DW735 Planer - Quick Report and Questions

D

Dan Clark

Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
540
Hi.  Well I pulled the trigger and got a Dewalt DW735, a stand, infeed/outfeed tables and dust hood.  Overall, I like it. A lot!  Here's what it looks like with the stand and infeed/outfeed tables.  The dust collection hood is also attached, but you can't see it: 
6_15_04_07_11_14_10.jpg


This is the other side where the Dust Collection Hood connects.  This pic shows the one downside - when you have the DC hose connected and the outfeed table connected, the outfeed table won't fold up all the way.  Minor quibble though; it still folds up out of the way when I wrap the power cord around it.
6_15_04_07_11_29_43.jpg


I really like the control panel - easy to use and it seems pretty accurate.  The removal gauge is very nice.  I'm not sure if I trust completely, but it gives me an idea of how much is being taken off.  I grabbed this pic as this thin board was feeding in:
6_15_04_07_11_25_06.jpg


For dust collection, since I didn't have a convenient trash container, I just connected the DC hood to a 5 gallon bucket.  This shows the height control wheel and outfeed side with the planer running and the DC hose connected to the small bucket.  The bad news - As you can see the DC hose drags down the DC hood.  I need to rig up some kind of support the hose.  If you use the DC hood, how do you support it?

What is a bigger deal is the amount of fine dust in the air.  I didn't notice it at the time, but the flash lit up the fine stuff floating around.  It looks like I'll need to wear a dust mask while operating it:
6_15_04_07_11_09_34.jpg


The good news - the DC hood works VERY well.  Even in it's droopy position, it caught at least 95% of the bigger stuff.  Here's what it looked like after planing down one 2X4 - about 1.5" of fluffies.  I didn't move the bucket for the pic.  As you can see, there are virtually no wood chips on the floor:
6_15_04_07_10_57_06.jpg


Overall, I'm VERY happy with it, but I did have one other issue - there was a little bit of snipe even with the in/out feed tables.  I believe that there is an is article about the preferred height setting for the Infeed and Outfeed tables.  Has anyone seen that article?  Any adjustment recommendations?

Thanks and regards,

Dan.

P.s. The overall cost after discounts and rebates was about $415.
 
Looks great Dan!  I'm sure you'll enjoy that.

I have that stand and have reversed the foot pedal (remove keeper and bolt, reverse pedal and reinstall) and mounted the unit inboard.  This puts the pedal where you won't trip over it and is easier to reach than mounting the unit inboard without reversing the pedal.  It doesn't operate as well with the reduced leverage, but I find this to be a good compromise.

Corwin
 
Corwin,

I thought about positioning the footpedal inboard, but decided to try that position because it would be fairly easy to flip it around if I didn't like it.    With the wheel in the fixed position, the foot pedal can be flipped up.  So it only sticks out about 4".  Still thinking about it though. 

Regards,

Dan.
 
Dan,
Nice pictures and a good overview.  Like you, I have the planer with the infeed/outfeed tables, mobile stand, and dust shroud.

This planer is a great tool, and has become a major player in my shop.  It's been very reliable.  I love the smooth controls.  My only wish is that I could plane 15" or even 20" on it, but isn't that the way it always goes with machines -- no matter what size you have, you eventually want the next size up!

Regarding dust collection, I've found that fine dust still flies around.  Unlike you, I only get about 70% of the coarse debris.  When I remove the apron, no matter how careful I am, a lot of debris falls to the ground.  Perhaps I need a different bucket.  Right now, I'm using a 10-gallon garbage can (photo attached).

Yes, the dust hose bumps into the infeed/outfeed tables, which I have always found to be annoying.  I was hoping that DeWalt might have fixed this engineering oversight by now!  (Hey, they're not Festool.)  This does cut down on the space-saving aspects of the machine, as I can't move it up as close to the wall as I would like.

You're right about the hose drooping down and dragging on the dust bag.  I've solved the issue by running the hose over my bandsaw fence or over the edge of the MFT.  I keep saying I'm going to develop a support of some kind to deal with this, but haven't done it yet.

Regarding the thickness indicator, I never use it to get an actual measurement.  After using the planer a lot, I have developed a sense of proportion by looking at it quickly, and I know when I'm removing 1/16".  By the way, I never remove more than 1/32" at a time.  Also, keep in mind that if your stock is still uneven, the reading is only telling you how much you're removing from the leading edge (this is probably obvious to you, but I thought I would mention it).  When I first bought this planer, I made the mistake of hogging off more than 1/16", but have since learned to take it easy.  The scale goes to 1/8", but I would never actually take that much off.

Regarding the 179/96 CPI option, I almost always set it to 96.  The finish on my surfaces is great at this setting.  For presentation pieces, I will sometimes do the 179 as a final run.

I have the foot pedal installed the same way as you did it.  I like this setup, since it gives me quicker access to the handle for pulling and pushing the planer into position.

If you're getting snipe, look at the infeed/outfeed table heights.  I've never had snipe on my planer, as long as I am running long enough boards.  Again, when I was first learning to use this machine, I ran short pieces and learned the hard way that there is a very good reason that the instructions call for a minimum length of 12". 

Which brings me to another idea for you...

I attached a photo of a very simple jig for planing boards under 12" in length.  It's just a 36"-long piece of 3/4" MDF with a cleat glued into a dado, along with strips of "super high-friction tape" (from Lee Valley Tools) to hold the stock in place.  With this jig, I safely plane pieces that are under 12".  Remember, don't attempt to plane pieces under this minimum!  You'll get super snipe if you do!!

You won't need to worry about this right now, but eventually you'll need to change the blades.  Blade changes are really nice with this planer.  The blades are reversible, so you get double use.  Even better, there's a great quick-set feature: the blades snap into a set of tabs and are automatically set at the perfect height.  (Why can't manufacturers include this kind of thing with jointers?)

Couple of notes that you probably already know, but might as well say it here:
- Remember to wear ear protection.
- Don't stand directly behind the planer when you send stock through.  I've never had it happen to me, but I've heard that stock can be thrown back.  If you need a reminder, just stand behind the planer when it's off and notice where you'll be hit if the board kicks back.  Enough said!

That's about all I can think of at the moment.

Stay in touch,
Matthew
 
Matthew,

I like that jig.  I'll make it along with a jointer jig that I saw in an article.  And thanks for the tip about length and maximum depth.  I'll keep it to 1/32.

Regarding the apron...  With my bucket, there is a short defined lip close to the top edge.  The cord goes just below that.  When removing the apron, I jiggle the edge and sort of shove the chips back in the bucket. 

I'm still learning to use it though; I have much to learn.

Thanks and regards,

Dan.
 
Dan,
Couple of other obvious points on the jig that I might as well add:
- The cleat in the back should only be about 1/4" above the surface, so it doesn't get planed.
- The reason I made the jig 36" long, even though it is for short pieces, is because sometimes I have short and long stock in the same project, and to make sure they are all the same thickness in the end they need a common reference.  So if I use the jig on the short pieces, I also use it on the longer pieces.

I'm about to make another of these jigs that is shorter, maybe 18" long, for those situations where all stock I'm planing is under 12".

I'd like to hear from others on dust collection ideas.

Matthew
 
 
Dan,
I should have mentioned that with the sled I made, I simply slip in shims if the board rocks at all.  Since the board has already been jointed and planed on the other face, it usually is not an issue.

I have seen the plans for using the planer as a jointer, and I have mixed felings...

On one hand, jointing with the planer appeals to me.  It would be great to essentially have a 13" jointer in my shop!

On the other hand, I can't get my mind around the idea.  It's not because the planer is an inexact machine.  Far from it, the planer for me has been quite exact.  My hesitation is in the shimming system.  I just can't see being able to shim a long board to get perfectly jointed faces for glue-ups.  But maybe I'm wrong and I should try one of these sleds.

But using the sled for short pieces has been great for me.

I learned after buying the infeed/outfeed tables that I could have built a sled for this as well.  It's also too late for Dan!

Matthew

 
"If you use the DC hood, how do you support it?"

I don't use the dust hood but this may help:
While it's not the most suave looking thing, I use a wire coat hanger.  My planer is located next to the garage door and I just hook the coat hanger into one of the door brackets and thread the hose through it to the connector on the back of the planer.

As far as storing the bed extensions I remove the hard DC plastic hose connector and use a short bungee connected to the front and back beds to keep them upright. 
 
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