Dewalt 735 problem

[Bill Eshelman]

First off, I love my 735 planer. It puts out awesome boards with a perfect finish...
I run mostly QSWO and sometimes poplar and some Brazilian cherry but not much volume. I'd say less than 500 BF since I bought it.

The problem is, recently the boards started freezing up as they are going through. I am only taking off about 1/64 to 1/32 and the board just stops. I stop and lift the head to get the board out. hosed.:(

then, I turn the machine on to try again and it sounds funky like its skipping a beat:eek:, so I ain't running nothing else through it.

I bought it about two years ago, but I only ran about 500 BF through. :mad:

I remember seeing a thread on here when I was buying it about the initial problem the 735 had, but I can't find it. Anyone??
I do remember they went by the serial #, but mine was a few numbers higher than the highest number.

anybody else have the same problem?

Thanks.

Bill

[keith ouellette]

That same thing had happened to my planer a couple of times. I would lower the bed, pull out the wood and see a big gouge where the in feed roller kept rolling over the same spot.
The next few times it started to happen I gave the wood a good push and it started to move again. It stopped happening and i don't know what the problem was.
Is your wood gouged by the roller? If it is then the infeed roller works and the problem is elsewhere.

[glenn bradley]

I'd do a search here and make sure you serial number isn't in the range of the gear roller fix that DeWalt offers for some machines. That aside, I only have feed trouble when I let my rollers get dirty or don't wax my bed often enough.

[James Suzda]

One of the first things I'd do is to clean the feed rollers with some alcohol and while you have the planer head up to clean the rollers, wax the bed.
If the problem still persists flip the knives so you have some nice new sharp edges. I've found that when my knives are getting dull the feed will start to skip and stop, and I have to help feed the board.
I'm sure there is no chip buildup or a sliver caught in the head that might be catching your lumber as it is being fed through. But, when you have the planer head up be sure to check for that also.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Definately try the cheap and easy way out first. Blow out the head with compressed air, clean the infeed and outfeed roller and wax the tables.

I just ran into a problem with my Dewalt 22-560 where the boards stopped feeding, and even though I cleaned the rollers, I hadn't touched the table. I cleaned the table with mineral spirits (didn't have time to wax it) and everything moved right along.

[Wade Lippman]

I'd do a search here and make sure you serial number isn't in the range of the gear roller fix that DeWalt offers for some machines. That aside, I only have feed trouble when I let my rollers get dirty or don't wax my bed often enough.

I have done searchs on just about every variation without finding anything. What offer?

Mine does this sometimes, but I figure it is my fault for poor technique.

[Dave Hale]

Here's what I found:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=32024

[Greg Heppeard]

Enough wood run through any planer will start to stick if the bed is not kept clean and waxed. I actually use a product called Top Cote when mine starts to stick...it's easier than wax but is a little on the expensive side. I use it on all my cast iron too...keeps the wood sliding nicely over the jointer, table saw and router tables. If you make your own jigs and fences, you can use it on the wood also. Just makes things slide much easier.

Your problem could be what is described in the other thread also.

[Bill Eshelman]

Thanks for the advice so far.

The rollers were kept clean and the bed was kept nice with T-9.
The thing sounds like it is going to explode. It sounds like it is missing teeth on the gears or something. I guess I have to tear it apart and take a look. It just sucks that it has seen such light use and now I am out of biz. It's one of those situations where the warranty is long gone, but the thing is still like new. :(

I took it in to the Dewalt authorized factory repair shop and they said it would be a maximum of $270.00 to fix.

I took it back home. No way am I paying that kind of money to fix a machine this new.

I do miss using it though. Like I said, it was an awesome machine.

[Greg Heppeard]

OK this may be a stupid question, but did you check the speed selector switch? If it got bumped to the middle, it could be your problem. Just something simple to check.

[Bill Eshelman]

Yeah, I did check the speed, but it is not getting turned back on till it's taken apart. It sounds very dangerous right now, and at those kind of RPMs bad things could happen. I am thinking I'll take it back to the service center and just hope it doesn't cost the "max". Things that move this fast should probably be checked out by a tech.

[Rick Moyer]

Sounds like it could be the sprocket problem to me. Go to Dewalt's website, customer support, and e-mail them about the possibility of sprocket problems on the 735 (and supply your serial number of the machine). I did that without even having any problems and they sent me new sprockets. I'm set if it starts to happen with mine. Better to have the parts before you take it apart!

[David Giles]

It sounds like it is missing teeth on the gears or something.

Could be exactly that. I had a gear casting break on mine. The feed roller stopped working altogether. Maybe yours is cracked, but not off the chain drive yet. It was a known problem with the DW735 for awhile.

The gear is on the side of the planer. Easy to get to, though I don't exactly remember how. The biggest problem is needing those special pliers that remove the spring clip (my memory is slipping).

[Mark Rios]

Bill, something was not sounding right when you mentioned a couple of times about "a saw this new" and it was bugging me. So I was looking around and saw this on the Amazon web page for the saw,

http://www.amazon.com/DeWalt-DW735-13-Inch-Benchtop-Planer/dp/B0000CCXU8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1201045902&sr=1-5

Technical Details
13-inch thickness planer with 3-knife cutter head and automatic carriage lock
96 or 179 cuts per minute; fan-assisted chip ejection
Cast aluminum base
Includes planer, dust host adapter, dust ejection chute
24 by 22 by 18.8 inches; 92 pounds; 3-year warranty

I haven't verified it any further yet but I'm going to look into it a little more.

Are you inside of three years?


EDIT: I just found this page on their website. The banner window is on their "Services/Support" page. It also comes up by clicking the "warranty information" link on the product page.

http://www.dewalt.com/us/warranty_information/popup_warranty_information.asp

hth

[Bill Eshelman]

Mark, I am inside the three years.
Thanks very much for your help.
I did take it back to the factory authorized service center.
The manager said he would check it out and if it was obviously a machine failure, that they would cover it.

This forum continues to impress me as a diamond of the internet.

Thank all of you very much.

Bill

[Eddie Darby]

Please let us know how it turns out. I am glad that you decided not to turn the thing back on, as I am sure so is Dewalt! Safety first!