The DeWalt 735 has been good, and cut quality improved further when I installed a helical head. But in 1 year I've torn up 3 drive belts and had countless stoppages (motor trips the internal circuit due to heat). I used to make 1/3rd turn of the wheel between cuts, lately 1/4. For a larger project (80 bd feet of walnut) last week I did 1/8 turns. I think the new cutter is simply harder for this little motor than the engineers intended. [Side note: I thought the helical would make 'finish-ready' surfaces, but with glancing light I see smooth facets, running down the length of each board. Easy to sand/scrape, but NOT 'finish-ready']
Maybe my woodworking has outgrown the portable machines. So I looked into machines with bigger motors (15" Grizzly, Powermatic, Jet). I can look for an older machine, too. But I read that problems with snipe are actually worse with these larger machines. The cause seems to be the bed rollers required for them.
Looking for opinions:
- Keep buying (cheaper) drive belts
- Upgrade to 15" (or more?)
-- Which one? (Grizzly looked pretty good to me)
-- Is the greater snipe real, or just a poor set-up?