Dw735

[Gene Shabinaw]

Question regarding the DW735 noise level and value. Have an opportunity to buy a 10 year old 735 that has never been used. Know the seller and affirmed it has never been used. Offered to me for $200. Concern is where I live, homes close together and be working out of my garage. A beginning wood worker , but progressing rapidly with equipment and projects. Considering buying and upgrade blade to Shelix. Figure cost wise ok considering initial price of planer. With upgrade is it much quieter?

[ChrisA Edwards]

At that price, I'd buy it myself as a back up.

I bought one new and installed a Byrd Shellix head in it before I even passed wood through it, fairly easy to do and there's a few good YouTube videos that walk you through the entire process.

They are loud, but it's not like you are planing for hours on end, no worse that someone using a lawn mower or leaf blower.

Yes the Shellix head does make it quieter, but it's still reasonably loud.

[glenn bradley]

Adding an insert head to a lunchbox planer does seem like a lot of money in a portable (yeah right, try lifting one :)) tool BUT, folks have been running DW735's trouble free for longer than the one you're looking at has sat in a box. Getting it for a bargain price certainly makes adding the spiral head make more sense. It does have a universal motor and a scream that can put many shop vacs and routers to shame. They are an intermittent use machine. that is, you don't run one for half an hour straight as a rule.

You would not be the first to build some sort of foam-lined shroud or channel for a loud tool to set under in order to pacify the neighbors. I assume the rubber rollers and belt don't go bad from just setting. Maybe someone with experience there can chime in.

[David Utterback]

Mine is at least that old and holding up well with intermittent use. Put the Shelix head on it and it is quieter but still one of the loudest machines in my shop along with routers. The price offered to you would be a big bargain. My Shelix with OEM diameter was around $400 and easy to install even though I had to remove all cutters. Good luck with it.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Great deal! Buy it, use it with the stock blades and see how you like it. It’s loud, but quieter with a Byrd head? I guess a bit but from what I’ve read it makes the motor work a little harder. Purchased mine new last December and am happy with the results I get with the stock blades planing a lot of domestic and some tropical hardwoods. I always use a LN #4 smoother to put the finishing touches on the more gnarly grained pieces. I did add an Igaging digital depth gauge to it.

[Mike Henderson]

That's a great deal. I have a 735 about that old and it works fine. I agree - start off using the regular blades rather than spend the money to change the head.

They're loud - no doubt about it - but you don't use it continuously every time you go into the shop. If you get complaints from the neighbors, sell it and buy a unit with an induction motor - they're quieter.

Mike

[Andrew Hughes]

I thought it was the fan motor that makes the 735 loud. Not the knives so much.

[Jim Becker]

I thought it was the fan motor that makes the 735 loud. Not the knives so much.

The universal motor on the DW735 is particularly loud...it's been that way since it was introduced and has always been called out on reviews, too. The spiral head may cut down on some of the noise, but as noted...it's mostly the motor. Nature of the beast. All of the lunch-box planers are loud, but the DW735 is "extra special". But it's also about the best one of the format and no question it's a STEAL for $200 in new or even like-new condition

[Ryan Yeaglin]

BUY IT NOW! that's a $600 planer. The Byrd heads are nice from a longevity stand point, but their cut isn't as good as straight knives which the factory ones don't last very long. Infinity makes both HHS and carbide replacements for the 734 and 735, the carbide being pretty expensive, but the price equal the amount of standard blades they replace in longevity, so it's a wash other than less blade changes. If you don't like it, you can always resell the planer for much more than you bought it for.

[Rich Aldrich]

If you have a good dust collector Like a cyclone, remove the blower. It will make it quieter. It also give you more power if you decide to install a shelix head.

I had a DW735 until a few months ago. I found out about removing the blower after I replace the planer with a Powermatic 209HH.

[Mark Gibney]

Buy that machine. Mine is a little over 10 years old now, and it's a great planer. $200 is a great price.
I use the Infinity carbide knives, and they have lasted a long long time.

I think every lunchbox planer will be noisy, no way around that.

[Mark Rainey]

Gene, I agree with all the above. $200 is a great price. I would buy it. It is exciting to "progress rapidly" with equipment and projects, but go slow and buy what you need for a project. The Dewalt 735 gives me a lot. Using a simple planer sled ( flat board and hot melt glue ) I can face joint a 12 inch board, and thickness plane it. Do be aware of your neighbors and the noise. I had a buddy who got into trouble because his screeching contractor table saw aggravated a neighbor. Run it intermittently and ask your neighbors if it is causing problems. If it is, sell it.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I had the opportunity to pick up a new in “damaged” box 735 from the Black & Decker factory near Charlotte about 5 years back for $290 and thought I got a steal.

As others have said, it’s a no brainer at that price. I would run it with the stock knives for a bit before swapping the cutterhead. I’ve ran both stock knives as well as a Shelix head on a 735 and to be honest, the motor struggles with the spiral head and I like (sharp) straight knives better unless you’re planing a bunch of highly figured wood.

[Randy Heinemann]

For that price on a new/used 735, buy it. It is noisy, but maybe you could insulate your shop to cut the noise level down and plane at times of the day that wouldn't bother anyone. I have owned a 735 for over 10 years and I have never had a problem with it. The stock blades aren't the longest lasting blade but they do the job well and I found a jig to hone them so I get more than one use out of each edge. The noise is reduce a little by taking thinner cuts each pass. The planing takes longer but the result is better (for me at least).

[Rege Sullivan]

Nice find! For comparison... my 735 is about as noisy as my 6HP Craftsman 33 gallon oilless compressor a few feet outside my shop. So sure, it's loud but I don't think your neighbors will complain with just occasional use.

[Frank Pratt]

The good thing about a noisy 735 is that it's mostly higher frequency noise, which is easier to block than the lower frequency noise.

[Scott Bernstein]

I bought my 735 about 5 years ago. I had heard it was loud, but loud is not a strong-enough word. It absolutely screams...extremely loud. Recommend wearing both the small foam earplugs plus ear muffs when using it. They do work great, though. I now have a combo jointer-planer machine with insert cutting head and induction motor. In comparison to the DeWalt, I can barely tell it's running.

[Randy Heinemann]

I bought my 735 about 5 years ago. I had heard it was loud, but loud is not a strong-enough word. It absolutely screams...extremely loud. Recommend wearing both the small foam earplugs plus ear muffs when using it. They do work great, though. I now have a combo jointer-planer machine with insert cutting head and induction motor. In comparison to the DeWalt, I can barely tell it's running.

For the OP, to get mine to do that I would need to take the maximum depth of cut; maybe about 1/8". I would rarely do that. I've found the planer really isn't designed to do that regularly. I don't believe that any table top planers comparable to the 735 are designed to regularly take that much of a bite. A 1/16" or less cut is much better with these planers and the noise is less.

[Todd Trebuna]

Mines a little older than that. I would guess it’s had a few hundred board feet of hard wood and at least as much pine and dimensional lumber ran through it. I don’t notice any change in performance. I’ve changed the knives a couple of times. It has been a real workhorse for me.

[Zac wingert]

I too use orange ear plugs in my ear and ear muffs on top. It’s unbearably loud. Does removing the blower really quiet it down much? Is there a consensus on this? A Byrd cutterhead is out of the question for me. I’d much rather find a used real planer (non lunchbox) than spend that much on a cutterhead. Although it’s proving hard to find anything around here.