Well, "better" is often a subjective term, particularly when comparing
two 13" planers that both rate as "very good" ... but certainly don't
rate up there with the professional units.

Still ... Amazon has a great deal on the Delta and I'm tempted to buy
it. I was holding out for the Dewalt, mostly because it has 3 blades to
Delta's 2.

But if you can believe the users ratings on Amazon, the Delta scores
better. And for far less money, it might be the better deal.

I know that none of these planers will give you a "glass smooth" finish
like many of the user reviews claim. I understand that sanding is
always going to be needed afterwards.

Looking at Popular Woodwoorking's reviews back in Feb. 2004, they rated
the Dewalt just a tad bit higher than the Delta. Dewalt has that extra
blade, provides 96/179 cuts/in vs. 60/90 for the Delta. The Delta pulls
less amps, which can be viewed as good or bad.

ARGHHH!!!! Anyone want to throw in their two cents of sawdust? For $150
cheaper, would you take the Delta? Or hold out for the Dewalt?

Jack

"mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" "mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" wrote
in message . ..
Well, "better" is often a subjective term, particularly when comparing two
13" planers that both rate as "very good" ... but certainly don't rate up
there with the professional units.

Still ... Amazon has a great deal on the Delta and I'm tempted to buy it.
I was holding out for the Dewalt, mostly because it has 3 blades to
Delta's 2.

But if you can believe the users ratings on Amazon, the Delta scores
better. And for far less money, it might be the better deal.

I know that none of these planers will give you a "glass smooth" finish
like many of the user reviews claim. I understand that sanding is always
going to be needed afterwards.

Well actually the 3 blade SLOW feed planers will give you incredable
results, for a little while. Then you get a nick in a blade and you are no
better off. As you said, surface prep will be necessary from that point.


Looking at Popular Woodwoorking's reviews back in Feb. 2004, they rated
the Dewalt just a tad bit higher than the Delta. Dewalt has that extra
blade, provides 96/179 cuts/in vs. 60/90 for the Delta. The Delta pulls
less amps, which can be viewed as good or bad.

ARGHHH!!!! Anyone want to throw in their two cents of sawdust? For $150
cheaper, would you take the Delta? Or hold out for the Dewalt?

From what I understand you can run a hose from the DeWalt directly into a
trash can to collect the saw dust. That would be a nice true advantage.

Leon wrote:

Well actually the 3 blade SLOW feed planers will give you incredable
results, for a little while. Then you get a nick in a blade and you are no
better off.

Can you not shift one of the blades over slightly? Or flip it to the
new side?

Chros

In article ,
says...
Leon wrote:

Well actually the 3 blade SLOW feed planers will give you incredable
results, for a little while. Then you get a nick in a blade and you are no
better off.

Can you not shift one of the blades over slightly? Or flip it to the
new side?

Chros

I've had a Dewalt 735 for a bit over a year and couldn't be more
pleased. I can't comment on the Delta, so will leave that to someone
else and enjoy reading their take on that one.

I generally work with maple and have had really good results going from
sawmill-type rough cut stuff to finished boards. If you do very much
work with good woods, I'm convinced it'll pay for itself by letting you
buy the rough stuff and surfacing them to both your satisfaction and to
your thickness requirements. Prior to getting the 735 I had bought
already surfaced stuff and found that their thicknesses varied 3-5
thousandths or more -- what a pain when trying to do accurate cabinetry
-- NO MORE!

"Chris Friesen" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:

Well actually the 3 blade SLOW feed planers will give you incredable
results, for a little while. Then you get a nick in a blade and you are
no better off.

Can you not shift one of the blades over slightly? Or flip it to the new
side?

Sure you could but what fun is that. Shift it, flip it, spin it. The
adjustments to get the smooth finish will again only be short lived and you
start the process over again. Really, it's a thickness planer, not a drum
sander.

"mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" "mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" wrote:

ARGHHH!!!! Anyone want to throw in their two cents of sawdust? For $150
cheaper, would you take the Delta? Or hold out for the Dewalt?

I was looking at planers a couple of months ago, and trying to
decide if I wanted to spend the money for the Dewalt DW735 or
something considerably less expensive from Ryobi. In the end, I
went with the Dewalt DW734[1] and I've been very happy with it.

I don't know about getting one of these online, but I got mine at
the local Lowes for $359.

[1]: http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/to...productID=5934

The reason I was asking is that the Delta is only $343. That's $331
minus 10% plus $49 shipping.

That's pretty cheap ... the Dewalt DW735 is $500.

Now, the DW734 is only $379 ... not much more than the Delta. I hadn't
considered that unit but that might be a good option too!

Jack


Bob Moos wrote:
"mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" "mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" wrote:


ARGHHH!!!! Anyone want to throw in their two cents of sawdust? For $150
cheaper, would you take the Delta? Or hold out for the Dewalt?


I was looking at planers a couple of months ago, and trying to
decide if I wanted to spend the money for the Dewalt DW735 or
something considerably less expensive from Ryobi. In the end, I
went with the Dewalt DW734[1] and I've been very happy with it.

I don't know about getting one of these online, but I got mine at
the local Lowes for $359.

[1]: http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/to...productID=5934

Buy the cheaper unit and use the balance as a start to a first rate
smoothing plane!!!
mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net wrote:
The reason I was asking is that the Delta is only $343. That's $331
minus 10% plus $49 shipping.

That's pretty cheap ... the Dewalt DW735 is $500.

Now, the DW734 is only $379 ... not much more than the Delta. I hadn't
considered that unit but that might be a good option too!

Jack


Bob Moos wrote:
"mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" "mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" wrote:


ARGHHH!!!! Anyone want to throw in their two cents of sawdust? For $150
cheaper, would you take the Delta? Or hold out for the Dewalt?


I was looking at planers a couple of months ago, and trying to
decide if I wanted to spend the money for the Dewalt DW735 or
something considerably less expensive from Ryobi. In the end, I
went with the Dewalt DW734[1] and I've been very happy with it.

I don't know about getting one of these online, but I got mine at
the local Lowes for $359.

[1]: http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/to...productID=5934

I have the dewalt, and i fyou want, I'll trade it flat even for a delta. I
was sold on the dewalt by the 3 blades, the higher cut per inch count, and
the highly rated chip collector. Only problem is htat the blades absolutley
suck. and cost something like $50 a set to replace. And you *can't* shift
one of them to one side when one gets nicked (they mount on fixed posts).

I repalced an early veersion of the delta 12" planer with the dewalt, and
within less than 100BF of pine (sofetst stuff I use) the blades were badly
chipped. (the blades on the old delta had lasted for thousands of BF before
needing any adjustment). Dewalt customer servide insisted that there was no
history of blade problems, but the store I bought it from said that almost
all of the units they sold had come back or generated compaints about the
blades. They gave me a new set, which I installed, and tried using only
really light passes (like 1/8 of a turn of hte handle). Same result. after a
few passes, the blades were trash.

wanna trade?
-JD




"mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" "mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.net" wrote
in message . ..
Well, "better" is often a subjective term, particularly when comparing two
13" planers that both rate as "very good" ... but certainly don't rate up
there with the professional units.

Still ... Amazon has a great deal on the Delta and I'm tempted to buy it.
I was holding out for the Dewalt, mostly because it has 3 blades to
Delta's 2.

But if you can believe the users ratings on Amazon, the Delta scores
better. And for far less money, it might be the better deal.

I know that none of these planers will give you a "glass smooth" finish
like many of the user reviews claim. I understand that sanding is always
going to be needed afterwards.

Looking at Popular Woodwoorking's reviews back in Feb. 2004, they rated
the Dewalt just a tad bit higher than the Delta. Dewalt has that extra
blade, provides 96/179 cuts/in vs. 60/90 for the Delta. The Delta pulls
less amps, which can be viewed as good or bad.

ARGHHH!!!! Anyone want to throw in their two cents of sawdust? For $150
cheaper, would you take the Delta? Or hold out for the Dewalt?

Jack

I have had the Delta for about 2 years. I am very happy with the finish
that it produces. It is easy to use and has plenty of balls for
aggressive thicknessing. It isn't perfect though. One problem that I
have (and have read that this is common), the wood feed system is VERY
finicky. If everything isn't 100% perfect, the wood will stop feeding
and you have to manually push it until it starts feeding again. You
have to keep all the metal parts on the bottom very clean and waxed
plus clean the feed rollers all the time and even then, it might just
quit feeding anyway. Adjusting the feed rollers is very difficult and
the paragraph and illustration in the manual about making the
adjustment just plain suck. I got the optional dust collector hood and
hook it up to a strong shop vac. It clogs regularly (every 5 -10
minutes of steady planing) and must be dismantled to clean (about 5
minutes work). This gets to be a drag so I usually abandon the
collector, let the chips fly and then clean it up later.

If I knew the DeWalt would produce the same finish and not have these
two pain in the ass problems, I would probaly pay the extra money for
the DeWalt. Besides, the DeWalt is cooler looking anyway.

Chuck

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have had the Delta for about 2 years. I am very happy with the finish
that it produces. It is easy to use and has plenty of balls for
aggressive thicknessing. It isn't perfect though. One problem that I
have (and have read that this is common), the wood feed system is VERY
finicky. If everything isn't 100% perfect, the wood will stop feeding
and you have to manually push it until it starts feeding again. You
have to keep all the metal parts on the bottom very clean and waxed
plus clean the feed rollers all the time and even then, it might just
quit feeding anyway. Adjusting the feed rollers is very difficult and
the paragraph and illustration in the manual about making the
adjustment just plain suck. I got the optional dust collector hood and
hook it up to a strong shop vac. It clogs regularly (every 5 -10
minutes of steady planing) and must be dismantled to clean (about 5
minutes work). This gets to be a drag so I usually abandon the
collector, let the chips fly and then clean it up later.

A shop vac does not have enough CFM to get all of the chips - I had the same
problem - it went away when hooked up to a good dust collector system. The
shop vac has high velocity but low cfm versus the low velocity high CFM of
the cust collector.

BB

If I knew the DeWalt would produce the same finish and not have these
two pain in the ass problems, I would probaly pay the extra money for
the DeWalt. Besides, the DeWalt is cooler looking anyway.

Chuck

wrote in news:1151069978.107040.242310
@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

snip the wood will stop feeding
and you have to manually push it until it starts feeding again. snip
Adjusting the feed rollers is very difficult and
the paragraph and illustration in the manual about making the
adjustment just plain suck. I got the optional dust collector hood and
hook it up to a strong shop vac. It clogs regularly (every 5 -10
minutes of steady planing) and must be dismantled to clean (about 5
minutes work). snip


I've had the Dewalt 735 for quite a while now and really pushed it hard.
I finally changed the knives recently, a real cinch! Knives are on Ebay
at like half list price. Yes, I've had to clean the feed rollers maybe
twice in hundred of feet of planing. A little rubbing alcohol on a paper
towel solves the problem. The bed is waxed but so are all my machines,
maybe 30 sec every few months ... wax on - wax off. Although I am now
setting up dust collection for the entire shop, the 735 has been
functioning for years with an old vac hose into an burnt out Sears shop
vac tub with the filter in place but the vac motor removed. It gets
probably 90% of debris. Only time I have clogged it was planing HDPE
(little sticky curlies and a real poor idea!) and if a knot or defect
breaks free and jams in the blower. That takes maybe 3 minutes to fix and
only happens when you are working with poor quality wood to start with.

I am not a big Dewalt fan, but I've been extremely happy with this
planer. It is great with sharp blades, but still OK with dull ones except
on figured and reversing grain. The nicks come off with a scraper swipe
or a quick sanding rub. The self storing tool fits all the various screws
on the machine and has a magnet to pick out the knives. A well thought
out product. If I had more money and space I'd get a big 15" heavy duty
planer and use the 735 for the final passes.

Jerry

In article TxTmg.1498$il.447@trnddc03, says...

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have had the Delta for about 2 years. I am very happy with the finish
that it produces. It is easy to use and has plenty of balls for
aggressive thicknessing. It isn't perfect though. One problem that I
have (and have read that this is common), the wood feed system is VERY
finicky. If everything isn't 100% perfect, the wood will stop feeding
and you have to manually push it until it starts feeding again. You
have to keep all the metal parts on the bottom very clean and waxed
plus clean the feed rollers all the time and even then, it might just
quit feeding anyway. Adjusting the feed rollers is very difficult and
the paragraph and illustration in the manual about making the
adjustment just plain suck. I got the optional dust collector hood and
hook it up to a strong shop vac. It clogs regularly (every 5 -10
minutes of steady planing) and must be dismantled to clean (about 5
minutes work). This gets to be a drag so I usually abandon the
collector, let the chips fly and then clean it up later.

A shop vac does not have enough CFM to get all of the chips - I had the same
problem - it went away when hooked up to a good dust collector system. The
shop vac has high velocity but low cfm versus the low velocity high CFM of
the cust collector.

BB

If I knew the DeWalt would produce the same finish and not have these
two pain in the ass problems, I would probaly pay the extra money for
the DeWalt. Besides, the DeWalt is cooler looking anyway.

Chuck

My 735 does, very occasionally, stop feeding a board but a slight
push/tug gets it moving again. Note, that this is a rare occurrence and
hasn't been anywhere near a problem. In a year and a half I haven't had
to adjust feed rollers, so don't know how big a chore that would be.

I bought the unit with the dust collection hood -- actually, jut a piece
of fabric that you could tie over a trash can. I only used it for a
very short period of time and trashed it -- it's really a jinky, at
best, solution. I got a real dust collector shortly thereafter (needed
for TS and router table, anyway). I don't have any problems with
chips/dust clogging.

BTW, I bought from Amazon.com when they had some kind of sales
promotional going ($35 off). I got free shipping and no sales tax
(8.5%). Net cost $464, delivered to my door with no problems.

tex

I also have a Delta. Had it for about 4 years. Planed piles of wood with it
plus a fair amount of plastic. Only time I ever have had a feed problem was
on something that was very tapered. Have never cleaned the feed rollers and
have only waxed the table once. Have it hooked up to a dust collector. Works
well and has never clogged.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have had the Delta for about 2 years. I am very happy with the finish
that it produces. It is easy to use and has plenty of balls for
aggressive thicknessing. It isn't perfect though. One problem that I
have (and have read that this is common), the wood feed system is VERY
finicky. If everything isn't 100% perfect, the wood will stop feeding
and you have to manually push it until it starts feeding again. You
have to keep all the metal parts on the bottom very clean and waxed
plus clean the feed rollers all the time and even then, it might just
quit feeding anyway. Adjusting the feed rollers is very difficult and
the paragraph and illustration in the manual about making the
adjustment just plain suck. I got the optional dust collector hood and
hook it up to a strong shop vac. It clogs regularly (every 5 -10
minutes of steady planing) and must be dismantled to clean (about 5
minutes work). This gets to be a drag so I usually abandon the
collector, let the chips fly and then clean it up later.

If I knew the DeWalt would produce the same finish and not have these
two pain in the ass problems, I would probaly pay the extra money for
the DeWalt. Besides, the DeWalt is cooler looking anyway.

Chuck

Alurker wrote:
wrote in news:1151069978.107040.242310
@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

snip the wood will stop feeding
and you have to manually push it until it starts feeding again. snip
Adjusting the feed rollers is very difficult and
the paragraph and illustration in the manual about making the
adjustment just plain suck. I got the optional dust collector hood and
hook it up to a strong shop vac. It clogs regularly (every 5 -10
minutes of steady planing) and must be dismantled to clean (about 5
minutes work). snip


I've had the Dewalt 735 for quite a while now and really pushed it hard.
I finally changed the knives recently, a real cinch! Knives are on Ebay
at like half list price. Yes, I've had to clean the feed rollers maybe
twice in hundred of feet of planing. A little rubbing alcohol on a paper
towel solves the problem. The bed is waxed but so are all my machines,
maybe 30 sec every few months ... wax on - wax off. Although I am now
setting up dust collection for the entire shop, the 735 has been
functioning for years with an old vac hose into an burnt out Sears shop
vac tub with the filter in place but the vac motor removed. It gets
probably 90% of debris. Only time I have clogged it was planing HDPE
(little sticky curlies and a real poor idea!) and if a knot or defect
breaks free and jams in the blower. That takes maybe 3 minutes to fix and
only happens when you are working with poor quality wood to start with.

I am not a big Dewalt fan, but I've been extremely happy with this
planer. It is great with sharp blades, but still OK with dull ones except
on figured and reversing grain. The nicks come off with a scraper swipe
or a quick sanding rub. The self storing tool fits all the various screws
on the machine and has a magnet to pick out the knives. A well thought
out product. If I had more money and space I'd get a big 15" heavy duty
planer and use the 735 for the final passes.

Jerry

I like this planer but like many other people I am very disappointed in
the durability of the steel knives. Looking for an alternative I sent
a knife to Leech Carbide to get a quote on having some knives made from
tungsten carbide. After some negotiation, if I buy in bulk I can get
the knives for $95.00 per knife, that's $285.00 for a set. This is
about 5 times the cost of the steel knives but they should last 10 to
20 times longer. This is a bit of an investment but it looks like
it's worth it if you use your planer with any frequency like I do.
Leech Carbide has the specifications on these knives and is ready to
produce them but I need other people willing to buy some of these from
me. Is anyone interested? If so email me at
Leech said they would send me a test set so I can make sure there are
not problems but I need to commit.