Dewalt 735 Type 1 planer

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Hi all,

I'm pretty much a Neanderthal, but have a lead on a Dewalt 735 Type 1 planer and would appreciate pros and cons anyone can offer. I'm not sure exactly how old it is, but it reportedly has never been used. Have there been any major improvements with the subsequent versions? Going to check it out later this week; anything in particular I should be aware of? Fair price? Btw, a stationary machine is out of the question - not enough space.

Thanks,
Steve

[Jim Finn]

I have this planer and like it. Best connected to a dust collector. IF not it will throw out chips with a LOT of force.

[Brian Williamson]

I have it too and like it. The blades tend to chip so best to have some spares (they're double edged). As mentioned, it *really* throws chips. I have taken to doing planing outside and directing the outflow into a garbage can with a piece of burlap secured over the top. That keeps the bigger chips in check and vents the fines to the open air.

I struggle with snipe but that's likely operator error...

[Larry Frank]

It is a very popular planer and few problems.

You can just direct the chips into a garbage can and works OK.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

I too have a 735, don't know what type it is or even know the history of these. All I can say is I like mine.

[Earl McLain]

Originally the screws for the knives were hex, they later switched to Torx drive as the screws tended to bind after use and stripped heads resulted. Simple to replace those, and i'd think about doing that before using too much. I used small amount of anti-seize on mine, but not every time I flipped or switched knives. (may not be an advisable thing to do--so I am only confessing, not endorsing).

Great planer. I added a Byrd helical cutting head to mine--made it even better. I'd buy another if I lost this one.
earl

[Phillip Mitchell]

I have a new-ish 735 and really like it and appreciate the amount of reliable work it does for me for its low cost.

What is asking price of the 735 you're looking at?

I would say a chip collection plan and good ear muffs are a must when running it. It helps to have the indeed and out feed tables made for it or make your own.

[Mike Henderson]

I have it, also. If you try to use it without a dust collector, it will spit a LOT of swarf all over. It's also fairly loud.

But it works well and I'm satisfied with the blade life. I write inside the top when I change the blades or reverse them. Helps to know if you can reverse the blades you have on it now or have to put new blades in.

Mike

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Phillip,

$450 with the Dewalt stand, which seems a bit high for a machine that has to be at least 8 years old, even if it hasn't been used as claimed. I've seen new ones on sale for $549-$599 and that comes with a 3 year warranty.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

The stand sells for about $150.

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735-.../dp/B0000CCXU8 = $600, add stand for $743.

So, the $450 price is almost $300 off, not too bad. Does this come with the "folding table?"

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW7351.../dp/B0000CCXUA

That would be another $45 and I like the folding tables.

Is it "new in box", or is it already open so that you can fire it up and run a board through it to make sure that it works?

I would at least want to see that it works before paying for it, but, the price seems reasonable.

You can buy a factory reconditioned unit for $500 on amazon.

With all that said, I can walk in to wood craft today and walk out with one of these for $600 + tax. I can pay an extra $50 and they will throw in a table and a set of blades.

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/d...planer-package

I purchased mine used maybe 6 years back. It had been abused before I purchased it and some internal plastic piece was broken, not that I knew until I opened it up. Unit still works great, but I am not a super heavy user.

If you plan on building your own base for it, maybe it does not matter as much, but their base is pretty nice.

If I could see it work, I would probably buy the used one there.

[Garth Almgren]

Phillip,

$450 with the Dewalt stand, which seems a bit high for a machine that has to be at least 8 years old, even if it hasn't been used as claimed. I've seen new ones on sale for $549-$599 and that comes with a 3 year warranty.

That's actually not a bad price if it includes the stand. Does it have the infeed/outfeed tables too? All the better if so.
They seem to really hold their value well. I got a used one from a pawn shop with no tables and no stand for $300 and that seemed like a great deal to me.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Okay, so here's the deal. It's already open, resting on the stand, comes with the tables, no original box but claimed never used. I'm going to look at it this weekend and will run a few boards through it, probably maple, red oak and/or purple heart. I don't absolutely need the stand, as I was thinking of making a flip top with fold-down in and out feed extensions and combining it into one unit with my compound miter saw to save space. My only hesitation is the three year warranty that comes with a new one, which I can get on sale without the stand for a hundred bucks more, and the fact that when this was new (10-12 years ago) it sold for $350-$400. I appreciate all the input and will let you know what I decide.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Hmmm. I would go check it out and based on what you see in person, then try some negotiating. If the price is not flexible and you're not totally sold on it, be prepared to walk away from it if you feel ok with buying a new one for $100 more and building your own base (I did for mine.)

One thing you could do first (before you test it out and run wood through it) is find the allen/torx T handle wrench that should be with it and use it to take the top off (should be 4 screws and top lifts right off.) This will expose the dust shroud/chute, which comes off very easily with 3 screws that can be unscrewed by hand usually. Under the dust chute is clear access to the planer knives and cutter head. I would look carefully inside of the planer for any evidence of wood chips (in corners or in the chain that runs around the inside of planer to raise and lower it.) Rotate the cutter head by hand (with planer unplugged) and carefully inspect each of the 3 knives to look for any build up on backs of knives or any visible chips along the edge of the knives, both of which would indicate that it's probably been used at some point.

If all that looks good and doesn't raise any red flags, then you can maybe assume that it hasn't ever been used. It would be difficult to remove all traces of planer chips from in and around the planer if it had been used and someone is trying to disguise it.

My planer (a couple years old) can be taken apart and examined as I described above. I'm assuming that the older one you're looking at is the same, but it may be slightly different. You can build your own stand easily for just the cost of wood and casters, which is a lot less than $150, though I'm sure the factory stand is a nice addition to have.

I would say that $450 with original stand is the top end of the used price range and would be worth it if it's pristine, never used and that's what you want. $400 would be better, but don't let a small amount put you off from what you really want and may be convenient to you (given that there are no red flags.) I'm a little biased because I think I paid $290+ tax for mine (brand new w/ warranty, from a Dewalt factory, employee only "store" via a friend of my father.) The box had a minor dent on one corner and the machine was perfectly fine.

Let us know how it checks out.

[Davis Young]

The early machines had an issue with the feed rollers and Dewalt replaced parts on machines with certain production date codes. It was covered on a thread here over 10 years ago. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...Problems-Fixed According to one of the posts, machines with a date code below 200440 was to be serviced. Mine is 2003, but I don't know if mine has been serviced since I bought it used, but it has not given me any problems in that regard. If the machine you're looking at was made prior to that cut-off, then you could reasonably assume that it wasn't serviced by Dewalt given that the machine has never been used, absent further information otherwise.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Davis,

Thank you for this info - it helps a lot. According to the date code the machine was manufactured in 2013, so it's not as old as I thought. I assumed Type 1 machines were the earliest models and at least 8 years old. I'll run some boards through it, but only after following the steps Phillip recommends.

Steve