DeWalt DW735 planer or other???

[Greg Muller]

I am in the market for a benchtop planer here in Missouri and I need expert advice:

To those of you who actually own (or used to own) a DeWalt 735 planer;
Is it worth the extra $150 - $250 you paid over other 2 blade/single speed planers???


To the rest of you;
You get one vote- if you had to buy a benchtop planer under $300 (or less if used), which would it be? I don't want to hear "what you heard", I want first-person opinions only!!!!!

If you know of a link to a RECENT 3rd party non-biased review, please post it!

(Lester, you don't get a vote. I know what you are selling. ;) )

Thanks!!!!!

[Dave Sweeney]

My very biased opinion is yes the DW735 is worth the extra $$. I've had mine for over 2 years and not a single complaint yet. There is a BUT though, in order for it to work flawlessly you'll need to buy the optional infeed/outfeed tables.

[Brad Townsend]

I've had the 735 for two years and like it, but in answer to your first question, no. If I had it to do over again, I would get a less expensive planer and put the money saved toward a drum sander. With fresh knives, the 735 may leave a marginally better finish than a $300 planer, but nothing that would save any significant amount of sanding anyway.

Or

Spend an extra $200-300 and get a heavy iron, induction motor 15" planer that will run much quieter and last a lifetime (or at least, the rest of MY lifetime:D).

Just my opinion.

[Bill White]

I have the old 733 and am well pleased with it. Don't know that I would spend the extra cash for the 755 for my needs.
Bill

[Bill White]

OOPS! Meant 735.
Bill

[frank shic]

one vote for the ridgid. a planer does not need to have a ton of bells and whistles to prepare stock properly.

[Ern Gumban]

I have a Craftsman 21759 (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921759000P?vName=Tools&keyword=21759&sLevel=0) so far, it has performed extremely well. It has all of the features I wanted at a reasonable price w/ sales and Craftsman Club. It goes out of stock often but they restock quickly. I got mine for about $428. My review is on the site.

Ern

[John Schumer]

I've had my 735 for a few years now, and it works great for me. I did add the feed tables to eliminate the snipe it had.

[Eric Parham]

I have used the 735 quite a bit at work. It is a nice machine but the knives do not last as long as I would like. I own the Makita and think it is a much better machine. The knives last longer and I seem to get less snipe with it. I can't say if the 735 is worth the extra money, but I don't think you can go wrong with it. If I had to do it again I would still get the Makita.

-eric

[Leland Berry]

As a newb, my vote may carry only 1/2 pts, but I vote for the 735. I've
owned the 734 and I like the ball-screw posts/no head lock feature of
the 735. I've worked everything from white oak to aromatic cedar with
no complaint- The exhaust blower is a little hefttier-It'll blow shavings
thru 3" pipe >20ft (horizontally) with NO external vac. Also, if I remember the height adjustment wheel on the 734 is smallel dia. mtd. atop the head and not quite as user-friendly as the side wheel on the 735.

[Leland Berry]

OOPs for the knives- I'm still on the original set of knives-the flip side.(they have two faces) after steady use for a year. Install is easy and
I think a new set is only around 50 bucks.

[Danny Thompson]

DW 734 also has 3 knives and was substantially cheaper than the 735. Working great for me, so far.

[John Clapp]

I'm brand new here (first post), but have been lurking around for a while learning all kinds of stuff from everyone. Thought I would add my 2 cents...

I have to add my vote for the DW735. Have only had it for a few months now, but have not had any problems at all and more importantly been very happy with the results. I ran some (slightly) figured wood thru it recently and got some tear-out on a couple of the boards. First I thought "Great... now I've got a LOT of sanding to do"... then I flipped it to "finishing" speed and it cleaned everything up perfectly! As Leland said, this bad boy will blow chips across the room. I had it hooked up to my DC and it inflated the bag by itself. I thought the DC was on until I turned off the planer and watched the bag deflate.

It is a little more expensive... but money well spent in my opinion.

[John Callahan]

A vote for the Makita 2012NB. I looked long and hard at the DW 735 and the Delta 22-580 before getting the Makita. Been pleased with mine- if I were buying again it would still be my first choice. Leaves a nice finish, minimal snipe, quieter than the Delta or DW (the noise from the 735 will raise the dead- it's over 100dB), more portable than either and by most accounts including mine, dead nuts reliable. Downside- 1" less capacity, you pay extra for the dust hood, and that hood has a bit of an oddball 3" outlet size. Woodstock International has 3 " hose. As for price, the 2012NB's price is all over the place but it is generally less than the DW735.

[John Callahan]

Forgot to mention no matter which planer you decide on, try to find it in a recon version. Factory warranty and you could save considerable $. Also fwiw, this months Tools of the Trade Online has a planer test.

[James Walling]

Just bought the new Rigid with three knifes. It has done an amazing job so far. With a lifetime warranty, I could not pass it up. I have been looking at the Delta and DW735 for a long time, but the Rigid being 100 and 200 dollars less respectively, lifetime warranty, and similar specs as the other two; I just could not rationalize the extra $200.

[glenn bradley]

You don't have to do without the 3 knives. The DW734 is a single speed 3 knife planer. The DW735 is worth the extra though. I've got a 734 and my dad has a 735.

[Rick Thom]

Just bought a lightly used one but would have considered factory recon for the right $. This is a heavy brute with lots of power for a bench-top model.

[Mike Henderson]

I have a 735 and am happy with it. I had an older Delta before the 735 and had problems with snipe. The first set of blades on the 735 didn't seem to last but the replacement set has done well so far.

Mike

[Danny Thompson]

I've seen many posts that suggest the finish produced by the slower feed rate isn't noticably different than the normal feed rate. But John's post above suggests otherwise. What do the rest of you 735 owners have to say on this subject?

[Greg Cole]

I can chime in about the Rigid lunchbox TP1300LS.... I've used the hell out of "mine" (can't really say it's mine when I didn't buy it :rolleyes: ) and no issues other than with figured stock which I can't blame on the planer. It does bog down when ya try to hog off anything close to 1/32 or so on a 12" wide twig though (hard maple at that) so once again I can't blame the tool for doing more that it was honestly made to do.
Then again I got my lunchbox for a sum total of $0.00, but had to help a coworker make an enclosure for his snake that had a habit of letting himself out of his cage. Worked out great as I was oh-so-close to buying the venerable DW 735.
I will upgrade to a larger one eventually, but this one will not be going anywhere, works great, takes up little space when not in use and blade changes are very simple.

Cheers,
Greg

[Grant Wilkinson]

As far as the slow speed is concerned, I don't see much difference. Both speeds produce good cuts.
I've used my 735 a lot. It does an excellent job, but if I had to do it again, I would go with a planer with blades that could be sharpened. In Canada, the blades for a 735 go for about $80, and on oak, I can go through a set in a long weekend.
Dewalt has been promising better blades for well over a year, and has not delivered.

[Rick Fouts]

I have a 735 but I got tired of it not feeding properly and the knife issues. The one I have is one of the newer models also. I got a deal on a Makita 2012B so I bought it and have never looked back. The DeWalt does a good job, but the knives just don't last.

[Dave Sweeney]

I've seen many posts that suggest the finish produced by the slower feed rate isn't noticably different than the normal feed rate. But John's post above suggests otherwise. What do the rest of you 735 owners have to say on this subject?

There definitely is a difference in the end results produced by the two speeds. At least in the types of wood I've run through mine.

[Pete Brown]

I have had hte 735 for a few years. I have dimensioned and surfaced a fair amount of rough maple and a little cherry in there.

Pros
- Excellent finish on new knives
- No-brainer to change knives (this is a huge deal as I absolutely had changing and aligning knives) as they are indexed
- No snipe (I have the infeed and outfeed tables)
- Works well when connected to a DC
- Plenty of power for a planer of its type
- Knives are carried locally
- 1" Wider than other lunchbox planers when I bought it. (this was important to match the resaw height on my bandsaw)

Cons
- Knives are very short-lived, and run $40 a set. I have replaced my knives more times than I can count. They nick and dull very easily. I have a set of infinity knives waiting for me to install them, but I don't have high hopes there, as the main issue is the thickness of the metal.
- Loud, even with good ear protection. It is the noisest thing in my shop
- Very heavy. Keep this on a roller stand as it definitely stretches the limit of what you might consider "portable"

If I had it to do over again, I'd probably pick the same planer. It has a smoother finish than most of the industrial ones and other than the knife issue, is a good planer.

Pete

[Todd Hyman]

Just bought the new Rigid with three knifes. It has done an amazing job so far. With a lifetime warranty, I could not pass it up. I have been looking at the Delta and DW735 for a long time, but the Rigid being 100 and 200 dollars less respectively, lifetime warranty, and similar specs as the other two; I just could not rationalize the extra $200.

Not trying to hijack this thread but James did you think about getting the older Rigid planer vs the newer one? How is the dust collection on the newer one? I would like to see what other users think about Rigid's new planer?

[Greg Muller]

Thanks to everyone for their opinions. I still haven't decided though...

Final round of queries...

I can get either:
Dewalt 735 for $400.00 (refurb)
Dewalt 734 for $300.00
Ridgid TP1300 for $250.00
Ryobi AP1300 for $200.00

Everyone tell me what you would choose ( you can say why if you must!)
:o

[George Broughton]

check out toolking.com, you can get a reconditioned guaranteed dewalt planer for under 400.00. I bought one on sale for 389 plus 7.99 shipping and no tax. definitely need the out and infeed tables.
george broughton

[George Broughton]

check out toolking.com, you can get a reconditioned guaranteed dewalt planer for under 400.00. I bought one on sale for 389 plus 7.99 shipping and no tax. definitely need the out and infeed tables.
george broughton
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/progress.gif http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/buttons/edit.gif (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=681180)

[John Durscher]

I replaced my older Ridgid planer with the Dewalt 735 a few months ago. I picked up the infeed/outfeed extensions for the 735 and am very happy with the results that I have gotten with the 735.

The Ridgid did a good job, but I really like the two speed feature of the Dewalt. I am still on my first set of blades and have done over 200 board feet of white oak.

John

[Liem Tran]

I just picked up a used dw735 locally for $250, in like new condition. :) Check your local ads, you'll be surprise at what you can find. I like it so much, I'm selling my Ridgid planer I bought new 1 1/2yr ago. The 735 is much louder compared to the ridgid, but the results are much better. Oh, and the 2 speeds does make a difference. I found mine on craigslist. Good luck with your purchase.

[Danny Thompson]

I would buy the best my budget would allow, except for the Ryobi. Even though I have a 734 and am happy with it, if a 735 had been available and it, along with the infeed and outfeed tables had fit in my budget, I would probably have bought it. If it did not fit into my budget, I wouldn't save up for it; I would buy the 734. Likewise for the Ridgid.

[Todd Hyman]

This is timely. Don't know how long this will last. It is available for local pickup as well but the price is $472.22 including tax.

[Ted Friesen]

I've had the DeWalt 735 for a couple of years now and love it. I would buy it again.

Here's the disclaimer:

I added the in-feed and out-feed tables (not sure that they made as much of difference with snipe as others claim)
I added a Bird Helical cutter head. Now that was worth the money!
Woodworking's only a hobby for me. Professionals may well have differing opinions.

Ted

[Robert Parent]

I had a Delta, benchtop two speed, forget the model number, a couple years back. It worked fine, but picked up a used RBI and sold the Delta shortly after. The RBI is 10x the machine of any benchtop I have ever used. If you are doing lots of rough-sawed lumber I would look beyond a benchtop. If your needs are not all that often you should be fine with most any bench model. However, I would not pay a couple hundred more for the Dewalt vs the others.

Robert