Two Tips for the DeWalt DW735 Planer (WnW #56)

[@erniesouza6263]

Recently acquired a planner and sent away for a set of new blades for the future. I was dreading having to deal with all the screws just thinking about it. Your idea of using a cut off allen key is a great way to accomplish this task and save wrists and time. Thanks for the tips.

[@Wordsnwood]

+Ernie Souza thanks, Ernie

[@williambranham6249]

Dewalt loves the free adverts of their tools courtesy of the you tube phenomena. I have certainly enjoyed my DW.... planer for about 3-4 years. No complaints. Your tips were helpful. Thanks

[@keving4409]

Great idea! Thanks for the tip. I just bought this planer, and I plan to make a flip top cart. I'll be installing a magnet brace for it too. 👍🏽

[@Wordsnwood]

thanks! good to hear.

[@rroe5718]

I see many in the comment section having the same problem with nicks in their blades. Primary culprit is metal of some sort. Many years ago I solved that problem with a $32.00 (coupon used)Harbor Freight wand metal detector. Not the pin point one.....get the wand. Super work horse and have saved countless blade nicks and damage by removing all kinds of metal pieces embedded in lumber. Good reviews also right here on KZbin.

[@ShanesHobbyShop]

Two very good tips. This is the planer I want to get, hopefully soon. So I will have to remember these tips for my planer.

[@ddaurer]

Great 2 tips. My blades are 10 years old and have no nicks, however, they are really dull and need turned over. 2 great tips I will use very soon - thanks

[@Wordsnwood]

+denis daurer TEN YEARS OLD!!!??? Wow.

[@Thom4123]

Thank you for the tips. Using a Allen key chucked into the drill is going to help me so much. What a simple but awesome idea.

[@Wordsnwood]

+Thom spillane Thanks, Thom. Biggest problem now is now to not LOSE it... I don't change the blades that often, so I've nearly lost it twice.

[@Pete.G]

+Wordsnwood (Art Mulder) Why not store the allen key across the top of the t-handle, the magnets in it should be strong enough no?

[@jurorx]

+Wordsnwood (Art Mulder) Magnetic holder for the Allen key inside the planer on the same block that holds the driver magnet?

[@Wordsnwood]

+Making SawDust Magnets are strong, no doubt, but the potential destruction if that ever came loose inside the planer would be disastrous.

[@jurorx]

A hole in the block of wood with a friction fit? lol

[@DerekCadmus]

A LOT more than 2 tips in this video. Nicely done!

[@Wordsnwood]

+Derek Cadmus Thanks, Derek.

[@MyGrowthRings]

Great tips! Thanks for sharing. Scott

[@bijan4727]

Hi very nice presentation and I really enjoyed it. I have two questions. 1- I do not have any available space for a planer in my garage and I live in Southern California by the beach. I was wondering if I put my planer on a cart with wheels , make a plywood cover for the cart with five sides and put the cover on the top of the cart and in addition put a cover like barbecue cover over it , would it be protected from rust ? 2- Can I run 2X4 vertically through planer ? I would appreciate your input. Thanks.

[@Wordsnwood]

I live nowhere near a coast, so I'm the wrong person to ask about corrosion from salt in the air. As for the 2nd, if you're carefull, you can run 2x4's on edge. ideally, you'd run a couple at a time as they will help support each other.

[@edwinleach4013]

Great idea with the magnet.

[@CogentConsult]

Great ideas. Now all you have to do is magnetize the tip of that Allen wrench so that the screws stay attached to the wrench when you go to pull the screws out.

[@Wordsnwood]

Now there is an obvious idea... should have thought of that.

[@MrMnchstr]

The Dewalt blades are two sided, had you already flipped them?

[@TheShavingWoodWorkshop]

A couple of really great tips Art !

[@Wordsnwood]

+The ShavingWood Workshop That's what I was hoping. Thank-you!

[@Flyingmsdaisy]

Love the tool fix! I have always used a driver for the 24 screws. My ADD won’t let me do it manually. Thanks for posting.

[@roysnider3456]

One thing the tool holder doesn’t need to be that long you could have cut it just past the magnet but no matter the tip about starting your screws manually is spot on specially for fine tread screws or bolts.

[@ToddWillkomm]

Why are you cutting down hex wrenches? You can purchase 1/4" hex bits and a 6" magnetic extension?

[@jbb5470]

Great tips Art! Thanks for your suggestions and video

[@SouthernGinger]

Great tips, thanks for sharing!

[@talegunner115]

I would consider the Infinity carbon tipped blades. Yes they are $230 but last a lot longer. If I was using the unit a bunch more I would consider changing out to the shelix cutter head. This would improve the cutting and last even longer and reduce the noise produced. Stock blades can get chipped early and you end up with ridges until such time that they are dull and have to be replaced. I love my DeWalt but I am leaning towards installing the shelix cutter head. Each carbide cutter has 4 sides. That and the carbide cutters that last longer make it extremely efficient.

[@Wordsnwood]

It's hard to make the math work out for a hobbiest. Especially as the planer itself gets older... The Shelix head is US$423 at holbren.com. No-name planer blades are a tenth the price at $42 on Amazon. I go through roughly one set of blades per year... Will the planer last me 10 more years? I'd love to have one, but I need to do the math!

[@semomonkey]

Haha You're advertising a great machine! Has room for improvements ;) Comes with a nice tool so you don't have to lose your fingers. Yet you go with third party blades! Love it :)

[@Wordsnwood]

+Semo Monkey Thanks. I don't really see it as advertising, but I guess I can see that some others might. Hey, DeWalt want to pay me? :-)

[@BoxcarJerry]

Great tips , I'd be interested in hearing how you like those new blades . Who makes the ones you bought ?

[@Wordsnwood]

+Jerry Sateriale Powertec -- Found them on amazon.

[@22tomthebomb]

Nice helpful video and good tips. If I can point out at 4.00 you are are confusing "on behalf of " with "on the part of" - a common mistake. Greetings and best wishes from Scotland.

[@Bikeeast]

Just curious, you mention you use an allen key to loosen the head bolts, Mine have a torx head (t30 I think). I wonder if DeWalt changed the screws on newer versions?

[@mlindholm]

They did. Means you need to look carefully when shopping if you need to replace that wrench, if it gets lost somewhere ::grrrr::

[@BigRedUS]

It's been 7 months. How are the aftermarket blades holding up?

[@Wordsnwood]

Just fine... might have a nick in one, need to check and if so give it the old sideways nudge to see if that fixes things. I've used aftermarket blades before.

[@gooeytarballs]

As a General Rule, it is NOT advisable to use a power drill to set these screws - unless you have a clutch on the driver and engage it at a fairly low torque setting. While DeWalt doesn't (as I recall) provide a tightening sequence, one is well-advise d to snug, then tighten these screws a little bit at a time, skipping - say 1,3,5,7,2,4,6,8; 1,3,5,7,2,4,6,8; 1,3,5,7,2,4,6,8 etc. As is done when installing wheels on your car, fir instance.

[@JohnDoe-uf8om]

I tighten from the middle out. So 4,5,6,3,2,7,8,1 (similar concept to installing a manifold in a car) As for the Drill, yeah, not recommended if you don't have a clutch, and even with that, many cheap drills have terrible clutches that I wouldn't risk relying on them stopping the drill.

[@MegaDutcher]

Also lots of those cylinders are made from aluminum, I've owned many scooters and have ruined a few threads by hand even. You really don't need allot of torque to mess up aluminum threads.

[@drail80s]

How much do you pay for the replacement knives? In your opinion is the cost of the knives worth the cost of replacing them when they get dull?

[@Wordsnwood]

There is a link in the description: amzn.to/1SUIE2z I don't understand your second question. Whether you like the cost or not they need to be replaced when they're dull. I think the no-name replacements are fine.

[@drail80s]

Ok I see that now thank you, I like the planer stand you built also. These are good planers like you said. Thanks for the excellent tip for the knife change tool.

[@billonthehill9984]

Sound tips Art... Not sure about the magnet idea, why flip the cover over in the first place? I would be extremely careful using a drill to set those screws in, however, I suppose setting it to its lowest setting & NOT actually tightening them but rather seat them in place & then manually torque them with the provided tee handle tool is the way I would approach this. Just a side note here on installing a helix spiral cutterhead on this machine ( $400.00 plus ) seems to be the latest rage of late, making this a $1000.00 plus machine. The 15 amp motor on the Dewalt DW735 is designed for those straight blades or a good set of carbides. The additional cutting capacity with the spiral cutters will indeed be working the small motor on this machine considerably more & I question the longevity further down the road on this thickness planer's motor. With the now $1000.00 plus investment on this planer I would seriously consider spending another approx. $800.00 & get stand up unit with the 3 to 5 HP motor that includes the spiral cutterhead & gets you more individual cutter bits than the aftermarket Bird offers for this unit. ( 72 versus 96 ) I believe... That said, I am seriously considering this very nice machine, ( DW735X ) & the Dewalt DW7350 mobile stand as well... Great post here & thanks for sharing... :-)

[@Wordsnwood]

I've had many of those same thoughts. I'd be thinking about a 15" cast iron planer except for the fact that I have a small basement shop.

[@downhiller21158]

Love your Tee-Shirt, I am software engineer and get that all the time

[@govenr]

Aloha Art, nice tips, have you considered changing to the Shelix Cutterhead. I know it's pricey however since I've changed mine it's amazing much more quieter and smoother. I don't get any snipe at all. I also attached a Wixey digital readout and it's extremely accurate.

[@Wordsnwood]

yup. maybe someday! though maybe the jointer first... I keep waffling on jointer or planer...

[@Manhandle730]

How much do they go for? Those readouts are really cool!

[@govenr]

@@Manhandle730 The cutterhead ran me about $450 including shipping. Wixey gauge approx $50. Outgrew the dewalt although I was please with it it just could not keep up with the amount of work I was doing.

[@drail80s]

Can you turn those knives over? Two sided?

[@Wordsnwood]

Yup. these are the second side.

[@czellner5894]

Hi Art, good info definitely! I've noticed so many woodworkers using that machine. Apparently it's a good unit. But, I've also heard that the knives don't last long and after a few sets of knives, you're near the price of a full size machine. (maybe a Grizzly). Question for you, if your machine were damaged or no longer repairable, would you buy it again? This may not be a sensible question because I guess it depends on how much you use it. Thanks for the tips Art. All the best, Charlie

[@Wordsnwood]

+Charlie Zellner If I had the space, I'd go for a floor standing 15" unit. For a smaller shop, this is still a pretty good unit. I have not really looked at other (ridgid/etc) units for the past 4-5 years so I really don't know how to compare them. And the comment about "few set of knives" ..... Well.... at current list prices on Amazon (canada) I figure it is over 16 sets of knives to meet the cost of a new unit. That's more than a few in my book. I don't really know how to judge how long the knives last. It depends on what you put through them and how often. For me, and my usage, I usually get over a year on a set. But that said, I'd love a byrd shelix head, but I'm not paying that price...

[@tubehead204]

Using a Ridgid drill to fix a DeWalt planer.... BLASPHEMY!

[@Wordsnwood]

+tubehead204 Please tell DeWalt that I'm open top sponsorship... ;-)

[@buddymorgan2351]

Can u get spiral head for the dewalt plainer

[@Wordsnwood]

Yes you can, few different places. try googling "shelix cutterhead for dewalt dw735"

[@BronkBuilt]

Just wish I could afford the planer. I'm saving up though.

[@Wordsnwood]

Yeah this one is kind of pricey... Hopefully you can get a good sale price.

[@Xyienced]

Love it!

[@taotracy4431]

How did the opposite side of the blade shown look?

[@johndavidk1052]

Here is on more tip.if you have one or two blades that are bad put all new ones in and wait until you have a complete set of used ones.then use those.

[@damon123jones]

can you fix my computer ?

[@wiremup48]

Good tip, why not use drill to secure the lid screws also.

[@Wordsnwood]

Yeah, that'd work

[@holeymoley111]

Why do u flip it over?

[@Wordsnwood]

small shop, saves space.

[@michaellovetere5122]

Love the logo on the T-shirt...hahahahahahahahahahaah

[@danielcompton6029]

If you are taking the top off to service the machine, don't you have the tool in your hand? Good tips but still common sense. I purchase my 735 for 499 and it came with an extra set of blades and a Dewalt trim router. Very good deal, I, thought. For those that own this planer, the blades are able to be sharpened as long as you don't take too much off. I have sharpened my first set twice and they work fine but that is probably the limit. I am awaiting shipment of a spiral cutterhead, I can't wait.

[@Ivan-nq9xj]

So smart!

[@fredfalgiano7481]

So, why not just use an actual torx bit in your driver? They're about $1.

[@Wordsnwood]

It's a hex head, not a torx bit... but regardless, this was something that I already had. Feel free to buy one for yourself, I'll do it my way.

[@fredfalgiano7481]

My bad, dude. My DW735 is all torx drive, including the magnetic tool. It was manufactured around 2013. Maybe yours is different.

[@jamsomito]

Go Knights!

[@stijill]

I guess there's no torque adjustment to his drill

[@billgring9308]

I would never used a drill

[@TEAMSOTO]

If you buy this Dewalt planer from Amazon do not buy it from CPO they send me 2 damaged / used Dewalt planers so beware of you purchase from on amazon unless you pick up yourself from a big box store like Home Depot or something like that...I never got one I left it alone.....When ever you speak to customer service alaways speak to a supervisor such a big company they don’t have the option of UPS pick up instead I have to carry a 105 pound box to UPS I just wish they do the right thing sometimes.they make a lot of money from us....have a nice weekend Freddy from New York..

[@earlkarow1342]

Blades need to be torqued to 50 in. lbs. , not with a impact

[@Wordsnwood]

It's a drill/driver, not an impact driver. Also, show me anyone who actually uses a torque wrench for this, given that they provide an allen key with the unit.

[@earlkarow1342]

Mine reads it right in the manual , you do it however you want . Right is right

[@kevinerasmus5219]

"...you can tweak your wrists..." - with that pissy cordless drill!!!!!! You're not serious????....

[@Flyingmsdaisy]

It’s a rigid!

[@holeymoley111]

My dewalt planer sucks... my height adjustment has jammed 3 times...been repaired 2 times , Interior fills with saw dust... piece of crap machine