DW735. I'm feeling gloatish

[Russ Sears]

I pulled the trigger on the 735 at Lowe's for $455. I was also successful at using the one-time 10% off coupon so I ended up picking it up for about $400.

The long version of the story is that on March 1 after visiting Woodcraft I stopped at the nearby Harrisburg, PA Lowes and asked if the coupon could be used on this planer and was told "no". I went home and called the Lebanon Lowes and the girl said "yes". I visited the store a day or so later and they didn't have one in stock. I asked someone there about it; she took me to the manager who said "no". So today, a week or so later, I went to the Lancaster Lowes with the coupon. While checking out I handed the coupon to the cashier and asked if it could be applied to the planer. He said "we'll find out", scanned it and bingo.

So I guess the moral of the story is to just present the coupon at checkout and be prepared to either get shot down or be lucky.

Here's the requisite photographic evidence:

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9076/dw735oo4.th.jpg (http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dw735oo4.jpg)

[Fred Voorhees]

Congratulaions Russ. That is a great machine. I love mine. Loud, but aren't they all?:D I would highly recommend purchasing the outfeed and infeed tables for that. I didn't but then I built mine into my very long bench to provide massive quantities of infeed and outfeed capabilities.

[Russ Sears]

Fred, I saw your bench in another thread. I plan to steal your idea somewhat :D
I'm working on the mobile cabinet on which the planer is sitting in the picture. My plan is to build a false top that functions similar to your benchtop. I also plan to put hinged leaves at each end to lengthen the support but still take up mininum space in the garage. The top in the picture is just a hunk of plywood. The false top will be laminated.

[Norman Pyles]

$400 for a DW 735, man that is a great deal.:cool:

[Don Bullock]

Great deal Russ. You'll need the infeed and out feed tables. After I bought my planer I found the "best" price for them on Amazon. I'm enjoying my DW 735. Contrary to what some have said, I've found the slow speed to be a great asset when plaining some wood to avoid tear out.

[Scott Vigder]

Definetley spend the $$ you saved on the purchase price and go for the infeed/outfeed tables. They help immensely!

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

New member here - hi everyone...

That's a good deal! I also jumped on the special offer from Lowes - 17% off, or $455 for a DW735. used a $25 "project starter" card I got in the mail, so $430. I tried to find a 10% "moving" discount, but I had already used the one we got on a lawn tractor.

I haven't fired this baby up yet, but I did go over it, remove the top, review how to remove the blades, all the controls, etc. Not sure what my first use will be - I'm in the middle of both organizing a small basement shop and some other projects, and I don't want to bite off too much. But I've been eyeing it for a long time and didn't want to miss out on the sale at Lowe's.

[Russ Sears]

John: I'm lovin' mine! I've run some cherry through it and some rough sawn poplar and the finish is tremendous. Just make sure you have ear protection and some place for the chips to go! I had an old leaf vac bag that happened to fit nicely on the chip exhaust; it works well but can be in the way when the wood is exiting the planer. I'll come up with a better solution involving hoses until I obtain a dust collector.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Fred - any pics or tips on building the planer into your bench as you mentioned? I'm going to build a new bench and was thinking of this approach for my planer and also for my CMS - some sort of false-top and a way of moving each tool into place when needed. Given how heavy the DW is though, I might mount it to a wheeled stand and find some way to 'roll' it into place in the middle of the bench.

[Steve Sawyer]

One of the (few) common complaints on this unit is the cost of the replacement blades, about $50 a set.

The only way I've found to save a few bucks on these is to check out your local Rockler store to see if they stock these (and the one near me does), then use the 25% off coupons that Rockler sends out via email from time to time and pick up a set from them.

[Eric Fuller]

Good luck with the blades. They're apparently designed to cut nothing harder than a marshmellow. Feed some maple through it and you'd think it was a 15" plank of purpleheart as quick as they dull up.

I never did buy the in/out feed tables. Just cut a nice long piece of MDF and stick a bolt in it which hangs down and rests against the front of the base to keep it from feeding through with the wood. Plenty of support and it raises the table so you can take light cuts and plane down thinner than .125 if you're careful.

[Steve Sawyer]

Good luck with the blades. They're apparently designed to cut nothing harder than a marshmellow. Feed some maple through it and you'd think it was a 15" plank of purpleheart as quick as they dull up.

So I've heard, lots of horror stories about how quickly these blades dull.

So far, that's all they are to me is just stories. Haven't had any complaints, and I've been running a LOT of hard maple through this planer making a new workbench. I did change the blades when I was about 75% done on this bench, but I'd been working with the second edge of the knives that came with this used planer that had already been in use for several months by the previous owner (a professional cabinetmaker), and after I'd also milled up a fair amount of white oak and a small quantity of padauk and purpleheart. Even when I put in the new set the old set was still giving me surfaces good enough for gluing, though I was starting to get a little more tearout when it hit some gnarly grain.

[Dustin Thompson]

Is the 735 on sale at Lowes nationwide? I want to pick one up to keep in the van, for less than 500 sounds appealing.

Hopin' and wishin'

Dustin

[Eric Fuller]

So I've heard, lots of horror stories about how quickly these blades dull.

So far, that's all they are to me is just stories.


Fair enough. To be honest, anything less than absolutely mirror perfect and I swap 'em due to the work I do. Can't imagine them lasting in a cabinet production environment though...

[Tom Esh]

Good luck with the blades. They're apparently designed to cut nothing harder than a marshmellow. Feed some maple through it and you'd think it was a 15" plank of purpleheart as quick as they dull up.

Strange how users experiences seem to vary on that. I've had mine for about a year now running lot's of stuff including maple and zebra through it and it's still on the original set of knives. Sure there's a few score marks, but nothing that doesn't sand right out. I think part of the problem its finish with new knives is so impressive, any degradation is more noticable. I don't expect a planer to be a finishing tool and I've learned to always sand even if it looks like it doesn't need it.

[Fred Voorhees]

Fred - any pics or tips on building the planer into your bench as you mentioned? I'm going to build a new bench and was thinking of this approach for my planer and also for my CMS - some sort of false-top and a way of moving each tool into place when needed. Given how heavy the DW is though, I might mount it to a wheeled stand and find some way to 'roll' it into place in the middle of the bench.

John, here is a photo essay I did on my bench upgrade that included the installation of the DeWalt planer into it.
http://leatheruppers.blogspot.com/2006/01/my-workbench-upgrade.html

[Steve Sawyer]

To be honest, anything less than absolutely mirror perfect and I swap 'em due to the work I do.

Maybe expectations give rise to the variation in reported knife life span. I and most of the other local woodworkers I know use the jointer and planer to convert rough-sawn stock into dimensioned lumber. The surface on dimensioned lumber purchased from any good lumber yard is not of suitable quality for finishing, and I don't expect anything better from my planer (although admittedly a brand-new set of knives comes darn close! :))

Generally I fully expect that any exposed surface after stock prep with a jointer and planer will need additional preparation - planing, scraping and/or sanding - prior to applying a finish.

[Ron McAllister]

Hello, new to the site, I just used my DW735 last week for the first time. I was planing cypress. The blades didn't last through the second board. At first I thought I was overloading it but realized I was being very careful not to take off too much at a time. I went by our local Dewalt store here in S. Ms. and they had no knowledge of blade problems. I've read Dewalt has knowledge of the problem and is working to correct it. I waited too late today to call the factory myself, as I heard they would send replacement blades. Maybe there was just a bad lot of them and some of us just drew a bad set. I'll let you know what I find out.

[Eric Fuller]

Ron, I don't think that's it. I've had this planer for at least 2 years - bought one as soon as they came out. Have gone through at least 15-20 sets of blades. DeWalt knew *exactly* what they were doing when they designed the blades like they did - create a consumable and rake in the profits. After this planer is gone I'll never buy another DeWalt tool.

Some people report being on the same set of blades for a year...all I have to say to that is either they don't use the machine a whole lot, or their definition of acceptable results are very different from mine. Either way I know that if I run 100 BF of 4/4 maple through mine, just getting it S4S with 1/4 crank turns each pass, by the end the edges are fuzzing out and ragged and I'll have tearout. And that's consistantly...every set of blades I've gotten from them.

[Ron McAllister]

Well hopefully they will do something. I have a lot of Dewalt tools, If they can't rectify the problem, I may switch too. I'm going to take the blades to a friend of mine at a machine shop where I used to work. He knows a lot about metallurgy. Maybe we'll do a skin cut on the dull side and heat treat them and try that, or heat treat the dull side and do a skin cut sharpen or a .005 or less hollow grind. If he thinks it will make the steel too brittle we won't even try it.

[Russ Sears]

Dustin, the sale runs through the end of March so...not a lot of time left. I'm pretty sure it's nationwide; it's also on their website.

[Eric Fuller]

Sorry, I realized later that this thread is a gloat and the guy is excited about his new tool. Didn't mean to rain in his parade - I'm sure it will work out fine and you WILL be very very happy with the finish this planer produces. I'm just so burnt at DeWalt for profiteering and crippling an otherwise good design...my animosity kind of overflowed. :o

[glenn bradley]

Great deal and way to go on coupon perseverance. My dad has one and loves it. I am confused about the infeed and outfeed tables though. Granted I was trying to help out dad over the phone but, there appears to be no way to adjust the height(?). If they are fixed, I'd be tempted to just build my own to be able to adjust for snipe. Anybody figure this out? Am I off base here?

[Eric Fuller]

Great deal and way to go on coupon perseverance. My dad has one and loves it. I am confused about the infeed and outfeed tables though. Granted I was trying to help out dad over the phone but, there appears to be no way to adjust the height(?). If they are fixed, I'd be tempted to just build my own to be able to adjust for snipe. Anybody figure this out? Am I off base here?


Glenn, I'm not sure if they are fixed but as I mentioned before, you can just cut a nice flat piece of MDF to whatever length you desire and run your wood on top of it. Cost ya about $3 and works as well or better than the wings. I've run mine that way for a couple years now.

[Brian Patton]

Ok guys,
which lunchbox planer has the best blades?

Makita, Delta, Rigid?, ( new Craftsman???)

I'm was ready to go with the Lowes( or Amazon-no tax/free shipping deal-same price) but the much maligned blade issue has me put off.
Please weigh in with best recommendation ( INCLUDING) maintenance/mileage cost( ala automobiles...........).

thanks,
JBP

[Eric Fuller]

Ok guys,
which lunchbox planer has the best blades?

Makita, Delta, Rigid?, ( new Craftsman???)

I'm was ready to go with the Lowes( or Amazon-no tax/free shipping deal-same price) but the much maligned blade issue has me put off.
Please weigh in with best recommendation ( INCLUDING) maintenance/mileage cost( ala automobiles...........).

thanks,
JBP

Find a DW733 and buy 4 sets of blades. You'll be set for quite a long time.

[Russ Sears]

Sorry, I realized later that this thread is a gloat and the guy is excited about his new tool. Didn't mean to rain in his parade - I'm sure it will work out fine and you WILL be very very happy with the finish this planer produces. I'm just so burnt at DeWalt for profiteering and crippling an otherwise good design...my animosity kind of overflowed. :o

No problem Eric! You didn't rain on my parade. I read many reviews and did a lot of research before I pulled the trigger. My needs, undoubtedly, are different from yours. The 735 suits me perfectly and I'm delighted with it. I was concerned about noise from the reviews. That concern turned out to be unfounded (yes, it's loud; but they all are and I wear earmuffs).
My blades have been fine but I haven't put a lot through it yet. If the dreaded early failure raises its ugly head, I'll buy the ones from Infinity and hope they work better.
I do most of my woodworking on weekends and don't use the planer every time I'm in the shop/garage so my usage is not on par with a cabinet shop.