Hi All,
I’ve been following Sawmill Creek for quite a long while (you all are awesome) and have finally created an account in order to graduate past observer status.
The main reason is because I recently ordered my first planer; a DW735x. Part of why I ordered it is because it seems I’ve finally settled down in one place for a while... it was on the list of tools for what will be a fairly active hobby shop in a tuck under garage. A few Dewalt Dealers had a brief sale for $499 USD and it just felt like the right time.
I bought the planer shipped and sold by Amazon. I was wary about buying a power tool from Amazon but since it was directly through them it felt a little safer...
The planer showed up and the packaging was in good shape but once I assembled it and got it up on the stand I noticed that the feed side of the stainless steel table had some significant cosmetic scratches... When I looked closer at eye level you could see a pretty obvious board shaped path in the oil coating from the factory on the planer base table and while the machine was overall really clean... there were also a handful of small shavings sticking to the oil on the base.
It seems I was shipped a used planer (albeit apparently lightly). I called Amazon customer service and quickly explained the situation and they actually did not seem super surprised... They offered to either exchange it or offered a 20% discount and I could keep it but the sale would be final.
I have never owned or worked in a shop with a planer before (my professional background for the last 8 years is in scenic carpentry on items of a massive scale to be viewed by audiences from 25+ feet away and I am just now working on learning fine woodworking skills as a hobby.) My question is... what would you do? I have not used it yet because I wanted to establish with Amazon that it arrived used before using it myself... The scratches are prominent and impossible to miss but seem to be just cosmetic and I think I could get over them. I also checked for flatness with a reliable strait edge and I would not say that it is exactly flawless but it is pretty darn close. Doesn’t look like the blades are nicked at all visually but I guess actually running some stock would tell that story better. Is there anything else I should consider checking with a planer? How much could someone have possibly abused it? Would you consider the price fair for a used DW735x that was supposed to be new?
Thanks in advance for the advice, I have gone back and forth on this quite a few times in the last 24 hours.