The Best Benchtop Planer Options For Woodworking
We were able to hook our shop dust collection up to the planer (a 4-inch connection is recommended) and it’s been working great. Upon first setting up the planer, we questioned whether we would need to use the finishing speed very often. However, we found ourselves using it quite a bit more than we initially anticipated.
I have a room problem and purchsed a Hammer combo jointer/planer. I’ve been too lazy to put the DeWalt 734 up for sale. If there dewalt Hand tools is someone around Metro NYC interested send me a note. I may replace my old Delta with this planer in the near future.
A bench planer is a highly useful tool for attaining this level of craftsmanship. Sign up to receive the latest info on new DEWALT products, special offers and more. It is okay to plane most types of painted wood but the blades may dull faster. For safety and environmental reasons, planing painted wood with lead based or cementitious paint is NOT RECOMMENDED. Jay, first off let me say how much I enjoy your videos! Like you and others have mentioned, out of the box I too had problems with snipe and later with the feed as well.
The power feed is chain driven, not a direct gear drive so that simplifies things a little. There’s a primary drive off the motor to the outfeed side & a secondary drive off that to the infeed side. They don’t show a lot of wear & actually still have a slight burr on one side of the teeth. The other side is rounded like you would see w/ normal wear. I’ll suggest to my bud that I continue using it until I’m done & then he can order a new chain & I’ll install it. In fact, when you put it all back together, you should be able to read across the 2 flat blades of the power plug, and see the same conditions when you flip the switch.
They are all very famous among DIYers because of the 10,000RPM blade speed that leaves a near-perfect finish. With their three blades, these planers make 96 to 179 cuts per inch, way faster and more efficient than standard market planers. I picked this planer up from my local Lowes, well not really local, it was the closest Lowes. They offer other planers, but at the time this seemed like the best one for my use. Speed two is supposed to be for taking more material off quicker, but with not as nice of a finish.
I have the Dewalt DW734 and I’ve been pretty happy with it, except for one issue. The locking mechanism will not always hold, and frequently pops off while planing. I’ve noticed that the left side is loose and seems to be the cause of the issue. Here we are again trying to rank the tools in our Head-to-Head and give you a winner.
It always takes more than a little trial and error to jam everything back into place. Screwing the dust collection hood back on is annoying, as it’s hard to access the screw holes. Thankfully you don’t need to change knives very often. We didn’t try to max out width, but I can tell you from my own experience with the 735x that it does very well even on wider boards. With planers I always try to take small bites regardless of the wood species, and see how the planer reacts. At least for me I’m never in such a rush that an extra pass or two isn’t a deal killer for me.
For that reason, a good thickness planer will save you valuable shop time while improving the quality of your work. This was an upgrade on the 734 but not necessarily a replacement because many people still prefer the former model. It, however, features some great upgrades that improve its productivity and also makes it easier to work with compared to the 734. This benchtop planner has 2 speeds at 96 CPI for dimensioning and 176 CPI for finishing. It is better at making deep cuts accurately up to 1/8 in cut depth. It also has 3 blades with a no-load speed of 10.000RPM which helps produce a very smooth finish.