Dewalt Planer

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
jttheclockman

jttheclockman

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
20,230
Location
NJ, USA.
Just thought I would give a heads up on a sale. Amazon is running a great sale on the Dewalt 735X planer if anyone is interested. Over the past year tools have increased tremendously due to the tariffs. But yesterday many of the big stores such as Rockler, Home Depot, and Lowes lowered the planer from $729 and higher to $649 which is a good deal in todays market. Home Depot also is selling it with stand for $699 which is even better because stand is $179 alone. But Amazon was not to be outsold and they lowered the planer to $546. Now that is a price from about 2 to 3 years ago. Excellent price with free shipping with Prime. Home Depot is free shipping also. This is the most highly rated 13" portable planer on the market and has been for years. The planer comes with infeed and outfeed tables as well as extra set of 3 knives. I am not affiliated in anyway to any of this. Just thought I would pass this on. Now I will say there are type#1 and type#12 units out there. #1 was made in Tawain and they stopped and now #12 is made in China. What ones who is selling I have no idea but know #1 s are probably all gone or old stock. I am sure these sales are very limited and can disappear very soon. Happy shopping.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
bsshog40 said:
I've had my dewalt 735 for over 15 yrs now. I don't use it much but it always works like a charm when I do. I really need to replace the blades on it one day. Lol
Click to expand...
Agreed. I'm probably only 12 years or so. (mine was a floor display at a Sears store--$225 without the box, when they stopped selling Dewalt.) Got my Byrd head for $300 a year later. My extension tables and stand were auction finds. I will also say that the stand is excellent--beefier than i thought it would be.
 
greenacres2 said:
Agreed. I'm probably only 12 years or so. (mine was a floor display at a Sears store--$225 without the box, when they stopped selling Dewalt.) Got my Byrd head for $300 a year later. My extension tables and stand were auction finds. I will also say that the stand is excellent--beefier than i thought it would be.
Click to expand...
Ya I got mine from my late wifes uncle. He had a small sawmill. I went over one day and noticed he had bought another planer, don't remember what brand. He said the dewalt quit on him. He gave it to me. I took it home and found out the motor bushings were bad. Bought a set of bushings for $6. Runs like a champ. I told him I would give it back to him but he said no, glad I fixed and to keep it. He knew I did a lot of woodworking. I bought the stand a few years ago.
 
I've got one as well and have been thinking lately of putting the Shellix cutting head into it versus the standard straight blades. I hear it draws less current, is quiter, and cuts better. Anyone done this? Worth it? Hints - I know it comes in 2 sizes - recommendations?

Thanks!

Kevin
 
I had the std one for several years but had one of the Shelix models pop up on Marketplace and I grabbed it.
It does produce a finer finish than the 3 blades.
 
NJturner said:
I've got one as well and have been thinking lately of putting the Shellix cutting head into it versus the standard straight blades. I hear it draws less current, is quiter, and cuts better. Anyone done this? Worth it? Hints - I know it comes in 2 sizes - recommendations?

Thanks!

Kevin
Click to expand...
I am sure those that either made the change to the Helix head or those who bought that model which is about $300 more can answer better to this question but can share some insight that I know. The decibel difference is about 7 or 8 less with helix. It clocks in around 80 as the straight blade is about 90 range. Both still require ear protection. Quality of cut with the helix is slightly better because of the action of the cutting. It slices on an angle as opposed to ripping on a straight line. if you set the infeed and outfeed tables up correctly you can get a great cut with 3 blades as well. Some woods are more prone to snipe than others and that is just the nature of the woods. The big advantage of the helix is blade changing. If you get a nick in the blade you either have to shift the blade slightly or replace or sharpen. Not the end of the world but with Helix you can just rotate a cutter 1/4 degrees just like with the cutters we use for our carbide turning tools. You have 4 edges so each cutter lasts longer. More expensive but that becomes a weigh the difference thing. The up and down side of each is somewhat deeper than this too. Straight blades have an indexing position when set in the proper place and can slide a small amount if need be. The helix carbide cutters do but are more subject to exact placement because they can leave tiny ridges if they are askew just abit. It does draw less current but that is not really a factor when planning woods. You do not push either machine to the point you are hogging a big pass because both heads can still cause divots and rip outs of grained wood. The more wood you plane at a time can and will push current draw upwards.

The biggest difference between cutter heads is when using a replaced head on a 3 blade machine the depth gauge is effected. No longer is the accuracy with it because of the size of the wheels. Not a huge deal breaker. We all know how to read a ruler.

I have the 3 blade. I have used bladed tools all my woodworking life. Had a lunchbox style Delta planer and never changed the blades on them. Sharpened and moved some but same old blades. yes had more snipe with that planner than Dewalt hands down because that only had 2 sliding posts as opposed to the 4 on the Dewalt that are very beefy and all lock in place because of the chain drive on the unit. I have a 16/32 performax drum sander that I run all my planned boards through after anway so so slight snipe and it is slight if any is no big deal. If you buy a Dewalt with the Helix head installed they design the machine to meet the differences in height. But those run about $1000. That was the turn off for me. I can live with adding the extra step of sanding board after. Always have. Those models are not on sale.

Would I have liked the Helix head? yes without question. I am contemplating right now to convert my jointer to a helix head. I probably will do it at some time. But my shop time and woodworking has stepped back so maybe not. Age is creeping up on me.

As for the price of this machine, for todays market it is a great price and still on sale as of today. If you do that kind of woodworking as I do it is well worth the money. Either model this planer is #1 in that catagory. But it is heavy at 92 lbs so take that in consideration as to finding a place for it. But well built. One other thing is the dust extraction. This thing shoots the chips all over the place because of the extra fan they have to clear the inside of the machine. That works well but you need some sort of dust collection. Will say the helix cutter produces more curly shaped chips as the straight blade shoots small sharp edge chips. You do not want to stand behind the machine when planning. One thing that I wish they did with planner is have the dust port on the side or supply with a 90 degree coupling. The hose gets in the way of the outfeed board and can hook it and pull it.
 
jttheclockman said:
... One thing that I wish they did with planner is have the dust port on the side or supply with a 90 degree coupling. The hose gets in the way of the outfeed board and can hook it and pull it.
Click to expand...
John, thanks for all this great information.

I also wonder about switching over to the Shellix cutter, and like you, just don't use it that often.

I did add a 90 degree fitting that I picked up at Rockler. Game Changer!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom