dw 734 lunchbox planer knife setting "jig", and next jointer

[Ryan Yeaglin]

There have been a lot of threads about the shelix causing over heating problems in 735's. Unless you use a lot of figured wood, there isn't a real need for insert cutters. Switch to infinity carbide knives if you want a more robust knife, they aren't cheap though. Do you run miles of board feet of lumber through your planer? Do you use a lot of boards over 12" wide? If so then a big boy planer would be a good choice, otherwise it's just a want and it's your dime to make that call.

[Andrew Hughes]

I agree with Ryan. Carbide tipped knives are what I had in my 735 and I miss that screamer.
I also have pics of a homemade fixture to sharpen them if anyone is interested to see.

[Justin Rapp]

So this thread inspired me to go take a look at the 735 again today. I found the 735x for $499 on Amazon so I grabbed it. The x comes with the outfeed tables and an extra set of blades. I just looked now and it's up to $550. The 734 is a great machine (mine will be up for sale soon) and I love figured wood so the helical cutter upgrade is next.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I'm not familiar with the 733 (I have a 734 and as others have said, there is no adjustment required or possible for the knives). But if the setup is similar to the knives in a conventional planer or jointer, you can probably get the knives set more accurately than the plastic jig allows, with a dial indicator and some patience. Search for "Bob Vaughan setting planer knives" on youtube and you should find a nice video showing how to do this. Some of it won't apply to the lunchbox planer but you should get the idea.

With that said, if you are getting a decent finish on your boards and they are accurate in thickness when put through both sides of the planer, then I wouldn't expect you can get much more improvement.

[Stewart Lang]

I have to disagree with some of the above comments. I've personally had a DW735 and installed a Byrd Shelix and absolutely loved it. Never had any problems with overheating, nor did I have any power problems. Obviously you can't push the machine into deep cuts like with a 5hp 20" machine, but it seems like the poster is smart enough to acknowledge that. I think he'd be plenty happy with a Byrd Shelix in the 733, assuming it has similar power to the 735. The ability to change knives individually is excellent. In a well-used hobby shop, I was only rotating knives about once a year, so that is also sublime.

[Geoff Crimmins]

I would either get a helical head for the planer you have, or buy a 15" four-post planer (like Grizzly) with a helical head. With the wonky coronavirus situation, you might check to see what the lead-time is with Byrd, and whether anyone has a larger planer in stock. I don't see any advantage to moving to the 735 instead of your 733 and adding a helical head to it.

Adding a helical head to your current planer is less expensive, and won't change the footprint of the machine. You might end up having to take lighter cuts to avoid overloading the motor. A 15" planer, will be much quieter, can take heavier cuts, and will probably work a bit better with longer or rough-sawn boards. It will take up more space, and will require a 230v outlet. Because of the serrated infeed roller, you can't take a super-light cut if you ever need to.

[Bob Riefer]

There have been a lot of threads about the shelix causing over heating problems in 735's. Unless you use a lot of figured wood, there isn't a real need for insert cutters. Switch to infinity carbide knives if you want a more robust knife, they aren't cheap though. Do you run miles of board feet of lumber through your planer? Do you use a lot of boards over 12" wide? If so then a big boy planer would be a good choice, otherwise it's just a want and it's your dime to make that call.

I hear that overheating statement a bit this week as I've started to research... but then I also hear more folks state that they've never had a problem, especially if they take reasonable cuts.

Infinity carbide blades are in the $200 range... Byrd Shelix in the $450 range... but each insert can be rotated 4 times. So price for first surface is in the $120 range, and the payback comes over the long haul.

My jointer is 8" wide, so I tend to plane that same width after preparing one face.

Since my particular jointer allows for the knives to spring in/out as you install, my biggest concern is accuracy. (but not looking to just spend money for the fun of it)

[michael langman]

I think the different opinions about the motor overheating is because of the different variables.

Planing harder woods seemed to have a big effect on the problem. Pine, not so much. Some people overheated the motor taking light cuts in denser woods.

Carbide inserts are not as sharp as HSS blades. And the constant contact of the inserts upon the wood while planing adds considerably more torque to the head.

[Bob Riefer]

I have to disagree with some of the above comments. I've personally had a DW735 and installed a Byrd Shelix and absolutely loved it. Never had any problems with overheating, nor did I have any power problems. Obviously you can't push the machine into deep cuts like with a 5hp 20" machine, but it seems like the poster is smart enough to acknowledge that. I think he'd be plenty happy with a Byrd Shelix in the 733, assuming it has similar power to the 735. The ability to change knives individually is excellent. In a well-used hobby shop, I was only rotating knives about once a year, so that is also sublime.

This is where my mind keeps going... Continue to use the existing planer sensibly and upgrade the cutter in order to enjoy ease of accurate setup (vs. current spring loaded "hope it's accurate" or "spend a bunch of time with a dial indicator" approach), high quality cuts that last a long time (vs. current HSS knives that don't last that long and tear out in some cases), and insert rotation to efficiently return to a perfectly sharp surface down the road when the time comes.

[Bob Riefer]

I would either get a helical head for the planer you have, or buy a 15" four-post planer (like Grizzly) with a helical head. With the wonky coronavirus situation, you might check to see what the lead-time is with Byrd, and whether anyone has a larger planer in stock. I don't see any advantage to moving to the 735 instead of your 733 and adding a helical head to it.

Adding a helical head to your current planer is less expensive, and won't change the footprint of the machine. You might end up having to take lighter cuts to avoid overloading the motor. A 15" planer, will be much quieter, can take heavier cuts, and will probably work a bit better with longer or rough-sawn boards. It will take up more space, and will require a 230v outlet. Because of the serrated infeed roller, you can't take a super-light cut if you ever need to.

I bold faced the last part because I'd like to learn more about that please.

What I think you're saying is that bigger/more robust planers will use a roller that has "teeth" to pull the lumber in. These teeth marks are then removed by the cutting action in most cases, UNLESS you're taking a very light cut... in which case you would need to handle those teeth marks via sanding / card scraping etc.

Do I have that about right?

[Bob Riefer]

I think the different opinions about the motor overheating is because of the different variables.

Planing harder woods seemed to have a big effect on the problem. Pine, not so much. Some people overheated the motor taking light cuts in denser woods.

Carbide inserts are not as sharp as HSS blades. And the constant contact of the inserts upon the wood while planing adds considerably more torque to the head.

I tend to work with locally available hardwoods, usually buying rough. I typically buy enough for whatever project I am building, and tend to get 4/4 and 5/4 material, and typically work in lengths shorter than 8 feet. So I'm not preparing miles of board feet at a time (usually about 1-2 hours worth of stock prep, using table saw, jointer, planer at various times), am not using the planner to take inches of material off, and am not usually working on super long boards.

You say that overheating happened while taking light cuts, which seems opposite of what I would have expected... I would have thought lighter cuts would be easier on the tool. Can you help me understand that one?

Would your opinion be that my sort of usage includes the types of variables that would cause the overheating?

[Tom Bain]

I bold faced the last part because I'd like to learn more about that please.

What I think you're saying is that bigger/more robust planers will use a roller that has "teeth" to pull the lumber in. These teeth marks are then removed by the cutting action in most cases, UNLESS you're taking a very light cut... in which case you would need to handle those teeth marks via sanding / card scraping etc.

Do I have that about right?

Bob -- Not trying to jump in line, but that is essentially correct. Industrial planers typically come up with serrated steel infeed rollers which can leave impressions when the cut is very slight (like less than a 32nd). So called lunchbox planers usually have rubber infeed rollers that don't have that issue. You can sometimes spec rubber infeed rollers on the larger planers.

[William Hodge]

Using a planer for what it does best works for me.

I have a 1996 Delta 12" planer for wood with sand on it, so I don't dull my knives on the good machines. It's quicker than hand planing the sand off.

I have a 16" jointer, and a 20 " planer for milling.

This spring, I bought a Dewalt 725 planer after reading about them here. I use it to skim almost 1/32" off milled wood. The finish with regular knives is great. I never run rough lumber through it, or take off more than 1/32". The feed rate at 11 feet per minute is slow. The time is made up when the wood barely needs sanding or hand planing. There is no tear out in Sapele. I have probably run 700 board feet of lumber through that little planer.

[lowell holmes]

I looked at planers and had a choice of a DW734 and DW735. I bought the DW734 and it has been all I have needed.

[michael langman]

Bob, I read some posts online about some people having trouble planing had woods with the 735 and a helical head. The motor was heating up taking lighter cuts, which surprised me because I would have thought differently also.
If I could find the posts I would post them here. I would tend to believe the people here. If they are not having problems with the 735 and hard wood with the helical head maybe it would be ok, but when you get different messages it doesn't make it easy to decide. I don't mean to make this more difficult for you.
I just hate to see you spend the money for the helical head and then have problems.