I am a hobbyist. I run mine into 5 micron zippered dust bag.

That is exactly what DeWalt tech service told me as well. They recommended the black & decker hose/bag kit for the top of a trash can, which I did purchase and can confirm fits. I found that the top filter on was more screening than filter and would quickly fill my basement shop with fine dust. It does a good job catching the chips however and would be a great job site or outdoor solution.

I ended up cutting a plywood top for a trash can, installing a Rockler cyclone kit in that and using an old filter bag from a DC and that works for me. The blower in the 735 is quite powerful.

[Steve Reich]

Josh: Where does Dewalt make this recommendation? The manual explains that the machine comes with two dust ejection ports, one for connecting to a four-inch dust collector hose. So, where do they say that suction can cause damage?

[Robert Cherry]

Josh: Where does Dewalt make this recommendation? The manual explains that the machine comes with two dust ejection ports, one for connecting to a four-inch dust collector hose. So, where do they say that suction can cause damage?
Steve, I don’t recall that the manual says it, but that is exactly what DeWalt tech support told me as well- they do not recommend DC with this machine because you can over speed the internal blower, or if you are using a DC with less CFM capability than the internal blower you can get chips backed up in the planer. They recommend the B&D bag and trash can set-up. I’ve read that many folks use their 735 hooked up to their DC without problems, but for me the trash can works well and I feel better following the guidance from tech support.

[Doug Dawson]

Steve, I don’t recall that the manual says it, but that is exactly what DeWalt tech support told me as well- they do not recommend DC with this machine because you can over speed the internal blower, or if you are using a DC with less CFM capability than the internal blower you can get chips backed up in the planer.

If that's true then maybe you should surgically remove the internal blower, and it might quiet the machine down a bit.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Steve, I don’t recall that the manual says it, but that is exactly what DeWalt tech support told me as well- they do not recommend DC with this machine because you can over speed the internal blower, or if you are using a DC with less CFM capability than the internal blower you can get chips backed up in the planer. They recommend the B&D bag and trash can set-up. I’ve read that many folks use their 735 hooked up to their DC without problems, but for me the trash can works well and I feel better following the guidance from tech support.

I'm dubious. The fan is on the same motor shaft as the cutterhead and feedrollers. So hook your monster sucker DC up with the planer off - does the motor spin? Of course not. Nothing to worry about.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I removed the impeller on mine long ago, on the advice of a local Dewalt tech. The other advantage was that the scream level went way down. Bonus! The tech told me that a dust collector and the impeller could fight each other and I could get chips backing up as a result. I must admit that I did not see any issues like that before I removed the impeller. I removed it primarily to quiet this beast down.

[Doug Dawson]

I'm dubious. The fan is on the same motor shaft as the cutterhead and feedrollers. So hook your monster sucker DC up with the planer off - does the motor spin? Of course not. Nothing to worry about.

Methinks you'd need more than a 5hp ClearVue to run a planer off the blower fan at any speed beyond mouse tickling. :^)

[William A Johnston]

I had a DW735 for many years before upgrading to a 20" G1033X. I thought about changing out the head to a Byrd but it seemed to be as much as the planer would cost new.

Although I must say if you are cramped up and have little space why not. The DW735 is super loud but it's definitely a work horse and served me well and I had no issues with it. I did end up adding the extension tables and the roller stand a couple years before I made the switch.

I don't think anyone can go wrong with the DW735.

Bill

[Steve Reich]

Thanks for the feedback on your communiques with Dewalt. I may experiment around and remove the impeller and see its impact on performance. I do get chips that back out the front of the machine when I plane, so maybe I'm experiencing the impeller and DC fighting each other? I game for anything that quiets this thing down too.

[Grant Wilkinson]

@Steve: That was the only issue that I had from time to time, Steve. I would get chips out the front of the machine, particularly if I was planing something quite thick so that the head and rollers were inches from the bed. I don't get that now at all. Since I see no downside and since it's a lot quieter, I figure that it's a win. (It's still loud, though.)

[Pete Staehling]

Going to buck the trend a bit and suggest the DW734 over the 735. The 735 is slightly nicer, but when you look at what you're getting, I'm not convinced it's worth the extra money. Currently Home Depot lists the 734 at $450, and the 735 at $600, which is a bit misleading, because you're going to want the folding tables for another $50. So there is effectively a $200 difference between the two.

So what do you get for your $200?

* 1/2" extra width
* a blower to extract chips
* two speeds, with the "slow" speed matching the DW734's feed rate.

If you've got a dust collector, or you just sweep up after it, the blower is not useful. The faster speed is not going to be useful unless you're feeding a lot of stock all the time. For hobbyest work, the "slow" speed is plenty fast enough.

Both planers deliver excellent surface finishes, and make similar cuts. The DW734 will handle slight shorter stock, since it's rollers are closer together.

So for me, the DW735 is definitely the better planer, but I don't think it's worth the extra $200. YMMV
HMMM. That makes me wonder if the 734 might actually be a better fit for me. It will be connected to DC and I work with short pieces of stock most almost exclusively, since my work pieces are short and I generally break stock down to length before milling.

Since most of my work is luthier work I have gotten by without a planer thus far. Most of my stock is jointed and resawn into thicknesses to thin for the planer (under 1/8") and run through the thickness sander. I do other work where a planer would be nice but not enough that I have sprung for one yet. I had been considering a 735, but this makes me wonder about a 734 given that for me the ability to run shorter stock through is a big plus.

[michael langman]

I bought a 734 planer used for 250.00 and it had not been used much, but the posts got rusty and I had to spend some time cleaning them up.
I was able to plane the tops of my workbench after glue up. 3 1/4" thick x 11" wide x 7 feet long. sections, and the planer did it without a hiccup.I did use good outer support on both sides. I hand planed the first side flat and then planed the second sides. Then planed the other side. It has been a very good planer for my hobby use and feel it is a better valus then the 735 price wise.

[Andrew More]

FWIW, ToolBoxBuzz also found the DW734 to be the most accurate of the lunchbox style planers, even better than the DW735.

https://www.toolboxbuzz.com/head-to-head/best-benchtop-thickness-planers-head-to-head/

They gave the final win to the DW735, but compared things like power draw, which the DW735 had the most because it was also running a fan. As such I disagree with their final standings.

[Julie Moriarty]

I owned the DW735X for about 10 months before getting rid of it. I had owned a Delta 22-540 for about 20 years that I was pretty happy with until repairs were costing more than replacement.

The 735 put out some really smooth results. It was almost a glass finish. But once I challenged it with wide boards, they brought the 735 to its knees. Sipo was the first challenge. I could only take about 1/50" passes. Next came pecky Bolivian walnut and I was down to 1/100" passes.

Then head on the 735 started dropping while planing. I had to jam the wheel to prevent that from happening. And then the overload started tripping. I sent it back to Dewalt for repairs. They lost it and sent me a new one. I took advantage of a new-in-the-box unit and sold it.

When running the 735, I had ear pillows in and covered that with noise cancelling headphones to drown out the noise. A dB meter measured 125dB under load. That thing is a screamer! I had a whole thread here about my experiences. I ended up selling the 735 and bought a Hammer A3-31.

[Charles Lent]

"The 735 put out some really smooth results. It was almost a glass finish. But once I challenged it with wide boards, they brought the 735 to its knees. Sipo was the first challenge. I could only take about 1/50" passes. Next came pecky Bolivian walnut and I was down to 1/100" passes."

Did you try replacing the dull blades when this happened, or just continue to push the planer to do the work with the dull blades? When I notice that my 735 can't do the job the first thing that I try is replacing the blades. Some exotic woods will dull blades very quickly.

Charley

[Larry Frank]

I think you could buy a bunch of the 735s for the price of a A3-31.

I have had my 735 for almost 10 years with no problems. Loud...yes but with good hearing protection not a problem. I use mine only for light work and a 15" 3 hp for heavy work.

[Grant Wilkinson]

My experience is quite different than Julie's. I run 12" boards through my 735 quite often and can take 1/16" off on each pass without tripping the breaker. I do hone the blades from time to time, especially with hard maple, but that's about it. The Hammer is a great machine, but at somewhere around $5000 in Canada, it's way out of my snack bracket.

[Jon Nuckles]

@Steve: That was the only issue that I had from time to time, Steve. I would get chips out the front of the machine, particularly if I was planing something quite thick so that the head and rollers were inches from the bed. I don't get that now at all. Since I see no downside and since it's a lot quieter, I figure that it's a win. (It's still loud, though.)

This is interesting. No chips out the front and quieter? How hard is it to remove the impeller? Is it permanent, or can it be put back if I ever decide to sell my 735?

[Steve Reich]

This is interesting. No chips out the front and quieter? How hard is it to remove the impeller? Is it permanent, or can it be put back if I ever decide to sell my 735?

Jon: It's pretty easy to do (I just had to do it to repair the fan housing--which I referenced above). Here's a very easy-to-follow video that explains it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=473&v=dXW0R4zZHck

[Julie Moriarty]

Did you try replacing the dull blades when this happened, or just continue to push the planer to do the work with the dull blades? When I notice that my 735 can't do the job the first thing that I try is replacing the blades. Some exotic woods will dull blades very quickly.

Charley
The blades were practically new. If they were dull, it happened in only a few passes.

[Mel Fulks]

It's that ultra slow feed , quick death to the knives.

[Jon Nuckles]

Jon: It's pretty easy to do (I just had to do it to repair the fan housing--which I referenced above). Here's a very easy-to-follow video that explains it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=473&v=dXW0R4zZHck

Thanks, Steve!

[Gilbert Vega]

Wasn't there some recall or tech bulletin from Dewalt concerning slower feed rates being related to the chain / gears problems. I talked to their service rep about it and they sent me parts to repair the problem? This maybe over 10 years or more. I remember waxing the table, cleaning the feed roller with alcohol and working the lift mechanism and problem disappeared. I may still have parts somewhere in one of many spare parts boxes.

[Allan Speers]

I didn't see anyone answer the question about missing out not having something beefier. In short, yes. The Dewalt is a really good portable planer, but it is just that. Any decent stationary machine is going to deliver better performance with less effort and fuss. Milling larger boards is going to be problematic with any portable, even the best one.

I think the biggest issue is that the lunchbox planers can't feed long, heavy boards well. I used to have the Makita 212NB. I was a GREAT little machine. Easy to carry and it gave a dead-flat finish. However, I came into a huge stash of 10' - 12' rough-cut lumber and wanted to skip plane it all so asto be able to judge the grain. There was no way to use the Makita without constantly pushing the boards through, and it was a real workout.

I was going to "upgrade" to a 735 with a helical head, but everyone here (wisely) warned me against this, so I found a nice used Powermatic PM100 12". OMG, what a difference! It took me a looong time to get it set "just right," but once I did, the finish quality was equal to the Makita, and even less snipe. (The Makita doesn't typically snipe, but it will sometimes with short boards or lousy technique.) I don't know if modern "hobbyist" priced stationary planers can be quite as good, but they probably come pretty close, if adjusted just right.

I am still using regular blades on the PM100, though I am now considering a shelix upgrade.
------------

Two important thoughts about folks that aren't 100% thrilled with helical heads:

1: They require more power?
The only type you should ever use is TRUE shelix. That is, where the indivdiual heads are skewed relative to the feed direction. That minimizes initial cut area, and thus does not bog down the motor much. There are plenty of cheaper heads out there which are only straight-oriented Helix, and my guess is that THOSE are typically the cause of "I need more power" complaints.
Certainly with a low-powered unit like the DW735, you'd want to be sure and get the real thing, from Shelix.

2: Wavy finish?
Why this doesn't get mentioned more is a mystery: While I have yet to personally own a Shelix head, I have read numerous accounts of folks that were getting wavy finishes, who fixed this problem by simply correctly torquing-down the heads. - As in actually buying a good torque wrench & then following the manufacturer's spec.
I have a feeling most users are not doing this.

Also, supposedly you can get fine dust under the heads and that can cause mis-alignment.
Or something like that, it's been many years since I did the research......

[Josh Belleville]

Josh: Where does Dewalt make this recommendation? The manual explains that the machine comes with two dust ejection ports, one for connecting to a four-inch dust collector hose. So, where do they say that suction can cause damage?

Sorry for the delayed response.


In the operational steps, right after fig 8. Page 7 in my manual.

[Randy Heinemann]

Drew,

What did you end up doing concerning a planer? Given the variation of feedback, you may very well be confused about what to do. Regardless of my positive experiences with the Dewalt 735, I would opt for a larger helical head planer like a Jet, Powermatic, or other name brand if the cost wasn't so high and it would be easier to get down to my basement shop. Whether the 735 meets your needs really depends on what wood you want to plane and whether you are putting it to constant use or using it only when you begin a project (maybe doing a couple of larger projects a year). If your use is constant, I would, fore sure think about a floor standing planer in the 15" or 20" variety; a lot more money but, in the long run, probably worth it for heavy duty use. As for me, I most likely would buy a second 735 if my 10-year old 735 stopped working, possibly considering upgrading the head to Shelix after purchase. For my old 735, the cost is too high for a tool that is now over 10 years old.

[Marc Jeske]

Asking here about sanding effort /time after running through Dewalt on low speed w standard knives.

I'm considering buying this... ? OR ? a great condition old Parks.

I would only be running like 200 bf /month, mostly 1x6.

Knotty Pine, Eastern Cedar, some Oak basic boards for my Caskets.

Subjective I know but can you guys give me some idea on how nice the surface is after the machine ?

I guess I'm concerned about any ripple and the labor time to correct it.

My finish sanding is done w a Bosch 5" RO hand sander.

Start and finish w 120 for my low line Sanded bare wood, and finish w 150 for my Stained/ Lacquered ones.

Marc

[lowell holmes]

I kept my DW 734 box and put the planer on a wooden stand. I keep the planer in my Galveston County Texas workshop.
I put the box on the planer when it is idle.
No rust has appeared.

[Randy Heinemann]

I have always been happy with the finish after the 735. Any ridges from nicks in the knives are usually easily removed although there can be an occasional larger ridge. Depends on how often you change knife edges and whether you ha e found an acceptable way to hone the 735 knives to get more than one cycle from a set.

However, you are probably running more board feet through this planer than it meant to do. If your 200 board feet per month is going to be a consistent long-term need, I would recommend a heavier duty planer. I have never seen the 735 as anything but what it is; a great planer for the woodworking “hobbyist” or a woodworker who makes mostly small items- a Woodworker with a lower planer demand.

[Allan Speers]

Asking here about sanding effort /time after running through Dewalt on low speed w standard knives.

I'm considering buying this... ? OR ? a great condition old Parks.....


When I was researching quality, small planers, I found a lot of negatives concerning the Parks. Besides not giving a great surface, they have rather narrow heads, and most (maybe all) have babet bearings.

I bought a used PM 100. LOVE it. The General 130 is also lovely, though hard to find.

If you want a fairly inexpensive planer that can handle large boards & lots of BF, the Belsaw is theoretically not a bad choice. - But it will never give you the same finish as a Dewalt 735.

And if you go portable, For even better finish consider the Makita 2012 NB.
It only has 1 speed, but that's a LOVELY machine.

[Marc Jeske]

Looks like I may have to accept reality, though emotionally difficult.

I am an Old Arn lover... but it seems in this case I may be better off w the Dewalt or makita new, rather than the Parks.

I HATE buying chinese stuff, and own virtually none.

Even though I would love a 30" capacity machine cause it would open up the world of quicker production glued up 16 - 28" ( in my case), that's not in the budget yet.

So, I also use individual 1x6 for my low line units, and this sounds great for that.

Marc