DavinNorton Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 So here is the dilemma, I am preparing to buy a planer and am really torn. Here are my issues....(DW735x ~$600 and used delta or jet 15" ~$800) 1.) I have plenty of 220v in the shop - no winner 2.) I would want the DW735 to be "stationary", so add $100 in materials for a cabinet base - no winner 3.) I would be planing rough as well as final sizing 4.) smooth finish is very important 5.) small projects no more than 10 per year, so volume is relatively low What are your thoughts? Looks like I can get the price in the same ballpark, but everything I read says the DW735 excells at a smooth finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 The smaller dewalt will perform better than the 15" Jet. The Jet would be great if you needed to run lots of lumber for long periods of time. The Dewalt is a much better performer than any of the 15" planers. You dont start getting into good performance and power until you go up to 20" and larger. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 3-5 have me voting for the DeWalt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekG Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 The smaller dewalt will perform better than the 15" Jet. The Jet would be great if you needed to run lots of lumber for long periods of time. The Dewalt is a much better performer than any of the 15" planers. You dont start getting into good performance and power until you go up to 20" and larger. Don This seems a bit broad of a statement. I've seen 15" grizzlys give as good a cut as my dewalt 735 does. A well tuned planer should work like... a well tuned planer. Plus if you ever need to plane a 14" board the larger size will come in handy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavinNorton Posted November 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 15"? Probably not. 12"? Could be often. Seeing as time to plane a board is not my driving factor, I could even resaw some off before finish sizing, the DW735 might provide the better results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Derekg, on 29 November 2011 - 12:06 PM, said: This seems a bit broad of a statement. I've seen 15" grizzlys give as good a cut as my dewalt 735 does. A well tuned planer should work like... a well tuned planer. Plus if you ever need to plane a 14" board the larger size will come in handy Not really broad at all. Almost every 15" planer is made on the same platform as the Jet and even Powermatic and Griz. Snipe is a non winning battle on these models including the Griz they lack a pressure bar and will always have issues on the outfeed, just the nature of the beast. The chipbreaker is funky and needs alot of dust collector to keep the chips cleared especially with woods like poplar that tear out real easy. Making very light cuts is not going to happen like you can with the Dewalt. The infeed is serrated and leaves serration marks on the material meaning a light cut will need to be run through a drum sander which kind of defeats the purpose of a light cut. They will make a clean cut but they are a headache for a hobbiest with expectations of just being able to plain a board and be done with it. In a more production shop we dont really care about those issues and work around them by making agressive cuts and chopping off the snipe. Production shops just need the power and ability to run the machine for hours on in which a lunch box planer would not do. The size is an odd ball with the 15" and olnly good for small lumber. When do you really see a 14" wide board in todays day and age 12" is a wide board and your really not going to plane a board wider than your jointer capacity unless its a glue up. Even most glue ups like cabinet doors are going to exceed the 15" capacity so a 20" would be a better choice in terms of size and the added features making them more user friendly than the 15" Even the 20" has its issues but when you start getting into machines this size most shops have a wide belt or double drum making the issues no big deal. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Its not necessarily better its different and geared to a hobbiest or contractor rather than a production cabinet or wood shop. The difference between the 15" and 20" is 5" which is always a plus since most of the time if your going to plain something wide its going to be 16" +. If you have 15 and a 20 then you know that the 20 uses a pressure bar vs none and the 20 will run at 4 speeds instead of two. Comparing a lunchbox to a big planer is like comparing apples to oranges even though they are both fruit they are both completely different. One is for one type of workflow and one is for another. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 I just sold my 735 as I wasn't using it anymore (upgraded to a 15" delta a few years ago). The 735 worked well for soft woods and very light volume. It was good on widths under 6" but anything more and the cutting depth had to be very shallow. I work a lot with harder woods (teak, hard maple and mahogany) and for that unfortunately I wasn't real impressed; motor seemed undersized for my applications. Softwoods = good. The Delta is a lot more machine. Knowing what I know now I would have spent a bit more and gotten the powermatic but all in all the delta has worked out fine so far. There is a night and day difference in using a 220v planer versus a 110. As far as marks from the feeder bar, I did loosen the down tension a bit and that issue went away. As long as the knives are sharp you'll get a clean, smooth face regardless of the unit. IMO for the cost difference especially since you're not looking for a portable unit, my vote would be the larger machine. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick LoDico Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 I've had a DW and a Bridgewood 15". No question in my mind about which is the better machine to have. The 15". There's no difference in the finish and far less snipe on the Bridgewood. Another plus is the longevity of the more powerful machine. It will be used by my grandchildren due to the superior quality of manufactured parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 I'll take the larger planer any day. My large planer left tracks on the stock when I got it. A 2x4 test board and 5 minutes eliminated that when I backed off the power rollers. I get no snipe on the large planer as its infeed table is longer than the entire bed of the lunchbox. You can hog off, too A difference to me is the power of the feed: a lunchbox can struggle with a planer sled to joint long stock, but its pressure rollers make placing the shims easier; the power rollers on the larger planer can cantilever the stock if you don't get some shims on the very ends, but it has no problems pushing through stock. Lunchboxes scream like banshees. I won't say the larger are quiet, but you flip on a lunchbox and its worse than a hoard of 14-year olds at a Bieber concert. Whether that particular 15" planer has other issues, I dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 As long as it was well taken care of I would say the bigger machine. I had a Dewalt 733 for years and I worked it hard and it always gave me 100%. That being said, when my Dewalt started showing signs of going to the powertool promised land I bought a 15" Grizzly and wow what a difference. I never get snipe unless my stock isn't jointed flat and cuts are smooth as glass. It did take some playing around to get the settings just so but with the exception of a very fine cut-the Griz wins hands down and knowing that it would be the last machine you would need to buy is more than icing on the cake. For cleaning up after a very fine cut my drum sander is the answer but so is my smoother or card scraper. I added digital readout to replace the stops on my old lunchbox planer and now I am good as gold (but I am going to add a hour meter like Paul Marcel suggested in a post a while back) Either way you will be happy so don't loose too much sleep. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Zillig Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I like the thicker blades and larger cutter on the bigger planer. Your choice of blade materials is limited with the Dewalt, and you'll never find a carbide blade for it, or even a tougher HSS alloy for it. so it will always be a softwood planer IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I had hss blades made for my dewalt 733. Same place that sharpened my blades also had the ability to make replacements in tungsten tipped as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flairwoodworks Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I like the thicker blades and larger cutter on the bigger planer. Your choice of blade materials is limited with the Dewalt, and you'll never find a carbide blade for it, or even a tougher HSS alloy for it. so it will always be a softwood planer IMO. Infinity sells carbide and HSS blades for the DeWalt DW735. I've got the carbides and I'm waiting for them to get dull to I can upgrade to something. To what, I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkers Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Infinity sells carbide and HSS blades for the DeWalt DW735. I've got the carbides and I'm waiting for them to get dull to I can upgrade to something. To what, I'm not sure. How are they performing in terms of nick resistance? $250 is a lot to spend on a set of knives. But if they're really tough to nick and really last 10x longer than the HSS ones, might be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flairwoodworks Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Carbide is more brittle than HSS, but I still haven't gotten any nicks yet. It could be because with $250 knives, I'm more cautious cleaning and scanning the wood. I think they will last 10 times as long. Note that the carbide knives are single-sided. I think the best value is a spiral cutter head but that requires a larger up-front investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsiard Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 If space is not an issue go with the 15", bigger is always better, more flexability. I love my 735 but when it dies will be going with a larger unit, the increased flexability and power is well worth the extra money. I would also opt for the segmented cutter head due to ease and speed of cutter replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavinNorton Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks everyone for the replies, unfortunately, I don't think I am really that far ahead of where I started. I still leaning towards the DW735 just due to upfront costs, but to throw a slight wrench in the plan, I found a Bridgewood BW15P with supposedly <15 hrs on it for $700. But things are always cheap for a reason. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 How old is the Bridgewood and what phase is it? The reason I ask is it seems at least around my neck of the woods that the older ones were commonly 3 phase. If it is a newer one here is something to consider, AMT, Bridgewood, Grizzly, Jet, Powermatic, Reliant, Sears, Star Tools, Sunhill and Woodtek all import their machines from Chiu Ting. Not saying that they are all identical as some may have different specs that they demand from Chiu Ting but chances are they are a horse apiece. If you are looking at $700 for a used with no warranty I would hold out for Grizzly's next sale and add some $$'s and go new. A couple yrs ago I bought my Grizzly and at that time standard cutterhead sale price was around $875 which is the sister to the Bridgewood you mentioned. Right now for some reason their prices are up but I don't know if they will stay or not. In my opinion it is best to either go new or old, not someone elses reject unless there is a real good reason or real good price, I just don't want to see you buy someone else's headache or mistake. I still recommend the bigger units if you can afford it but the smaller Dewalt got the job done for me for many years until it died and I bought my Grizzly. I am sure this didn't help any but it is my 2 cents worth. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavinNorton Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks to all for the replies. I ended up ordering the DW735x for $550 off of Amazon. I am excited but honestly still not sure I made the right decision. Now on to making a pre-separator for the dust collector to handle all those chips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
over40pirate Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I went from a Powermatic lunchbox, to an old 12" Boice-Crane, 500# planer. What a difference! I have it dialed in, and get no snipe, and the planer only has a total table length of less than 18". Doesn't even need table locks. Just run a board thru, turn the height handwheel a bit, and feed the board again. Jut, not having to unlock and lock table, or cutterhead locks, saves a lot of time. No plastic gears like the PM, or any plastic at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.