Your better off with infinity carbide tipped knives. They are pricey but leave a perfect surface and can be resharpened easily with a homemade fixture.Originally Posted by Doug Wisecup
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Your better off with infinity carbide tipped knives. They are pricey but leave a perfect surface and can be resharpened easily with a homemade fixture.
Aj
A motor requires an overload protection which is different from an over-current breaker. An overload is essentially a slow trip breaker. It allows the motor to be overloaded for a period of time (typically to overcome startup current and such). The overload trips when the motor is overloaded for a longer period of time in order to protect the motor.
I have to assume Dewalt designed the correct size overload in the breaker and it wouldn't be advisable to bypass or remove it.
I do own the planer but not the shelix head. I have seen videos showing measurements that indicate it does increase the current which can indeed overload the motor.
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I wish I could get that kind of mileage from my knives! I'm running mostly cherry, next walnut, a little oak. The wood has never been on the floor, and I clean very well with a wire brush. in 2 years I have planed app. 400- 450 bf. I have have used both sides of 2 sets, and first side of second set. I never see the finish deteriorate all that much, maybe a few minor nicks, it just quickly begins to load the motor heavily, and the rollers can hardly feed board through. I have never even tried more that 1/4 turn on hardwood, it's no use. I have watched woodworking sites for articles concerning the DW735 since before I got it, and have been amazed at how far divided the results people are having with the life of the blades. I can assure you, there is no question when mine are dull, and it doesn't take long. My lumber is good quality, not a lot of knots or figure. Today I planed 2 1x8 white oak boards to truly test the new OL breaker(it held fine) but I virtually had to push it through, dropped to 1/8 turn, finally gave up. This was clear lumber, no knots or figure at all, had already been planed, I needed thinner stock for drawers. I sure hope I can scrape up some $$ for insert head someday!
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Doug, I had the same issue with the straight knives. I upgraded to the Lux cutter head, the smaller one. Have not had an issue since. This week I have been planning cherry. Running the planner on slow speed. I’m turning the gauge anywhere from a quarter to a half turn. The wood was 4/4 to start took it down to 3/4. Only issue is now I have 2 husky garbage bags of chips. I have also replaced the on board circuit breaker. No issues since then.DA08D470-92E5-4A06-B6EC-DB49B2F456D4.jpg
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I'm sorry to hear about the difficulty in running oak. It sounds like you're running clean wood.
I only have ever taken 1/32" off at a time, all Sapele. I have to wax the beds with paraffin and clean the rollers with isopropyl alcohol. The paraffin is good,because I can hit the infeed bed with it while the machine is running.
[OP]
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My question is: protect the motor from what? Overheating? If so, can I monitor that independently...by leaving the cover loose on the planer and touching the motor housing occasionally while working the planer?
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I have a 733 that I bought used at an auction that began tripping the internal breaker constantly several years ago. I decided that I didn't have much to lose on a $120 planer than had already more than paid for itself in work done, so I took out the breaker and connected the wires, and it has run fine ever since. I don't push it really hard, mostly I am just planing 1-3 boards at a time but occasionally I've run it for an hour at a time.
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It would appear to me that there is always some risk bypassing a motor overload protection. You might get away with it, you might now. The overload protection is there for a reason. I've used my 735 for more than 10 years without the machine's protection being tripped once; with the original head in place. The 735 is a bench top planer, not made to be used like a 15" 220V planer. It's a great compromise that produces great results for people who aren't commercial furniture or cabinet makers. It's just not meant for commercial use where the user is trying to push 100's or 1,000's of board feet of hardwood through the machine as fast as possible. That's true regardless of whether the head was replaced by the Shelix or not.
[OP]
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I'm nowhere near that. I probably run this thing for a half hour a couple of times a month. 15 hours of use a year, TOPS. So you can see why I'm getting frustrated at "motor protection" trips.
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Thank you Andrew for the recommendation, if I am able to make that purchase, I will give the Infinity some consideration. I want to say that I am well pleased with the quality of the finish I get with the 735, and I have very little problem with snipe. At this time my need for planing lumber is quite low, so I'm in no hurry to step up to better blades. I apologize to the OP if I have hijacked this thread. Thanks to all, this site is certainly one of the best sources of good info I know about.
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I've been tempted to install the Shelix head on my 735 several times, but just couldn't justify it on a planer that is already 10 years old. Plus, I believe that power tools are designed with certain specs in mind and for the equipment that is provided with the tool. Since it appears that the Shelix head requires more power to drive it through the wood, the motor and overload, as well as the rest of the planer aren't really designed with that cutterhead in mind. In fact, I'd doubt that it would even have entered the mind of whoever designed the planer because either the Shelix head wasn't available or it wasn't practical to equip the planer with it. Thus, the planer functions as it was designed well; with the helical head maybe not as well. I love the helical head and have one onmy Jet 8" jointer, but that machine was designed with the motor and electricals to match. If Jet felt a 220V 2HP motor was needed for that machine, cutting an 8" path, what kind of stress must the Shelix head be placing on the motor taking up to a 13" pass. The motor and overload protection just aren't designed to deal with that, I think, but, of course, that's just my opinion and I'm completely happy with the tool as it came from the factory.
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bummer to hear, this is first I have heard about it. I have one more set of straight knives to burn through before going to a shelix. The planer really does bog down on 8"+ wide boards pretty bad, even with very light passes. Other than that I really like the planer.
That is a good question. My concern would be that it could become a fire hazard. The first level of protection prevents overheating of the motor so it won't burn up the motor (motor windings have a thin layer of varnish). But if you're not concerned with losing the motor then you could risk the overheating and motor failure. Overheating of a woodworking tool isn't my favorite risk but as you indicated, you will be there with it so likely you could deal with any consequences.
So if you're not concerned with losing the motor then you likely wouldn't be risking a lot by eliminating the protection.
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As Eric says if you don't care about the motor then do what you want. The risk with using "touch the motor" to determine temperature is that the motor may not be the same temp in the middle as it is on the outside, it may be hotter.
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Robert - I've used the planer for the 10+ years with the original head and HSS knives. I replace the knives with Dewalt knives rather than buying after-market knives. I have found a good jig and method, I believe, for honing the knives at least once without negative effects. I don't find that the planer bogs down taking 1/32" off in a pass and that is what I stick to; less when I reach the last 1/32". The surfaces do sometimes have ridges but they are easily sanded off during surface prep and have never caused me a problem. I don't work as a professional cabinet/furniture maker or remodeler, etc. so it's not a problem that it may take a little bit longer to plane boards. It is true that I don't plane a huge amount at any one time because I just plane what I need for the piece I'm making. While I understand the issues that people reported, I don't feel that I have had virtually any problems with the machine the whole time I owned it. I would love to have a helical head planer. There is just nothing better than a helical head for planing or jointing. However, I still believe that, if the 735 was designed to handle that kind of a head it would have been offered as an option by now, given the popularity of both the planer and the Shelix head, especially now that there are other bench top planers on the market with at least some type of head that resembles a helical head. My opinion, of course, seems to run contrary to many or maybe most of the people that post, but the planer has served me well as is and I generally don't mess with success.
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