Blades for DeWalt DW735 Planer

[Mike Henderson]

It seems that some people have problems with blade life on the DwWalt DW735 planer and others do not. Unfortunately, it looks like I fall on the short blade life side. In doing some research, I found some third party blades at Infinity Cutting Tools http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1111

Does anyone have any experience with these blades? Do they last longer than the stock Dewalt blades?

And finally, are there any reports that DeWalt might have shipped a bunch of DW735's with bad blades? I read the previous thread on the DW735 blades and most people seem not to have problems with the blades. Maybe I just got some bad blades and if I buy a new DeWalt set everything will be fine.

Comments? Recommendations?

Mike

[Matt Tawes]

I've got the Dw735 and yes the sharpness of the knives are short-lived in my opinion. I go through probably 2 sets or more a year. Infinity gets pretty high marks on the blades and bits so I would be inclined to give them a try. They're one of very few that have come out with a set to fit the Dewalt.

[Kelly Anderson]

I should probally change mine more often (usually when it starts to scream) but yeah it does seem pretty short to me, although I do not have any other planer experience to compare it with. I buy blades at the Grizzly show in the summer, they are usually about $15.00 cheaper then.

[Brian Triplett]

I agree with the others, the blade life is way to short. It almost seems they can handle about two medium size projects and they are done. this may be typical with other planers, I don't know sense this was my first. I have heard some good things about Infinity and it might be worth a try. The only thing that comes to mind is that at least the Dewalt blades are double sized for about the same price seen on Infinity.

[Mike Henderson]

Thanks everyone for the feedback - it's nice to know that I'm not the only one with the problem. I'm going to order the Infinity blades and will report back on how they do. It'll be a while, though, given the ordering time and when the present set of blades give out in my 735.

Mike

[Arthur Wood]

It seems that some people have problems with blade life on the DwWalt DW735 planer and others do not. Unfortunately, it looks like I fall on the short blade life side. In doing some research, I found some third party blades at Infinity Cutting Tools http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1111

Does anyone have any experience with these blades? Do they last longer than the stock Dewalt blades?

And finally, are there any reports that DeWalt might have shipped a bunch of DW735's with bad blades? I read the previous thread on the DW735 blades and most people seem not to have problems with the blades. Maybe I just got some bad blades and if I buy a new DeWalt set everything will be fine.

Comments? Recommendations?

Mike

Are these infinity blades considered disposable too? (i.e. can't be re-sharpened?)

[Byron Trantham]

I own the 735 and haven't too concerned about wear. They seem to be holding up quite well. That said, I own the Tormek sharpening system and the planer/jointer knife jig. According to Tomek these "disposable" blades can be sharpened at least once. I intend to find out. My brother-in-law has a set just about ready to be replaced. I am going to use his to see how well this works. I will post the results.

[Curtis Farrance]

hartville tool also sells 3 double sided hss blades for ~$50 (the same as lowe's charges for DW brand.
http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/10743 they (HT's blades) last longer but don't meet catalog hype.

[Mike Henderson]

An update - I sent an e-mail to DeWalt about the short life of the blades and they're going to send me a new set of blades.

Arthur - Infinity says something about re-sharpening on their web page, but I don't remember exactly what they said. Check the web page reference that I gave at the start of this thread.

Mike

[Jesse Espe]

Edited due to my inability to RTFP (read the full post) at 2:00 am.

Redirected: Has anybody purchased the DW735 knives from Infinity?

Jesse

[Hoa Dinh]

Infinity's website mentions "honing." This applies to all disposable blades, not just DW.

You can hone the blades to lengthen their lives but I seriously doubt if you can really re-sharpen (grind and hone) them because thanks to the index pins of the cutter head, (1) you can't grind away too much material and (2) the amount of grinding has to be exactly the same from each blades.

BTW, Scott Whiting, who owns a sharpening service in Arizona, has a Ridgid planer, which, like most if not all current benchtop planers, used double-edged disposable blades. Scott does not re-sharpen his planer blades. He said that if he could mount the DW blades on the grinder at all, he would charge $55 to sharpen a set of DW blades, more than the cost of a new set.

I don't have direct experience with Infinity blades. But for my Delta 22-560, I'm still using the Jesada blades I bought at 50% just before Jesada went under. They do hold an edge better than the stock Delta blade. I don't think it is 4 times better, however.

[David Rose]

Hoa, didn't mention, but Scott's prices are excellent too. If he says it isn't practical (to have them sharpened), I believe him. Also, the fact that he did not suggest another brand, distresses me. I keep hoping for another maker to come out with a good set for the Delta. Scott will likely know when they do. He leans toward Amana. They are the best I've used on my OLD Delta jointer. I got them from Scott, btw.

David


Infinity's website mentions "honing." This applies to all disposable blades, not just DW.

You can hone the blades to lengthen their lives but I seriously doubt if you can really re-sharpen (grind and hone) them because thanks to the index pins of the cutter head, (1) you can't grind away too much material and (2) the amount of grinding has to be exactly the same from each blades.

BTW, Scott Whiting, who owns a sharpening service in Arizona, has a Ridgid planer, which, like most if not all current benchtop planers, used double-edged disposable blades. Scott does not re-sharpen his planer blades. He said that if he could mount the DW blades on the grinder at all, he would charge $55 to sharpen a set of DW blades, more than the cost of a new set.

I don't have direct experience with Infinity blades. But for my Delta 22-560, I'm still using the Jesada blades I bought at 50% just before Jesada went under. They do hold an edge better than the stock Delta blade. I don't think it is 4 times better, however.

[James Suzda]

It’s ironic that this “re-sharpen DeWalt 735 knives” thread would come along now. I just put in a set of blades in my 735 that I had re-sharpened at my local sharpening shop.
When I picked them up yesterday and looked closely at them the knives seemed to be honed to a finer finish than the factory blades. At least they looked nice and a lot better than when I took them to the shop.
The real test came when I ran a 8” x 8’ red oak board through several times and it came out nice and smooth. But, wouldn’t you know it, I must have hit something on the first pass and put a very small ‘notch’ in the knives that now shows as a small ridge. :mad:
Anyway, when I measured the thickness, the board was .2000 undersize which makes no sense because it you took metal off the knives, the board should be thicker! (The 3/4" stop must have been a tad off.)
Anyway, I guess the test of time will be a good indication of how good the re-sharpen job is/was.
BTW, the cost was $25 to re-sharpen the knives. They charged me only $15 to sharpen my 12” WoodMaster planer blades. I don’t know if it is allowed on the forum, but I can post their website if anyone else is interested in using their service. This is no back garage setup. This company sharpens all the cutter knives for the local papermills.
Jim

[Jim Becker]

The problem with resharpening double sided knives that index into the machine is that you need to get them EXACT in order to have them match on re-insertion. Over grind one edge and you're cooked. That's why they are generally called "disposable"...

[jonathan snyder]

Hi folks,

I just called the guys at Infinity. They saw that the knives were just redesigned and are not available yet. Should be available by the end of this month. They say they have a huge order list already and if you want some, get your name on the list ASAP.

The guy I spoke with says the quality of the steel and the tempering process is much better than OEM knives and they will definitely out last and out perform the OEM Knives. Infinity recomends honning the face not the bevel with a fine diamond stone when they start to dull.

There is is from the horse's mouth so to speak!

Has anyone ordered a set?

Jonathan

[Dan Invan]

I ordered a set, they told me the same thing, end of the month. I intend to hone the set that came with my planer originally, just to see if it is possible to squeeze a bit more juice out of them.

As an aside, I got the DW735 to replace my old DW733. The non-resharpenable blades on the 735 are a definite retrograde step from the 733. What a dumb idea! The 733 blades are super easy to register dead even with the great little magnetic system used there. If I had paid enough attention before I bought and learned that the 735 blades were non sharpenable, I never would have bought the 735.

What business does Dewalt think they are in - it's like they are selling us cheap razors and then killing us for the razor blades, or selling us a printer and then screwing us for the rest of our life on the ink refills!

The 735 dust collection is great though, man it just blasts the shavings down the throat of my anemic little 1 hp system connected up to way to much 4" pipe.

Disgruntled Dan.

[Jason Crees]

I believe I read on another forum that Freud is trying to come out with some blades for the DW735.

[Pete Brown]

I'm surprised folks here can get the DW knives to last as long as they do.

Even with taking light cuts on clean tiger maple (soft maple, but figured), I usually knick them the first or second pass and end up with ridges (which seem to multiply quickly) on all my boards.

The stock knives are crap. In my cabinet project I have gone through a few hundred dollars worth, even using the worn ones for the rough board work.

I wrote a long review up on Amazon last summer:



The DW735 is a great planer, giving you a very smooth finish even on somewhat difficult woods.

Replacing knives is an easy task, especially since you can do everything with the one tool Dewalt provides. Of course, it had better be easy, as you'll be replacing knives a lot.

My only complaint with the DW735 (and it's a big one) is that the knives dull and knick faster than any knives on any tool I have ever used. They are reversable, so you get two uses out of each knife. However, they cannot be sharpened, and as of this writing, there are no third-party manufacturers of replacement knives (or helical cutterheads). You can see the price of knives at Amazon.

I would give the DW735 5 stars if I could get harder wearing knives from a third party or from Dewalt themselves. Note that the carbide knives Dewalt makes for their other planer are not available for the DW735.

When using the 735 to finish a large amount of soft tiger maple, I found I would get a smooth finish on the first board (with fresh knives), a little less on the second, and by the third 6' long, 8" wide board, I would almost certainly have a knick in a blade (which causes a line down the board) and some dulling (which causes tearout). All it takes to knick the blades is a little resin in the wood, a small knot, or just a hard spot. They really are delicate, even when taking extremely light cuts, as I did during finishing.

If you intend to plane a lot of hardwood or figured wood, I'd really think about whether or not the cost of knives is going to be a factor.

I went through three sets of knives roughing 500 board feet of soft maple. I would switch the knives when they got so dull it overworked the motor. Given the surface of the rough boards, I expected to go through a set, but I didn't expect to go through six fresh edges, especially given that the 500 board feet only came down to about 65 6' long boards (they were thick). I have finish planed maybe 20 board feet from that stack, and have already gone through another set (both sides) due to knicks and dulling. I could understand this if I was planing some exotic hardwood, but this is soft tiger maple!

By way of contrast, my original set of knives in my ridgid jointer (also used on all this soft maple) are still going strong, with no knicks and barely any tearout.

I can't help but think Dewalt pulled a Gilette here and planned on a strong revenue stream from expensive and short-lived replacement knives.

One other important point: this planer is HEAVY. If you plan to store it under a cabinet and pull it out to use it, or lug it to job sites, you may want to consider a lighter planer.

If you pick up this planer, I strongly suggest the infeed and outfeed tables. If you plan to plane anyplace where you don't want piles of shavings 10' in front of the planer, I also suggest you either hook up to a cyclone like I did, or get the garbage can topper. The blower does a good job of evacuating chips from the planer, but it really shoots them far.


(BTW, at the time, I didn't know about Infinity. I'll definitely try them out)

Pete

[Mike Henderson]

I absolutely agree with Pete Brown that the stock blades for this planer are crap - expensive crap. If I had it to do ever, I would have bought a 15 inch floor model instead of the 735.

If anyone finds a better set of blades for the 735, please let the rest of us know.

Mike

[Jesse Thornton]

Yep, I've had the same experience. Clean wood, not a spec of dirt or a knot in sight, and the quality of cut starts to deteriorate immediately! Within the first few boards little ridges start to appear. To Dewalt's credit, they did send me a new set of knives within a week of my disgruntled email without any hassle, but unfortunately, they aren't performing any better. A glaring flaw in an otherwise good machine. I'll definately be looking into other sources for my next set as well.

[Matt Day]

Are735 blades the same as 734 blades?

[jonathan snyder]

I just ordered a set of infinity Knives. I let folks know haw they work out.

Jonathan

[Jesse Thornton]

Please do, that'd be much appreciated.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I spoke to Dewalt yesterday (again), and they told me that they are coming out with a new blade in a week or so. It will still be "disposable", but is supposed to be harder and to last longer.
I swapped email with Infinity yesterday, too. According to them, their blades are also disposable, but are harder than the stock Dewalt. He said they they would last 4 times longer. He also said that you could hone but not sharpen them.
Grant
Ottawa

[Grant Wilkinson]

Disregard my previous message. I wrote to DW to ask how I would be able to tell that I was getting the new and improve knives when I buy them. The reply said that he didn't know who I spoke to, but there are no plans at dewalt to make a harder blade.
I'll be interested to hear how anyone makes out with the infinity blades
grant

[Eddie Darby]

It would seem to me that the Market is ready for a blade that will fit the DW-735, last longer and will have extra material to allow a few sharpenings! Perhaps a little thicker too.

If you remove the exact same amount of material from each blade, then indexing will be the same, and the only adjustments will be in the pre-set depth stops or if you upgraded to a digital read-out, then a re-zeroing.

I should think that a Jet or Tormek plane/jointer blade holder should be able to do the job of removing a set amount of metal from each blade. Perhaps a little modification is required, with the addition of indexing pins to the blade holder.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

The Infinity knives are due to ship next Monday (29th), I should know soon after receiving them. I started with a new edge on my factory DeWalt knives and that are shot (tearing) after 3 light passes on 250 board feet of rough sawn pine. This phase of the project is now on hold until late next week when two sets of Infinity knives make their way to the Pacific Northwest.

[Ed Costello]

I got my 735 planer back from the shop a few days ago. I brought it in because I thought it had a feed problem. The first and only project I put through it was 10" wide quarter sawn white oak. About 25 feet of it. By the end of the project it would barely feed. The certified Dewalt tech could not figure out the problem. He checked all the service bulletins and was stumped. Called the factory, they had no clue..... and then he finally checked the blades. He said the blades were shot! It never crossed my mind that the blades could be dull after one small project. He flipped them and it cuts perfectly now. I think I will have a few sets on hand from now on. I look forward to hear from anyone who uses the aftermarket blades that are available. Please let us know

[jonathan snyder]

Hi Folks,

I just received my knives from Infinity today. I have not installed them yet, as the OEM knives in there now have a bit of life left. I'll let ya all know how they perform after I use them a bit.

Jonathan

[Jimmy Cox]

How come no one has posted their feedback as to what they think about these infinity blades?

[Caleb Larru]

Hi Folks,

I just received my knives from Infinity today. I have not installed them yet, as the OEM knives in there now have a bit of life left. I'll let ya all know how they perform after I use them a bit.

Jonathan

I don't know but I am glad to know I am not the only one beating my head against the wall with this planner. I anxiously await a response.

[glenn bradley]

An update - I sent an e-mail to DeWalt about the short life of the blades and they're going to send me a new set of blades.

Ah, good. Beat me to it. I was going to post that it seems they have done this for others.

[Mike Henderson]

Since I started this thread, I'll post my experience. I received a new set of blades from DeWalt and installed them in my 735 and they have lasted quite a bit longer than the original blades that were in it. I just changed out that set of blades about a week ago. I don't use the planer that much, since I don't do that much stock preparation, but I'm satisfied with the new DeWalt blades. I'll have to see what service I get on this third set of blades.

I'd still like to hear anyone's experience with the Infinity blades.

Mike

[Jimmy Cox]

I don't know but I am glad to know I am not the only one beating my head against the wall with this planner. I anxiously await a response.I did a search on the infinity blades and there's a set for a little under $200 that are supposed to last 10X longer than OEM replacements. I am almost tempted to buy them but can't bring myself to spend that much for blades.

[Mike Henderson]

I did a search on the infinity blades and there's a set for a little under $200 that are supposed to last 10X longer than OEM replacements. I am almost tempted to buy them but can't bring myself to spend that much for blades.
That set has a (only one) carbide edge and Infinity sells it for $250. They also have a HSS set for about $80.

You can see both sets here (http://www.infinitytools.com/DeWalt-735-Replacement-Knives/products/1345/).

Mike

[Jimmy Cox]

Well Mike how did the infinity blades work for you?

[Mike Henderson]

Well Mike how did the infinity blades work for you?
I didn't buy the Infinity blades. I got a new set from DeWalt free and those blades have lasted much longer than the initial set I had in the planer.

Read post #33 in this thread.

Mike

[dan sherman]

Mike the ones that didn't last long, where they original?

I have always wondered if the planer actually shipped with hss knives. I inherited my 735, so I don't have the box it came in, but the owners manual says nothing about hss. The only place I have ever seen "hss" was on the replacement blade package.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike the ones that didn't last long, where they original?

I have always wondered if the planer actually shipped with hss knives. I inherited my 735, so I don't have the box it came in, but the owners manual says nothing about hss. The only place I have ever seen "hss" was on the replacement blade package.
I bought the planer used but the guy I bought it from had hardly used it (he upgraded to a floor model), so I'm pretty sure the knives were original. I talked with him about the knives and he claimed he had not reversed the blades.

I never thought they might not be HSS - I just figured DeWalt might have had a bad batch of blades and that's why they were so easy in giving a free replacement.

I really trust the guy I bought the planer from so I don't think he was fibbing. And he had no real reason to misrepresent the situation to me.

Mike