Why Did Dewalt Make Their 735 Planer So LOUD!

[Bill Sutherland]

My wife complained every time I used mine. I still have it but find my Supermax 19-38 gets what I need done fast enough for me and I had to use it anyway after running through the 735. I’m going to hang on to it for a little while then see if I ever need it. I haven’t used it in over a year so this could be the last year I keep it.

[Randy Viellenave]

They are loud indeed. If still too loud, I suggest getting a set of hearing protection ear muffs. I have seen some with 37db attenuation (used to max out about 26db), and I would estimate noise cancelling headphones (Bose) to be about 15db. I have had pretty good luck using sound "isolation" ear buds (playing music) with hearing protection on top of that. Of course your neighbors can still hear it, but for extended run it helps to have the extra attenuation.

[Frank Martin]

Noise was the reason for me to upgrade to a jointer/planer combo shortly after I started with this hobby. Mine was a Delta. Could not tolerate it even with all the hearing protection.

[Ben Zara]

I was running my dewalt 734 one night and my wife came bursting in said it sounds like there is an air raid siren going off.

I just took delivery of a hammer a3 41D a few weeks ago.

If u have neighbors the 734 and 735 are kind of a no-no.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Short answer: that stuff is loud.

When I decided to purchase my (first) lunchbox planer I was aware it would be something difficult to cope for its noise so I listened at the (brick and mortar) shop from where I purchased it all models they had available, something around a half dozen. Makita's won... but for small margins as all of them where a nuisance to listen.

There is several references in the net (like that) praising Makita's 2012NB as one of the quietest solutions as my own non scientific findings.

It looks the more feasible alternative to that noise level is to purchase a bigger 500+ pound planer with different motors and a big mass of steel to dump vibrations... it is out of consideration for my own use for its size and price.

You have my solidarity.

[Steve Demuth]

Planers and Jointers (and J/P combos) tend to be almost the loudest tools in the shop for some reason...I guess the small diameter of the cutter-heads and the subsequent freqent contact of the cutters with the material help to cause that. And those like the Dewalt that use Universal motors up things a notch just because that's a "feature" of Universal motors. Stationary planers are not quiet (especially when dust collection is running for some reason), but they are not nearly as loud as portables like the Dewalt and similar because induction motors are naturally less noisy. So that's at least an option for you if the noise level remains too high...move up to a stationary tool with an induction motor.

Planers/jointers and universal motors are both loud for the same reason - they run a high-rpm shaft with intermittent physical contact against a fixed resistance - the commutator against the brushes in the case of the motor, the knives against the wood in the case of the cutters. Lot's of impacts and all at an base frequency squarely in our peak hearing range (1000Hz - 15,000Hz or so). They are almost literally noise machines in other words. Add in the fact that lunch box planers have very little physical mass and inadequate rigidity to damp vibration, plus multiple parts small enough to resonate at those frequencies - well let's just say they're not quite purpose built sirens, but they are close.

I find active noise dampening muffs extremely useful in the shop because they don't prevent conversation or hearing your hand tools when the screamers are off, but are excellent at filtering out the white noise of a universal motor or cutting head.

[Rod Sheridan]

Julie, go visit someone who owns a Felder or Hammer unit with the Silent Power head, bring a sound level meter with you.

I couldn't believe it the first time I used one............Rod.

[Gregory King]

That's what I like about my General 130. She's no lunch box but she's portable and quiet. Really quiet. Could use without ear protection, but I don't.

[Curt Harms]

1. To make it cheap and compact, they use a universal motor. Universal motors are loud. Mentally compare the decibel level of a circ saw running with no load, and cabinet saw (probably with 3X the torque). This is by far the biggest design choice they made contributing to the noise level.

2. It's got a squirrel cage blower pushing chips through a sound-bright plastic housing. More noise.

3. High speed knives taking whacks out of lumber generate a lot of noise.

4. Not enough mass to damp any of the vibrations all the above set up.

I don't have a DW7XX but if I did and was hooking it up to an adequate dust collector, I'd think about removing the fan to see if/how much that helps. Maybe consider one of the segmented cutterheads, they're supposed to help quite a bit.

[Mike Cutler]

The DeWalt is a premium lunchbox planer, but it is loud!
I'm really happy I have a Jet 15" floor model planer. It's also loud, but those lunchbox planer are a different kind of loud. Maybe it's the frequency? I don't know.

[Bill Dufour]

It is loud because they choose to make it loud by using cheaper materials knowing people would buy it because it costs less. I read people here saying you might want to use hearing protection? Any tool with a universal motor needs hearing protection. really should use one with a drill since it is so close to your ears
Bill D

Note that many of the cheap ear muffs cancel much less noise then the better quality ones. like double or triple since DB is a log scale.

[David Utterback]

As others have noted, the helical cutting head substantially reduced the noise level of my 735. It is still slightly louder than my dust collection system, though. I highly recommend the upgrade, which cost me $400, although replacements may be even better route.

With my severe hearing loss and need for hearing aids, I always use hearing protection when operating any machine. SensGard is a passive (non-electronic) noise cancelling device that has 30+ dB reduction. They can be worn with safety glasses without any reduction in effectiveness. I recommend them as well.

[Brian Holcombe]

I'm checking those out David, I use 3M currently and they're OK but definitely are not as effective when wearing glasses.

[scott spencer]

All the portable planers I've ever used and heard were loud, but you'd get no argument from me if you claimed the DW735 was the loudest! The DW735 was being demonstrated at a wwing show round the time it was introduced...you could hear all over the entire convention center where the show was being held. One of my neighbors who lives 5 doors down bought one several years ago, and when run always sounded like its in my driveway! In contrast, the Makita portable claims to be among the quietest. I always use both ear plugs and ear muffs when I run a portable planer.

[Jim Becker]

The DW735 has been "known" as a "screamer" since it was first released! It's a good tool, however.