Grizzly G0689 or DEWALT DW734 Planer?

[ryandetzel]

I've heard great things about the grizzly line but a lot of people talk about the dewalt too. The dewalt is a little cheaper and better looking(imho) but I'm more concerned about quality.

Also, I'm pretty sure I have a 100 amp service, at what point do I have to think about upgrading this with these power tools?

[knotscott]

Grizzly does have some nice machines, and they often offer more tool for less, but I always take tools on a case by case basis. The design and build quality of one tool often have little correlation with another tool that shares the same nameplate....sometimes they're not even made in the same country.

In this particular case the Grizzly is far less proven than the DW734, while the 734 is well proven and well regarded. What does the Griz offer that the DW doesn't?

[mlingenfelter]

I own a G0505, which is an older benchtop model from Grizzly. With this model I've never been able to reduce the snipe I get with this model. Not sure if the G0689 has the same issue. My next planer will most likely be a larger free standing model. If I were to buy another benchtop planer, I've heard lots of good thing about the DW735. It cost more than the two you are looking at, but people who own them seem to love them.

Mike

[Jfitz]

Ryan - I cannot offer any information about the Grizz. I do have a DW735 and can give it a thumbs up. From what I've read the 734 gets great reviews too. The one thing I caution you about is to not go by how cool it looks There's a reason Dewalts look just like the Tonka trucks we all used to play with as a kid Is there a reason you are looking at the 734 over the 735? (cost, availability, etc).

On your power question - you would probably only need to upgrade if you run out of circuits (i.e. slots for circuit breakers) in your panel *or* if you start to run a lot of tools at the same time. Otherwise the same power that would run your TS will instead run your planer, or would instead run your jointer....you get the idea.

[mds2]

Christmas just came early here and I got a 734 from my parents today. So far in it's limited use I am very happy with it.

[davestanton]

I have the older 2 blade 733 and have used it for many years. About to install a chute off the back for dust collection. One thing I can say is that it just keeps on working (quality) and I may buy tungsten blades for it. I have a makita plane that is 20 odd years old and was sick of shaprening blades for it and replaced with tungsten against a lot of peoples advise. "What if you nick something, expensive to replace" and so on. Those blades are as sharp as they were 15 years ago when I put them in. My electric chainsaw also has a tungsten tipped blade, cost twice the price of the whole saw. Again, careful where you use it and never sharpen again, love it 4 years down the track, sharp as a whistle. The 733 734 and 735 all seem to be well liked by their owners, limited snipe and as I say, get tungsten blades and the machine will not have to work too hard due to a nice sharp cut each and every time.

[mds2]

I want to give you an update on my thoughts on the DW734 planer. Keep in mind I bought it one day ago. After running about 5 feet on 2" wide boards on it tonight the infeed roller quit working. I have no idea what could I have caused it. I was taking off 1/64" try to see how accurate the depth gauge is.

Kind pissed about it. I imagine this isn't the norm because I read a lot of reviews about it and it seems to very well liked. Now I have to lug it back to Home Depot. Ugh.

[blkdiamond]

Like others have said above, have you considered the DeWalt DW735. One of the advantages that it has over the two you have listed is that it has two speeds, which I have found comes in handy. I can run everything through on the faster setting to get close to my desired dimensions and then run the boards through one more pass on the slower speed setting to get a very smooth cut on the boards. If cost is a factor, keep an eye out on your local Craigslist for a good deal, that is how I got mine.

[JimB1]

I've been using the 734 for 3 - 4 years now.

Only issue I've had is that the clip on dust collector has to come off before you can close up the sides. I broke one of the tabs off it by not paying attention to it when I moved it...

There are a couple of reasons to go with the 734 over the 735:

1) cost 735 is around $100 more but if you want the infeed and outfeed tables, that's another $50 on the 735. The 734 comes with them.

2) If you need to move it around a lot, the 734 is a bit lighter and more maneuverable.

Really to me the 735 only has two advantages:

1) speed control is useful with certain types of wood.

2) more powerful motor lets you hog off more at a pass

The extra 1/2" width doesn't really come into play much for me since I only have a 6" jointer anyway and I don't think I've ever planed anything wider then 6"...

I've never used the Grizzly however I notice that it is a two blade, the Dewalt is a three blade. In general three blade models give you a cleaner cut from all the ones I've seen. I also have to say I really like the manual cutterhead lock on the 734. It gives a solid, positive snap, it's easy to tell when it is in place and really stops a lot of snipe.

-Jim