New Dewalt DW735 with defective blades what would you do

[Brian Runau]

Got this from Acme Tool. Love the planer, my 2nd one. Big nick in one of the blades and it is leaving lines and there are also smaller lines on 1st set of two boards I planed. Acme offered return replace/credit of complete unit. I asked blades only, no response, two days. Contacted dewalt, no response 3 days. What would you do?

[Myk Rian]

Turn the blades around to the other edge. Order a new set. You'll need them anyway.

[Brian Runau]

Turn the blades around to the other edge. Order a new set. You'll need them anyway.

I've got spare blades. Just feel like it should have good blades. I hate giving In, but how much aggravation is it worth. Thanks for being a voice of reason. Brian

[Doug Garson]

Two or three days isn't that long, many companies are struggling with staff shortages. I'd give them a few more days and follow up with them. If no satisfaction from Acme I'd follow Myk's advice and unless their pricing was significantly better than the competition, I'd buy them elsewhere. Ditto for Dewalt, assuming aftermarket blades are available and of comparable quality.

[Randy Heinemann]

It is frustrating these days as companies struggle with staffing and supply shortages and unreliability in shipping. I would push Acme. They are the ones that sold you the planer and I think they are responsible. However, I guess it would depend on how long ago you bought the planer from Acme. If it's within the warranty period but awhile since you bought the planer, then maybe Dewalt is the correct remedy. At any rate, if it's important to get the blades replaced and Acme has offered to replace the planer, take it. It might be that Acme is only able to replace the whole purchased item, not just parts.

[Brian Tymchak]

Sounds like they shipped you someone elses return or a demo machine. Was the box factory sealed?

[Steve Eure]

I would call Dewalt's CS to resolve this. They generally are good at responding. I recently had a DW618 router come in with only one collet. It fell apart in my hands when I took it out of the box. Call DW and they are sending me two new collets. Staff shortages and supply issues have screwed many companies lately. It's difficult to find anyone to work They all feel like they are worth $75+ an hour. Just look at the fast food industry. They can't hire burger flippers for less than $18 an hour anymore. Give DW another call. I'm sure they will fix it for you.

[Rob Sack]

This is why I no longer buy anything Dewalt. Lousy customer service. I am still waiting for backordered bearings from 8 years ago.

[Mel Fulks]

I would tell Dewalt to start using only genuine M-2 or T-1 steel. The there are only 2 or 3 GOOD disposable products and none of them are
made of good steel. Some other company might already have some made for your planer.

[Mike Goetzke]

Go to a BigBox store and buy another set and return the defective ones.

[Doug Garson]

Go to a BigBox store and buy another set and return the defective ones.
Am I hearing you correctly? Sounds like you are suggesting he commit fraud.

[Frederick Skelly]

Sounds like they shipped you someone elses return or a demo machine. Was the box factory sealed?

+1. Exactly what I was thinking.

And I wouldnt give up yet. Press Acme.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Another vote for pushing Acme Tool. I've been happily buying from them for 10+ years but lately their customer service has been heading downhill---fast. Slow and somewhat unresponsive. Might want to start working up the chain of command to get results.

[derek labian]

Acme is a good company IMHO. I suspect Acme may be in a tough position. I.e. if the machine is "defective", the may take back the entire machine, and return to manufacturer. They may also just have internal processes that, for them, keep it simple, just replace anything defective or return for a credit. Your issue with the blades are strait forward, however, processes are writing in "general" and having their CS start advising you what to do on a product or shipping you spare parts may lead to liability etc. As sad as it is, I'd probably just send them back the unit and get a replacement.

[Ron Selzer]

send the complete unit back for replacement OR buy a set of knives out of pocket and go on
ACME probably is set up to replace EXACTLY WHAT YOU BOUGHT NO MORE NO LESS

[Curt Harms]

send the complete unit back for replacement OR buy a set of knives out of pocket and go on
ACME probably is set up to replace EXACTLY WHAT YOU BOUGHT NO MORE NO LESS

You're probably correct but it seems like a choice of shipping a heavy ( 80 or 90 lbs?) package or a couple lbs. worth of blades. I know which makes better sense to me.

[Myles Moran]

You're probably correct but it seems like a choice of shipping a heavy ( 80 or 90 lbs?) package or a couple lbs. worth of blades. I know which makes better sense to me.

You're right but corporate policy doesn't always make sense. I would see if you can't get ahold of DeWalt for this issue (or a DeWalt repair center maybe), because there has to be someone there that can resolve it logically instead of spending all that money on shipping to fix a single (user replaceable) part.

[Ronald Blue]

Have you went to Dewalt's online site? Sometimes you get better/quicker response this way. I have a new Otterbox Defender case and the holster came apart. Not broken but it looks as though it never properly was joined/welded. I filled out a warranty request and 3 days later the new complete case and holster arrived. Dewalt may be similar. Just a thought.

[Clifford McGuire]

Two or three days isn't that long, many companies are struggling with staff shortages. I'd give them a few more days and follow up with them. If no satisfaction from Acme I'd follow Myk's advice and unless their pricing was significantly better than the competition, I'd buy them elsewhere. Ditto for Dewalt, assuming aftermarket blades are available and of comparable quality.

This. I ordered a Makita Tracksaw kit from Acme early this summer. One of the tracks arrived damaged. It took a month to get resolved. Several times I had to send Acme a reminder email. They send me a replacement sacrificial strip, even though that was never the issue.

When I asked for a shipping label to send the whole thing (saw, batteries, charger, two tracks) back, they finally sent a replacement track.

Very frustrating, but I took it as a sign of the times. I figured they were understaffed.

[Rick Potter]

In DeWalt's defense, I bought a 735 at a show back when there were tool shows, and it came with an extra pack of blades. After getting it home I found no extra blades in the box. Called DeWalt, and they sent me a set of blades, with no problem at all.

Another time, I bought a floor sample router which was missing a collet for $40 at Lowes. When I called DeWalt, and told them the story, and wanting to buy the collet, they sent me one free.

These incidents were a while back, but I still appreciate their generosity.

PS: If you buy new blades, how about getting the carbide ones from Infinity, and doing a report on them. :)

PPS: A year or more later, I found those missing blades, right in that safe spot I put them in. Oops.

[Brian Runau]

It took some time, but I convinced Dewalt to send me a set of blades no charge. Have a tracking no.. it was a new machine with bad blades. Brian