Free to a good home: DeWalt 735 cutterhead and blades

[Beechwood Chip]

I just upgraded my DeWalt 735 thickness planer to a helical cutterhead.  Does anyone want my old cutterhead with three blades?  One side of the blades need to be sharpened, the other side may be ok.

I'm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.  Free, but I'm not going to pay for shipping.

 

[Coop]

Appreciate the offer. What did it cost you to upgrade and are you glad you did? 

[Beechwood Chip]

$416, and a few hours to install it.  I'd always wanted a helical cutterhead, but couldn't justify the cost when my planer worked just fine the way it was.  Then a friend was using my shop and nicked the blade, and I figured I didn't want to buy a new set of straight blades when I would probably upgrade to a Shelix eventually.  My friend offered to chip in $100, so I took the plunge.

I just finished the install (I accidentally put the feed roller sprockets in backwards and it took me a while to figure out my mistake) and did a test pass on some scrap.  I'm really happy with the finish. 

I'm going to cut the test piece in half, leave one half the way it is and sand the other to 220, and see if I or anyone can tell the difference.  I'm guessing

Embarrassingly, it was only after I bought the Shelix and removed the old cutterhead that I realized that the old blades were double sided.  I bought the 735 used, so I don't know if the other sides were dull or nicked, but they looked good.  If I had known, I probably would have just flipped the blades, but I'm happy that it turned out the way it did.

Since I'm a hobbyist, I can't cost justify any woodworking purchase with a return on investment calculation.  I'm just happy with my new toy!  I'm especially happy that any nicks can be fixed by rotating the blade, and it came with a few replacement blades.  So, nicking a blade is no longer a huge deal.

The same friend also nicked a blade on my jointer, but I had a spare set of blades so we just replaced them.  The next time that happens, I'll probably upgrade the jointer, too.

[Von]

I wouldn't mind a spare set. If you don't find anyone local and are willing to ship, I'll pay for the shipping to Indiana.

[Beechwood Chip]

I'll give it 24 hours, and if no one local has chimed in, we can work out the details. 

[Von]

On 1/10/2024 at 11:14 AM, Beechwood Chip said:

I'll give it 24 hours, and if no one local has chimed in, we can work out the details. 

Sounds good. Reach out whenever you feel ready.

[Beechwood Chip]

On 1/9/2024 at 11:51 PM, Beechwood Chip said:

I'm really happy with the finish. 

On closer inspection, there are several barely noticeable lines own the length of planed pieces.  Can't be felt with a finger, and not as deep as the grain of the wood.  The only way to tell that they are from the planer is that they are straight and don't follow the grain.  So, I guess I'll have to sand if I want a perfect finish (which isn't really surprising).

[Von]

On 1/9/2024 at 11:51 PM, Beechwood Chip said:

Embarrassingly, it was only after I bought the Shelix and removed the old cutterhead that I realized that the old blades were double sided. 

I'm glad you mentioned this because I had forgotten it myself.

After it took me way too long to plane down my cherry yesterday I can back here to ask if you are still happy with your Shelix? I'll go ahead and reverse my blades for now, but I find myself tempted to shell out the $500 myself.

[Beechwood Chip]

Actually, I haven't used it much since I got it.  I've been doing plywood projects for a while, and DIY stuff around the house.