DeWalt 735 Blade Life

[Matt Lentzner]

The DeWalt 735 Planer just got a glowing review in FWW. I was all set to buy it until I read the bad reviews on Amazon about poor blade life. This scared me off. I know it's a well reviewed machine, but that issue wouldn't really be evident in a typical magazine review where they only run the machines on a few boards.

I know a lot of you guys out there have one. Can you let me know how many bf you can run before you have to change blades.

Thanks for your feedback,

Matt

[Don Bullock]

Matt, mine is doing just fine with the original blades so far. Before I bought mine I searched this forum and several others. There were some reports of excessive blade wear and some people said that they had run hundreds of b/f through with no problems. It is interesting how different the experiences seem to be. It seems that some people may abuse their planer by taking too much off with each pass or planing wood that has a lot of dirt or grit on it, but I can't say for sure that those are the problems.

I would not hesitate to recomment the DW 735 to anyone. It does a great job and I'm very plaesed with what it's done for me. Make sure that you buy the "optional" infeed and outfeed tables. In reality, they shouldn't be optional.

[Fred Voorhees]

The DeWalt 735 Planer just got a glowing review in FWW. I was all set to buy it until I read the bad reviews on Amazon about poor blade life. This scared me off. I know it's a well reviewed machine, but that issue wouldn't really be evident in a typical magazine review where they only run the machines on a few boards.

I know a lot of you guys out there have one. Can you let me know how many bf you can run before you have to change blades.

Thanks for your feedback,

Matt

I've got to be honest here.....I have had my DeWalt for a while now and have run quite a bit of wood through it and I am still not seeing any appreciative knife wear personally. When I first read on this forum in one thread or another about knife wear for this machine, it caught me off guard because of the fact I haven't experienced any.

[Mike Henderson]

The first set of blades on my 735 dulled pretty fast - and I wasn't taking too much off in one pass, nor was I putting dirty wood through the planer. I sent a complaint to DeWalt and they sent me a replacement set of blades free. Since then, the blades have done well.

I don't use my planer a whole lot - I just do hobby work. I had an older Delta planer before the DeWalt and the DeWalt is light years better.

Warning: it's not really a portable planer. Although one person can handle it, it's easier with two.

Mike

[Rich Dorffer]

One of the things that can wear down the blades the fastest is hardened glue. Therefore, how someone uses their planer can make a big difference in the life of the knives/blades.

That being said, we have run 100s of board feet through our 735 on the original knives and they are still sharp.

Regards,

Rich

[Justin Bukoski]

I believe there was a problem with a batch of knives from their supplier which they made good on. I used to have one and ran hundreds of bf through the original knives. If I were in the market for a "portable" planer, thats the one I'd get.

[glenn bradley]

This is an often discussed item. Over the years I have decided it is based on use and expectations. Some folks say they dull too soon and some hae no problem. I am shocked that we are all different and do different things differently ;-)

I would not hesitate to go with the DW735. It has reined supreme in the lunchbox arena for years. My DW734 is still on the original set of knives and is just ready for a change after almost a year. I do keep my eye open and picked up 3 sets at $24 each at a blowout sale. You could do the same.

[James Suzda]

I believe there was a problem with a batch of knives from their supplier which they made good on. <snip>
I tend to agree with Justin. I've had my 735 for quite some time and I'll admit the first set of blades dulled very quickly. But, the second set seemed to hold up pretty well. In fact, as an experiment I even had them sharpened and I still am using them. (I sent in a complaint to DeWalt and they sent me a free replacement set.)
Even if I have a Woodmaster sitting in the shop, I still use my 735 a lot and I would recommend it to anyone.
But there some drawbacks to the unit. One thing it will fill your shop with chips in a big hurry if you forget to connect the DC to it! :p You should wear hearing protection, but all planers make noise! You will not want to carry it for any long distances, but IMHO it's good to have a heavy machine.

[Joe Kuhn]

I just bought my 735 and have used it a little. So far so good and I am please with it. Before I bought mine I was aware of the comments about blade life and the fact that the blades were not carbide steel. I'm suprised that DeWalt has not made carbide steel blades optionally available or that someone else hasn't. Maybe DeWalt is following the "give away the razor and make your money on the blades" principle.

[Ray Turney]

Buy it, you'll love it.

[John Durscher]

My 735 is still on it's first set of blades. I've run better than 100bf of white oak through it. I'm very happy with the performance of my 735. The two speed feature really saves on sanding!

John

[Sean Kinn]

Same as the others...my first set seemed to dull very quickly. But, I had purchased a re-furb and just figured they may not have replaced the blades. On a whim I gave Dewalt a call to ask about the blade life, and they sent me a set of blades for free. Since then I've planed about 50bf of hard and curly maple with zero tearout, and no sign of the blades dulling. I started acquiring Dewalt stuff coincidentally due to a ton of Amazon deals, but I must say that they have really gone above and beyond to take care of me several times now. Never once have they even asked me that age, serial number, or source of my machines. Also, like others said....don't try to take too much off in one pass. It is a nice machine, but really shouldn't be used like on of the more industrial duty machines.

[Brad Townsend]

Having used a 735 for nearly three years, my opinion is that the blades are not what they could be. But I would also say that different folks interpret "blade life" in different ways.

When you run your first few board through this machine, you will be amazed at the beautiful smooth finish that emerges, only to be dismayed shortly after when the lines begin to show up from the nicks in the knives. This does NOT mean the knives are dull or should be changed. A planer is a dimensioning tool, not a finishing tool! The lines are easily sanded out. You continue using the knives until they are REALLY dull, which could be a long time.

The other issue is whether the knives are "disposable". At $50+ a set, I give my dull knives a light resharpening and have been totally satisfied with the results.

Oh yeah, I also sent Dewalt an email complaining about the short life and they sent me TWO new sets of knives.:D

[John Buzzurro]

Matt,

I've had my 735 for about 3 years now. The 1st set of blades lasted about 1 year. I'm still on the 2nd set. As far as I'm concerned, that's acceptable wear. I think Don made a good point about not trying to take too much material off in one pass.