I have to disagree with the other comments. This machine is at best a toy.

I finally had to replace my old delta 12" planer after 12 years of heavy
use, it finally dies. The DW 734 was supposedly the "best" 12" planer on the
market, so I picked on up. It absolutely sucks. here's my experience so far
(I've had it for a couple of years now)

out of the box - missing parts, customer service very time consuming, and
required multiple calls to get the missing parts sent. Had three separate
promises to ship parts, they weren't actually shipped until the third time
(took over a month to get the missing parts)

basic adjustment was OK out of the box, but not great. spend a couple hours
tuning it up, and it is a lot better.

snipe, DC hook up etc are about the same as anything else I've used in the
12" size range.

blades dull almost instantly, are very expensive to replace. don't bother
trying to work with anything with figure, and if you are working hardwoods,
expect to replace blades almost daily.

lacks power - a decent drum sander will remove stock faster than this will -
especially on wide boards. If you make a habit of working on anything over
6" wide, expect to take truly miniscule cuts. Even with that, expect it to
overheat and stall on a regular basis. I typically take cuts at about 1/128
(according the scale on the dial). In hard maple, 8" wide, I can get through
about 4 1/2 feet of stock before it stalls.

If you actually hook up to a permanent dust collector system, changing
blades is a PITA becaus of the way the chute is designed.

Loud does not even begin to describe this machine.

This thing is so crappy that I actually prefer to use my drum sander for
flattening and thicknessing. I save the planer for dealing with pine and
other softwoods that would gum up the sander.

If you are looking for something to occasionally run a small board through,
it may be OK. For any real use, its simply a waste of money, time and space.




"Andy H" wrote in message
...
Hi Gang,
I read very few complaints about the Dewalt DW734 planer, but most of them
seemed to be quality control errors. A stripped bolt, dull blades etc.
Has anyone on the wreck had any experience with this planer? I should get
it in a week or two, what should I look for when I unpack it?

This is a fantastic resource for the newer wood workers!
Thanks in advance.

Andy

--
:: Clever Sig here ::