DeWalt DW735X Review: A Truly Powerful Wood Planer

The DeWalt is one of the more famous brands in the woodworking industry, and they have attained a well-earned reputation for producing terrific tools at reasonable prices.

The DW735x is one of the more expensive tools in the DeWalt lineup, but you sure do get a lot of value for your money.

You may want to just consider this as an investment, especially if you’re more than just a beginner DIY aficionado.

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The 15-amp, 20,000 rpm motor, and 10,000 rpm cutterhead speed makes the job a lot easier even when you’re dealing with wider materials and larger cuts.

With the 2-speed gear box, you have your choice of feeds so you can optimize your cuts. You can pick either 96 or 179 CPI.

The 19¾-inch cast aluminum base is twice as rigid as the standard 10-inch base and folding tables. This means you get the stability you can really rely on.

The material removal gauge and extra-large thickness scale combine to give you the accurate cuts you need for each pass you make.

The package includes infeed and outfeed tables and an extra set of knives, which makes life a lot more convenient for you.

The 3-knife cutter head offers you a longer lifespan for your knives, which can go on for 30% longer. In addition, the knife changes are easier and faster.

With the fan-assisted chip ejection feature, the chips are basically vacuumed from the cutter head and takes them out of the machine. This lets you work a lot more efficiently as the chips won’t get in your way.

The automatic carriage lock minimizes the movement that results in snipe. You won’t have to engage manually either.

This has an extra-large turret stop, so you’ll find it much easier to get back to the thicknesses you tend to use more frequently.

The limited warranty is for 3 years, with a 1-year limit on free service. However, there’s a standing money-back guarantee for 90 days. DeWalt has a good reputation for customer support, so you can expect the warranty to be actually honored.

Best Suited for Where and Whom

With the price and the extra features, this may not be best suited for newbie woodworkers. If you’re a beginner, then you may want to go with a simpler model that’s decidedly more affordable.

Check DeWalt DW734 Review

Check DeWalt DW735 Review

But if you have ample experience with woodworking already, the price of this model may be just right for you. That’s because you’ll find the features here quite useful. You’ll have a lot of options to work with so this can work for a wide variety of tasks and projects. This is best for those who tend to do a lot of woodworking, as the features make it a professional-grade wood planer.

Specifications

Corded
Stationary planer type
15 amps
20,000 rpm motor with 10,000 rpm for cutterhead
⅛-inch maximum cut depth
13-inch width capacity
92 pounds tool weight
6-inch depth capacity

Pros and Cons

First of all, you have that impressive power available at your fingertips. You can make larger cuts with ease even with wider materials. You can also control that power, so with the 2-speed gearbox you can slow the cuts per inch whenever you need to.

Then there’s the cutterhead accuracy, which is downright terrific. It helps that the base makes it a lot more stable, and the automatic carriage lock prevents the movement that lead to sniping. The extra-large turret stop makes it easy to get back to that thickness you tend to use and the fan-assisted chip ejection lets you concentrate on your work.

The knives are easy to change and cut very accurate, while they also last longer. In fact, the whole wood planer is quite durable, and you won’t have a hard time putting it to heavy-duty use. This can handle materials that other wood planers may have some difficulty with. It’s not even too heavy, so you can move it about without too much of a fuss.

On the other hand, this isn’t perfect. Right away you’ll notice the price, and it makes for a very significant investment on your part. That means it’s not really suited for a beginner, who may not be able to make full use of all its features and capabilities. That means if you’re a newbie, you paid for features you don’t really use, so that’s waste of your money.

There’s slight issue with changing the knife if you don’t read the manual and do it properly. You have to make sure that when you’ve changed the knife, the screws are all properly in place. That’s not always easy, because the screws for some reason are difficult to put into their proper places. If they’re not secured in place, you’ll have a disaster on your hand and you may as well say goodbye to your wood planer.

Finally, it’s a bit loud. In fact, you may want to have a dedicated woodshop for this because you can disturb your whole house with this thing. In fact, you may want to consider wearing earplugs.

Why should you buy this?

This is ideal for professionals, especially those who can make use of this frequently. The motor is quite terrific, as you’re able cut wider and larger materials without too much difficulty. It’s also able to cut deeply into your wood and provide you with a terrific finish.

Basically, it makes your job a lot easier and you won’t have to deal with sniping. That alone is a great reason to buy it. Add the fact that it is quite durable, and the price seems a lot more reasonable than at first glance. As long as you know that you can put this to frequent use, it’s a sensible purchase all in all.

All in all, this is a wood planer that makes woodcutting a lot more pleasant and enjoyable. It doesn’t matter even if you’re dealing with hardwood. Cutting such wood down will be downright easy. You may not be the best at cutting wood, but this can turn you into a veritable expert. It just makes things much easier for you—and isn’t that the point of buying a tool in the first place?

Check some top planers by DeWalt.

Some FAQs

What kind of blades should I use with this?

You may want to go with carbide blades, which can last much longer. With the power available here, standard HSS blades may not last all that long.

Does it have a 4-inch or 2.5-inch dust ejector port?

It takes both. Actually, you may want to use a large bag (like a pillowcase) along with a 4-inch 90-degree elbow to catch all the chips.

Just what kind of hardwood can it deal with?

Let’s put it this way—even oak isn’t a problem. You’ll cut it perfectly. The surface finishes will be smooth as long as you have good blades installed.

What do I do if I have trouble changing the blades?

When you need to change the blade, just be careful and deliberate. You may want to apply a drop of3-in-1 oil to keep your screws from getting stuck.