# Help need advice on planers



## 1Joe (May 14, 2014)

I am shopping for a new bench top thickness planer and would love some advice as to what one is the best. Currently have a Craftsman 12 inch benchtop planer which is wearing out after several years of hard use. I buy all of my lumber (90% of which is red oak) rough or semi-rough and plane it myself.
Got good reviews on Steel City's helical cutter 40300H etc. but they have now discontinued all of them.
Saw great reviews from professional magazines on DeWalt 735 and 735x, but when I got reviews from woodworkers who owned the DeWalt for a longer period of time, the comments were terrible. It seems the knifes dull quickly and then cause the feed rollers to be unable to pull the board thru. One review said he had to replace them after just 80 feet.
Crap.... Back where I started.
I plane a lot of red oak (5/4 to 3/4) and figure I can't be the only woodworker who does this. PLEASE, if you have any experience in planing a lot of tough lumber, give me advice on what planer to buy. PROS AND CONS WELCOME!
Thanks, Joe


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

1Joe said:


> I am shopping for a new bench top thickness planer and would love some advice as to what one is the best. Currently have a Craftsman 12 inch benchtop planer which is wearing out after several years of hard use. I buy all of my lumber (90% of which is red oak) rough or semi-rough and plane it myself.
> Got good reviews on Steel City's helical cutter 40300H etc. but they have now discontinued all of them.
> Saw great reviews from professional magazines on DeWalt 735 and 735x, but when I got reviews from woodworkers who owned the DeWalt for a longer period of time, the comments were terrible. It seems the knifes dull quickly and then cause the feed rollers to be unable to pull the board thru. One review said he had to replace them after just 80 feet.
> Crap.... Back where I started.
> ...





I'm not going to say which planer to buy, but you should go for heavy, mass, machinery.

Planing heavy, rough, lumber; takes a toll on any light weight machine.

Look for what size you need, then go a few inches more.

Keep those cutters/blades, sharp.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I have 3 planers*

I have a Ryobi 13" a nice, light bench top planer. 
A 12" Foley Belsaw with a 3 HP Baldor, which is about 40 years old and going as strong as the day it was new.
A 15" Jet planer, a heavy duty 3 Hp planer.

If you can find an old Belsaw or Woodmaster they are built dirt simple and work great. Woodmaster has pretty much replaced Belsaw and they are very versatile.
Cast iron, weight and mass will always last longer than stamped light weight sheet metal under hard use. Blades with stay sharper since the vibration will be less. 

The other way to look at is if your Craftsman lasted for 4 years, you got your money's worth, just get another one like it.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Right here in KC on Craigslist. I have the same planer. I'm sure he'd work on the price..


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

How much wood are you trying to plane? The dewalt 735 is a great machine, but not meant to plane thousands of bf of lumber. If you are trying to plane that much lumber a 15-20 inch 3hp+ planer would be better for you. If you want long blade life go for a spiral head.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I have a 735x that's had a few thousand feet of lumber through. I also do most of my work in semi rough red oak and it does a great job. The knives aren't really that bad at all. I've had the same knives in for what I would estimate to bed 750-1000 bf. If you found a review of knives going bad after 80 he was doing something wrong. My guess is he was running reclaimed wood. 

As for the feed rollers...every month or two I wipe them down with paint thinner and they feed just fine. If my 735 died tomorrow, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. Now that's not to say large cast iron machines aren't better...but you asked about tabletop...


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

I have a DW 735, in addition to a big cast iron 5hp planer. Before I got the big one, I used the 735 for everything. Now it's only for small stuff that I don't want to feed to the monster. 

It's a good machine for what it is, but it definitely has limitations. I have found the knives to be junk. If you're only running red oak they will last a while, but run some hard maple thru it and they're toast after maybe 100 feet. Also you can't take off more than 1/32" per pass in harder stock (hard maple, white oak, rainforest hardwoods, etc) without the feed rollers giving up on you & you have to pull the lumber thru. 

It's still the king of the benchtops; it has a great chip extraction system built in and a 2 speed gearbox which is nice. And when the knives are sharp it leaves the best finish I've ever gotten straight off the planer. They just don't stay that way for long in my experience with them. 

I'd look for a used Delta or Grizzly 15", or something similar. It's a bit bigger than a benchtop unit but the step up to more power and less finnicky issues would be worth it IMO.


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## mnausa (Jan 10, 2015)

I've had a 735 for 7 years. It's still as good as new. I've put probably at least 50,000 feet of all types and widths through it. I'd say it's the best bench top model. The blades are the weak spot. I resharpened mine for years. I recently bought the Byrd shelix head. Paid $420. I wish I would have bought it long ago. It's awesome!!


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

mnausa said:


> I've had a 735 for 7 years. It's still as good as new. I've put probably at least 50,000 feet of all types and widths through it. I'd say it's the best bench top model. The blades are the weak spot. I resharpened mine for years. I recently bought the Byrd shelix head. Paid $420. I wish I would have bought it long ago. It's awesome!!


You must be a cabinet maker to run that much wood in seven yrs. When i worked for myself building cabinets, I didn't work hard but still only ran about a 1000bd ft a month. In seven yrs that would have been 84,000.

So with oak being $1.70-$2.00 a bd ft.You basically ran 100k in wood through roughly a upgraded $1000 planer?


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## 1Joe (May 14, 2014)

Well, thanks for all your help so far. I've narrowed it down to two planers (I think). Woodcraft's Woodriver 13" planer with Supercut Cutterhead and DeWalt's 13 inch, two speed DW735 model. Haven't been able to find many reviews on the Woodriver, though. Anybody have any Experience with the Woodriver???? Of course, all comments suggestions, etc. are more than welcome.


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## 1Joe (May 14, 2014)

Thanks Rebelwork for your suggestion, but his price and 220 volt deters me. kinda need one I can move around the shop and even take outside in nice weather. Thanks though, Joe


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I saw the woodriver the other day...looks nice, but nothing special. 

The dewalt on the other hand is widely considered to be the top of its class. I've had one for about 3 years now and wouldn't buy anything else in its class. 

Make sure you get the dw735x as it has a set of outfeed tables included and extra knives.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Amazon has the 735x package cheaper than most sell the plain 735 for. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003O...SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41CfbR97ztL&ref=plSrch


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## Masterjer (Nov 6, 2012)

I bought my 735x from Amazon a couple years ago and with Amazon prime you also get free 2-day shipping. I couldn't imagine paying shipping on that 100lb box. I've loved mine for the 2 yrs I've had it.


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## dogfather (Feb 9, 2015)

I own the 735 and love it . It's very accurate and pulls the wood just fine as long as I don't try to take too much per pass. Remember to take equal amounts off both sides or you'll stress the wood.


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## dogfather (Feb 9, 2015)

I might add, I did have a knot on a board break off one time and the unit went to an awful vibration. I thought crap there goes my planner. I took the housing off to find a fin on the blower had broken off. One call to part's and $15.00 later it's back to new.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

1Joe said:


> Thanks Rebelwork for your suggestion, but his price and 220 volt deters me. kinda need one I can move around the shop and even take outside in nice weather. Thanks though, Joe


You don't have 220 in the garage? the Delta is mobile...


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## tom d (Oct 23, 2013)

dw735 works great for me. I also added a byrd shelix to mine. also own a 15" powermatic that i'm just breaking in.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

Instead of searing out another benchtop, consider a real planer.
Here is one. You will wear out before it does!

http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/tls/5082233384.html


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

Pirate said:


> Instead of searing out another benchtop, consider a real planer.
> Here is one. You will wear out before it does!
> 
> http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/tls/5082233384.html


oop's Should have been, "search out"


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## natgas (Sep 11, 2015)

I have a chance to pick up the DeWalt 735x for $520; that seems to be a pretty good price compared to most big box prices. I really don't know what I am going to do with it but it looks cool!


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## honesttjohn (Jan 27, 2015)

Grab it - the extra blades and outfeed tables are worth close to $100 alone.

HJ

Has one


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## WesTex (Jan 5, 2014)

If you will just be moving it around the garage or outside and back, you might consider a Grizzly G0453Z. It's on it's own set of wheels and moves around easily. At 15" and with a helical head it'll handle a lot of wood before you'll need to rotate the cutters. I thoroughly enjoy hitting the "ON" switch on mine.


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