The importance of stock thickness matters a lot to professional woodworkers. An amateur might compromise an inch or two, but when it comes to the professionals like us, we fight for each and every inch to achieve perfection. A thickness planer is a form of woodworking machine that trims the board to a consistent thickness across their flat and length on both the surfaces. The machine is commonly called a thicknesser in countries like Australia and the UK; whereas, simply a planer in the United States.
The role of a quality wood planer is not confined to the production of boards with equal thickness, rather also making the surfaces totally flat. If you wish to craft the boards with parallel faces, then the purchase of a quality planer is undisputedly a smart move.
The thickness planer that we are going to dedicate this review segment is one of the popular machines designed by industry leader Dewalt. Yes, the next few paragraphs of this review page are going to revolve around DEWALT DW735X Thickness Planer.
Who Should Buy Dewalt DW735X?
Dewalt DW735X thickness planer is a good choice for those woodworking professionals who wish to achieve the flat wood or any other material surface right in a single pass and swiftly accomplish consistent desired thickness to get the work done inside a tight deadline.
The best part of ordering it from the official website or an authorized e-retailer like Amazon is that you can avail additional accessories like extra sets of 13” knives, infeed and outfeed table right under one roof and enjoy extended utility performance.
Product Description Table of Dewalt DW735X
Table could not be displayed.Also Read: 15 Best Wood Planers Review With Pros & Cons of Each
Features of Dewalt DW735X
The Features that Encouraged Me to Buy this Thickness Planer
While confirming my order on Amazon a few days back, I came across some of the eye-popping features that caught my interest instantly. Though DeWalt has wielded it with features like three-knife cutter, two-speed gear, and automatic carriage lock, but following are some of the decisive features that encourage a professional to click the order button.
Power Motor and Remarkable Feed Speed Options
The planer is equipped with a 15 Amp motor that can easily enable the cutter to manage large cuts in a wider piece of materials. It would help you save time and power to get the desired cut in the number of materials irrespective of the size, thickness, and length. Besides, the planer comes with the control to help you set different speed feed options for 96 or 179 cycles per instructions to deliver the best feasible performance.
Cast Aluminium Base
When I compared this model with other competitive brands, I found the cast aluminum base of this DeWalt planer to be superior to them. While the standard 10” base in the planers, the casting of DeWalt aluminum base is 19-3/4” ensuring 2 times more rigidity. This rigidity of the aluminum base offers better stability and endurance to result in better corrosion-resistant features. As aluminum is lightweight compared to other metals, it makes the overall weight of the machine lighter without compromising the strength.
Chip Ejection Vacuum
Now, this is one feature that most of the reviewers do not talk about but plays a very significant role in deciding the overall efficiency of the machine. There are chip ejection vacuums assisted by powerful fans to remove the chips of the cutter head and subsequently exhaust them out of the machine.
Scale Gauge
The planer comes with one material removal gauge along with a large size thickness scale gauge. The measurements are extremely helpful for the professionals to measure every inch to perfection and deliver accurate cuts with each and every pass.
Now, I am going to help you get familiar with various pros and cons attached to the usage of this DeWalt planer. You can easily match these merits and demits at each point with respect to your requirements and decide whether this machine is an ideal choice for you or not!
PROS & CONS of Dewalt DW735X
✓ The dust pickup of the machine is quite excellent and you are not required to spend extra energy on collecting the chip dust simultaneously while working on the planing.
✓ The switching of the blade is pretty easy and it stays in its place due to the presence of installed magnets at the blade mounting panel.
✓ The machine comes with a handy tray in order to place the blade mounting screws and other accessories during changes. It is always helpful to prevent the mismanagement or loss of screws and other vital accessories.
✗ The machine bed wraps a bit when the temperature is cold. Firstly, I thought it to be some kind of defect that persists with the piece ordered by me. But when I went through the feedback on the company’s website, then I realized the fact that I am not alone. That is the reason why, if you prefer to do most of your woodworking in winter, then please be extra careful with this part. I keep it under the sun for a few hours during cold weather and the bed flattens and then it works just fine.
✗ The machine is termed as portable (which it certainly is) but requires a trolley for effective mobility. As the machine is weighed around 42 kg or 92 lbs, it is pretty heavy to manually shift from one place to another.
✗ The readings of the scale are embossed by convex thickness, which makes it difficult to read them properly from a distance. I just hope there is better visibility of Wixey Digital Readout in the future versions with Dewalt keeping the thickness scale flat.
As far as the price of this Dewalt thickness planer is concerned, I found it a bit high when compared to the features that it offers. Yes, the features like powerful motor, strong aluminum base, and chip ejection vacuum do offer formidable services, but I still think a bit can be done by the company to bring the price down.
If you are interested to go for a benchtop planer at a more affordable rate, then you can surely check out models from other prominent manufacturers like CRAFTSMAN Benchtop Planer, 15-Amp (CMEW320), and Porter-Cable 15 Amps 12” Benchtop Planer (PC305TP).
No products found.
No products found.
FINAL CONCLUSION
So yes, DEWALT DW735X Thickness Planer does have some of its features that make it pretty much in demand among woodworking professionals and other types of craftsmen. I personally experienced some setbacks (which I have shared above), but overall it was not a bad deal whatsoever! If the price and limitation of working in cold weather do not bother you much, then you can surely go forward with the purchase.
Good Luck!!
No products found.
Frequently Asked Questions On Dewalt DW735X
Q1. What is the difference between Dewalt DW735 & DW735X planer?
Dewalt DW735X planer also comes with infeed and outfeed tables & an extra 3 set of blades while Dewalt DW735 is just a planer.
Q2. Is the height adjustment of Dewalt DW735X stable?
Yes, height adjustment is very stable, i.e. it doesn’t move while planing due to its auto-locking feature.
Q3. Is it possible to cut tree slices/lumber with some barks on the edges?
I will not recommend that unless it is properly dried. Don’t use lumber with barks if it’s green. It might work for you but it’s very risky because those rough barks contain dust particles that are not good for the planer.
Also, it is not safe because crumb of loose barks could fly off.
Q4. Will Dewalt DW735X work on wood with tacks in it?
No, it is strictly not recommended. It may not ruin your planer but it will definitely destroy your blade & may also cause injuries because its blades are not designed for the metal. So, remove any kind of metal/tacks from the wood before planing.
Q5. Can we plane a wood coated with paint with Dewalt DW735X?
Yes, you can easily plane a paint-coated wood with Dewalt DW735X but make sure that there are no hidden metal nails. Always wear a mask before planing a painted wood because it may contain any harmful materials. Also, don’t forget to clean the blades after planing the painted wood.
Q6. Can we put veneered wood through the Dewalt DW735X?
Yes, you can put veneered wood through Dewalt DW735X planer but I will recommend using very thin wood in a single pass.
The negative point of using veneered wood is that the glue on the wood will make the blade dull quicker than the normal wood.
Also, don’t forget to remove nails (if any) from the wood.
Q7. Is it easy to change blades in Dewalt DW735X? Are they reversible?
Yes, it is very easy to change blades in Dewalt DW735X & they are 2-sided so that you can also flip them.
Yes, blades are reversible & it can also be resharpened.