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In fact, I have become so disgusted with the ineffectual plastic exhaust attachment, that I now run the planer without it. Yes, it makes a mess, but the alternative is jammed feed rollers.In all fairness to Dewalt, I don't believe this unit was designed to handle the repetitive daily cycling of red oak rough that I have been running through it. Recently, I expanded my range of finish work and have immersed myself in custom mill work, creating my own trim, door casings, jams, doors and cabinets. My first impression is.why did I wait 36 years to buy a bench top planer. In fact, when I am planning red oak, I limit my passes to 1/16th max, and prefer to stay in the 1/32 range to avoid snipe and overheating. I am a huge Dewalt fan and consumer.
I have been in the building trade since 1974 and a custom spec home builder since 1987. As such, I have been using this planer daily for the last 2 months, primarily on pine and oak rough stock. The biggest achilles heel of this unit is the dust/chips collection. While it has a max capacity of 1/8 inch stock removal in a single pass, don't even think of trying that with any of the hardwoods. My workshop looks like one big splash of yellow. My next question is.why did I go cheap and buy a bench top planer.This is an adequate "hobby" level planer.
As I said, I think it is more suited to a "hobby" woodworker than a professional craftsman. It does a decent job on pine, but only fair on oak.
Never push stock if it doesn't move on its own, turn the machine off and remove it.There are two reasons I gave this machine four stars instead of five. No matter which planer you purchase, many work on the same principles.1. After removing the packaging material, attaching the crank handle, and adjusting the beds, I was good to go.I chose it over the competitor's models for a few reasons:1. Use a natural paste wax to wax the entire bed of this machine. Three cutter heads vs. However, then did let me know to clean the rollers and wax the bed.
This will keep the material flowing smoothly through the bed. I normally like DeWalt tools because they are designed a little more rugged.5. I liked the dust hood I could attach directly to my shop vac.After I bought the machine, I was pleasantly surprised to see an allen wrench and crescent wrench included in the package. I emailed Dewalt, whose customer service department didn't respond in a very punctual manner. 2. These tools are the appropriate size for making your adjustments on the machine.I initially had no problems, but after a while the material stopped going through the feeder on its own.
Spray compressed air everywhere, especially on the bed and up in the cutter heads. Overall, it had better reviews than the other manufacturer's models.2. Customer service at Dewalt did not perform up to the standards I expect for good service. I also did some research waiting for DeWalt to contact me back and found a plethora of information on various sites. The machine does cause a slight snipe (indention near the front/end), but it can be minimized be taking care to keep the stock level when first feeding it in and when it end is coming out of the machine. Also, it may just be my model, but it has ben impossible to set the beds level. ALWAYS make sure the machine is UNPLUGGED before cleaning. It is a great planer, and was almost ready straight out of the box.
two creates much smoother cuts.4. I bought this planer a few months ago to plane rough stock from the lumberyard and to utilize it with various woodworking products. not only were they included with the package, each had a little place to call their home on the machine, a snap-in spot for safe-keeping. I got my answer over a week later. If you tell me I will get an email within 24 hours or 48 hours, I expect to get your answer. After blowing out all the sawdust, clean the cutter heads with rubbing alcohol.3.
When I looked at it it person, it certainly was beefier and would likely hold up better.3. That being said, I learned a few things about thickness planers I would like to share.Please understand that thickness planers are great tools, but also require much more periodic maintenance than the average power tool. Because of the amount of waste they produce, they can quickly get bogged down with sawdust. Planers are more intensive to clean than other power tools.
I make it work hard, and it just keeps going. Whew. I don't know what I'd do without this baby. The cut measurements are perfect for me. I love it.
I've had this planer for some time now. This is a brief review of what you'll expect from the DW734:It can handle anything with a Janka hardness rating of 1400 or under fairly well, so forget using it on Hickory.It will leave a small 2" snipe (normal for planers).Fresh, sharp blades leave a perfect finish.It will have a hard time cutting just about anything wider than 8" but if it's a softer wood you should be fine.If you use it for prolonged periods of time it will overheat, it is not meant for that.Knives will need to be rotated after 200 bd ft of Alder to as little as 30 bd ft of Hickory (that's bad).This is not an industrial tool, if you are thinking of using it in your cabinet shop pay twice as much and get one from [.].If you build a little bit of furniture or are just starting out this may be just the tool you need.Thanks :)
I have had two Delta planers that I liked in the last 12 years, but so far, this Dewalt product ranks above them. However, the chute may have clogged up on me when I did not get it turned on before I began planing. I have noticed that when I made heavy cuts, some chips were not being pulled out of the planer by my 1 1/2 hp dust collector. DEWALT DW734 Heavy Duty 15 Amp 12-1/2-Inch Benchtop PlanerMy planer arrived in top condition and took but a few minutes to set up. I especially like the different micro thickness gauges that are included as standard. Good product for the beginner or the pro. While they may not give precise measurements, they are great aids to getting your material close to where you can measure for your finish cuts.
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