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Snipe is visible on some softer woods, but it is not serious. It comes pretty close. I wore the TP305 tool out in about 30 hours of use. I successfully rigged 4" dust collection on the Dewalt.
Be sure to buy the bed extension plates. Makes in- and out feed more manageable too. They produce hazardous levels of dust and shavings. For the price, I expected this planer to walk on water. This design vertually eliminates the problem. I compare this to a huge industrial planer where I buy furniture wood, and a Delta TP 305 which was terrible in this regard. Those are required to reduce snipe.
Durability seems good so far. The biggest problem with these little guys is snipe. (It stopped cutting parallel to the bed). Great tool. Serious dust collection is a requirement on planers.
It is a pretty good planer, very solid. Skip investing in the stock market, I might just buy a truck-load of planers =) The only reason I'm writing this review is because I find it interesting that I bought this for about $425 almost 2 years ago.
I also went out the next day and got some hose fittings so I could attach my vac if I wanted to. All seemed fine, even the outlet was working fine with other items. I went to lowes after much anguish as to which planer to buy. So needless to say, less than 1/2 hour of my first attempt to use the thing, it has been returned to lowes. Well I got the beast home by myself, down the steps, mounted onto my workbench. The manual said to check the power cord, dust port, and top cover. utter disapointment.
I bought the dw735 at $549 brand new in the box factory sealed btw. Well after all that I went to power it up for the first time this morning so I could plane the boards I have, and. Now I wish I had not bothered with this unit and had gone with something else instead. The unit did not even power on.
I added a pair of in/outfeed tables and I highly recommend doing this. I get less waste and mess, and my knives will last longer. Still, I think many of the problems I've read about come from folks expecting too much from this thing. Projects have included a new rudder and daggerboard keel for my sailboat, made from African mahogany, and this planer really did a nice job. I bought this planer at the local woodworking show, in May 2006.
I use my band saw to resaw material to within 1/16" of my desired thickness, then use the planer for the final cleanup. For $400 out the door the dealer tossed in a spare set of knives and the dust collection system. Raising the outfeed table slightly will eliminate most tendency to snipe. I can see someone using this planer in a production shop having some problems, but for the home user it excels. I also added the DW7350 mobile base, which I highly recommend.I am still on my first set of knives, but in fairness I've only worked soft woods such as mahogany and poplar.
I had been dreading the day that the blades needed to be changed (turned around actually, blades have two edges) but that turned out to be a snap. It doesn't do that when it isn't connected to the dust collection system, so I don't know what that's all about. I've had no trouble at all going down to 1/8 inch thickness. (Probably a matter of adjustment). Works way better than the equivalent JET and much better than my (really) old Mikita.
However, connected to my dust collection system, chips fall back down onto the table surface. I recommend the folding table accessory, but I still get snipe on short boards. The rotating drum has pegs that fit into alignment holes in the blades. It's an ear buster, and it pretty well needs a dedicated 20 amp circuit. I rarely use it on the 'finish' speed (179 cuts per inch) as it works just fine at 'rough' 96 cpi.
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