DEWALT DW735 15 Amp 13-Inch Benchtop Planer

First let me say again this is the first time I have ever used a planer so a lot (okay, probably all :) of the snipe I got was user error. The more boards I put through the less snipe I got. It took a little playing around with and reading to learn the correct technique for moving stock through so I did get snipe on the first bunch of passes on stock, more frequently on the end of the boards then on the front. Most of what I put through was between 3 and 6 inches wide and 2-5 feet long. I did put a couple wider ones in just to see how it handled it. On a 14in long 11in wide hard maple glue up I took off 1/16th per pass and got no snipe or tearout. Then I put through a 10in wide 4ft long oak board and did get snipe on the end but not the start. I still think it's technique because it didn't do it on every pass and when taking off 1/32 I didn't get it at all. The folding tables aren't out yet, but they will probably help even more. I'm pretty convinced once I get the proper technique down I won't get snipe anymore. I'm getting more and more snipe free boards.

I can't say anything bad about the surfaces. I have had zero tearout and ultra smooth surfaces on everything I have put in no matter what I do. The most I have taken off is an 1/8in while only taking 1/32in on the longer boards. Most of the time I had it set to 1/16in. Probably 50% at 1/16, 30% at 1/8, and 20% at 1/32. I put through a pretty good mix of pine, red oak, hard maple, and ash with most of it being red oak.

The crank turns easily and each turn is 1/16in. The depth stop is easy to set and is for 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1, and 1 1/4. The removal scale is pretty nice as well, you put the end of the board just under the edge and turn the crank. A little pointer moves on a scale to tell you how much will be taken off. It has a little chart built in showing the max that can taken off based on board width, which is nice for me because I didn't know. The thickness scale is pretty big, easy to read, and easy to set. I only ran it with my dust collector hooked up to the 4" port, but it grabbed everything. After running all the wood through, probably about 4 hours total use, there where 3 little wood chips beside the bed and that's all - the dust collector had the rest. The thing I don't like about it is the dust attachment is right in the center above the outfeed so unless you angle the hose away to the side with an elbow or suspend it somehow it gets in the way of the stock coming out. But so far that is my only gripe. This thing is really loud but I expected that, it's the loudest tool I have. All the scales and settings where dead on right out of the box. I do wish the folding tables came bundled. Overall I'm one happy camper.

Okay, I finally got the folding tables. They are very easy to assemble and align. Each corner of each table can be adjusted for height. The attachment points are spring loaded so they are also easy to take off and put back on. They do help in supporting the work and seem very solid. The front table folds up out of the way and stays there. The rear table however is another story. Because the main table and the back of the moter/blade assembly are pretty much even and the pin to hold the table is set back the rear table will never fold up and stay. When the depth of cut is set around an inch and the cord is wrapped around the cord holder the rear table won't flip up more then around 20 degrees. In my opinion this is a major design flaw, the main table needs to stick out at the rear by at least an inch or two to allow the table to fold up.


Works great for me   December 15, 2004
K. Kyler (Maryland, USA)
53 out of 54 found this review helpful

I've had a DW735 for about 3 months now and have run about 500BF through it (Lacewood, Poplar, Cherry, etc). I do not have the extension tables. Unlike others, the planer has run flawlessly for me. I get no snipe and the feed mechanism works fine. Others have commented that the blades do not stay sharp long, and then start to produce small ridges in the work. I find that when the ridges form, I wipe the blades down with mineral spirits which removes any gum and/or other debris, and then the blades cut nice an smoothly. I have not turned the original blades over yet. So...I believe that the blades stay sharp just fine and just a little maintenance can produce fine cuts.

Update: I finally flipped the blades. Since the blades have a slot in them for mounting, you can stagger them, which I did. I set 2 blades to the right and 1 to the left. Then when a notch/divot forms, I simply slide a second blade to the left and now it will cut clean. I'll do this until the are all to the left and then slide the first to the right. This should significantly extend the life of the blades.


A very good planner.   October 7, 2003
69 out of 74 found this review helpful

I had been shopping for a new planner for a few months and had settled on the Delta 22-580 when the DeWalt DW735 was announced. After a little research, I was sold. I have only had this planer for a few days, but so far I am satisfied in every way. I purchased this tool to replace an older Delta 12 inch planer. The difference is like night and day. Though the Delta did a good enough job, there was always a bit of snipe. Knife changes were a hassle and the dust hood was a cheap, flimsy device that never sealed well, and got in the way of the board as it came out the outfeed side. The De Walt has NO snipe, and the integral dust chute with fan assist works well and is trouble free. I don't know how it will be changing knives, but it should be much easier. The three knife cutter head gives excellent results. So far I have planned pine, birch and cherry. Even on the 96 cuts per inch setting, the planned surface is smooth and free of tear out. All controls are easy to read and use. The depth control is especially nice as it is a large easy to manipulate wheel. The unit is large and heavy for a portable, but as I will be using it on a mobile stand this will not be a problem. The noise level is high , as are most planners so hearing protection is a must. While the price is higher than some planners, I feel its worth it.


Exceptional Cut Quality   April 11, 2004
Todd R. Solomon (San Jose, CA United States)
68 out of 73 found this review helpful

This planer is exceptional. The cut quality, thanks to 179 cuts/inch, is in a league of it's own. There aren't too many machines at any price that produce cuts this clean. I had a $5,000 jointer/planer that produced tearout on the same wood that this planer surfaces perfectly, due mostly to the lower 50 cuts/inch of my previous machine.

In a lot of ways, this portable is more refined than the industrial machines. The attention to detail is impressive for a machine of this price. It is not as heavy duty, and you can't take monster thick passes with it, but I'm not looking for production-shop efficiency- cut quality is where it's at for me. Some of the things that I like about it:

-10,000 RPM + 3-knife cutterhead + 2-speed feed rate = supurb cut quality
-Automatic snipe-eliminating mechanism that actually works (you don't have to manually lock it down like you do with all other portables)
-13" capacity is enough to match my 12" jointer, at a very reasonable price in the grand scheme of things
-The depth-of-cut gage, paired with the wood thickness gage, let you know exactly how big of a bite you are taking and how thick the wood will be
-Easy to get to the knives for changing
-Robust packaging (contrary to what I've read in earlier reviews- maybe they've improved it)
-High quality engineering and ergonomics, in general

I would like to comment on the knife-life issue that has been discussed on this and other portable planers. When a line is seen on the wood, indicating the knives are knicked, you don't have to replace them. All you have to do is shift 1 of the 3 knives a little bit so that the knicks in the blade no longer overlap. Then they'll perform as good as new. You can do this many times before you need to replace or rotate knives, because these knives are slotted and allow this position adjustment for this very purpose. The fact that it has 3 knives means they'll probably last longer than 2, since you can shift 'em around to prevent overlapping knicks from striping your work. All planers have this same issue, and it's unlikely that the DeWalt's knives are sub-par in this respect.

This is an outstanding machine, I highly recommend it.


Now this is the Planer I was looking for.   October 18, 2003
Tony E Davis (Woodbridge, VA United States)
46 out of 48 found this review helpful

After my Craftsman Planer/Molder ruined an expensive piece of Birdseye maple, I was determined to replace it. I had paid over $600 for this planer and it had ruined several pieces of lumber, usually the expensive boards. I started reading the reviews, and decided that this was the one I wanted. I ordered it here on Amazon, and it arrived ahead of the projected delivery date. I used it to clean up the mess that the Craftsman Planer/Molder made on the Birdseye Maple as well as some curly Maple. I have been doing woodworking for more than 30 years, and I will say that this is the best planer I have ever used, including the larger 20" floor model. I thought that the price was a little high, but in this case, you get your money's worth. It lives up to the reviews, and if any tool deserves 5 stars, this is the one.