planer bypass.jpgHi folks,
I bought a DW735 a couple of years ago that the owner had upgraded to a Shelix helical head. It has been a finicky machine for me. As many here have pointed out, the planer is not really designed to drive the helical head, and it's easy to trip the 18A internal breaker. And the breaker, once it trips a few times, seems to go on a hair trigger and get easier and easier to trip, triggering a downward cycle of despair.
I figured this issue out relatively soon after I bought the planer two years ago. (The owner never mentioned it, but caveat emptor.) After I replaced the breaker I've gotten about a year of light use out of the machine without complaint. But now I'm in trip-town constantly again. I've ordered another breaker, and I'm wondering just how risky it is to bypass the darn thing in the meantime. Is the main risk overheating the motor? And if so, can I keep an eye on that by occasionally lifting the cover and checking it with my hand to see if it's getting hot?
Just to save you from asking:
* tables are waxed
* cutters are sharp and relatively recently rotated
* rollers are clean
* the planer is on its own 20A circuit, 124v measured at the outlet.
* I haven't noticed any binding or weird noises that would suggest a faulty bearing.
* when I say it "trips easily" I mean I can only take one or two 1/64" cuts on 8" wide cherry board without getting a trip.
Thanks in advance for thoughts. I fear I am headed eventually towards replacing this tool and my (very nice) 8" helical jointer with a 12" combo machine. I just don't have the room for a stationary planer and nothing I've read suggests that there's a significantly better benchtop planer out there.
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