Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned DEWALT DW735R Heavy-Duty 15 Amp 13-Inch Benchtop Planer

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I received my planer today. I was very excited seeing as I was saving a lot of money by getting the reconditioned unit. I was placing a lot of trust in Dewalt and Amazon to deliver a good product. I think I would have been completely happy if it had not been damaged in shipping. Several plastic parts are cracked and broken. The pieces are all in the box so I know it was not like that before it shipped. The planer was place in the cardboard box with a second layer of cardboard for protection. That's it, no foam or any other padding. If Dewalt and Amazon do me right on fixing the damage I think I will be happy again. Sad they didn't spend just a few more cents on protecting this great tool when packing it at the factory.

Update: 9/27/05
I just did a project and ran some pine. It's working great! If you have damaged plastic parts from shipping call dewalt they will send them to you for free. They sent me all three broken plastic parts. I just hope it holds up in the long run.

Amazon, Tool Crib and Dewalt really need to READ all these comments!

As a couple of other reviewers have noted, the boxes that these reconditioned planers are shipped in are inadequate. Mine had been dropped and the holes in the box taped, apparently by the carrier. The planer was obviously damaged and couldn't be raised or lowered. I've asked for a replacement, but I'm not confident that it will arrive in working condition if the shipping boxes aren't improvved.

Judging from some of the other reviews, I must have gotten lucky because my planer arrived in pristine condition and worked great right out of the box. The only way you could tell it was not new was by looking closely at the bed. It planes like a dream and the results are very smooth, even on the 'coarser' setting. The chip blower works well, but with the volume of chips the planer generates, it should really be hooked up to a dust collector (unless you plan to run a hose out your window and make a big pile in the yard.) This thing is heavy, so I strongly suggest building or buying a mobile stand/cart to keep and operate it on - you won't want to be lugging it around much.

I bought the reconditioned planer. It was shipped in a cardboard box with no packing material whatsoever! Whoever did the reconditioning literally put it in a box, threw in the assorted pieces, and sealed it. The planer had no hope of being shipped without damage. It is disturbing that a nice tool was destroyed due to such stupidity. I returned it to Amazon, paid more, and purchased a new one. This one arrived properly boxed and in good condition.

I purchase this unit directly from Amazon, thinking that they have solved the packaging problems, (note all the complains from other buyers from amazon) What erritates me is that items sold by others thru amazon such as "tool king" was ship and received by thier customers without problems. I feel that dewalt is not at fault here since they are being package and ship by Amazon.

I could not believed the condition of this unit when i received it, completely useless, broken plastic parts were all over inside the box, now they said they can't replace it because it is out of stock,,, Well guess what amazon, it's still under production and not discontinued, you have advertised this item on and off 3 times this month. So i suggest you evaluate you customers satisfaction policy and make your paying customers get what they deserved,,, the item they paid for.

I have been a cabinet maker and woodworker for 23 Years. Having checked out and compared features with other brands, I was very impressed with Dewalt's 13 inch planer. I have been using a Dewalt 12 inch planer for a few years with no complaints. The 13 inch has several features that I like e.g.

three knife cutter head, two speeds, more ergonomic hand wheel, assisted chip ejection, threaded collumns for a more rigid platform. When I unpacked the tool my excitement suddenly turned to despair. As noted by B. McCoy in another review, the packaging is inadequate to say the least. The planer weighs about 97 lbs. and the carton has no handles to assist in picking it up. The outside package looked damaged and, in fact, the planer's metal base was broked. I never actually got to run or test the tool. I returned it for a refund. I would strongly advise anyone against buying this planer until they figure out how to protect it for shipping.

I had been considering a floor model planer for my workshop due to the fact that most portable planers just didn't seem to have the heft I was looking for. After reading some reviews of the DW735, I went to my local woodworking store and checked it out. I was very impressed with the product and the results it produced. Having the ability to transport it when I'm helping out a family member on a project was another reason I decided to go portable. Note that while it is technically portable, it is nearly 100 lbs with the extensions.

One of the other great features is the fan-assisted chip ejector. Planers put out huge amounts of waste and having the assist means you'll never have to worry about things getting backed up.

Regarding the shipping problems others have had, I purchased it locally so damage wasn't an issue. The box it came in was very sturdy and had foam on all four sides.

The only reason I don't give it five stars is that the extensions are not included and that hurts the overall value. Even if you build your own table for it, having the fences are almost essential when using it on projects outside the shop. The machine and the results are five star through - don't be afraid to purchase this one!

One review of the DW735 remarked on the flimsy box the planer was shipped in. My planer's box was flimsy as well with little internal packing. Despite the meager surroundings, the planer arrived intact and has been working beautifully. This is the first planer I've ever worked with, and it's been a breeze to use. What prompted me to make the purchase was 500 square feet of redwood decking I salvaged from a remodel. One pass through the planer and the wood looks like new. I just finished building my deck and friends have complemented me on the quality of wood. The Dewalt more than paid for itself several times over in the money I saved using salvaged redwood versus new.

To put it bluntly, this thing is way overpriced to buy new, much less reconditioned. There are better ones out there. I'm going to try my luck with a Delta 22-580 New for around the same price.

1. I received the planer in a reasonable amount of time with free shipping it always takes a little bit longer, but I was pleased with the timeliness of the shipping. 1 star

2. The base was damaged, cracked. Amazon/Tool crib did not have another one to send out, so I called DeWalt for a replacement base because one of their repair centers wasn't around. Replaced the base and was on my way. So I thought. No star

3. After discovering that the material removal gauge was completely off, and useless (yes I did run it through the center), I began running boards through it. However, after running a few board feet through, the blades were chipped. I made sure that all my wood (oak) was completely clean of nails and there weren't even any knots in the wood that was planed before I ran it through because I had read the other reviews about DeWalts blades. No Star

4. Oh, forgot to mention, the adapter sent along was too small for a traditional shop vac (like it says) After some slight modification, I was able to get the shop vac working. By the way, there are very little shavings that hit the floor - that part is good. 1 star

5. The finish was very nice, except for the ridges after the blades were chipped up. Easiy sanded out, but if you are going to have three blades running, they get expensive to replace and it's annoying to have to take them out and sharpen them all the time. Anyway, I'm sending it back to Amazon/Tool Crib. They were good about that, we'll see if the pick-up is as good. I'm not sure exactly what Reconditioning this went through, but it must not have been too thorough. 1 star for Amazon customer service

I bought the DW735 planer, refurbished, from Amazon about 3 weeks ago, and have used it now for about 30 board feet of lumber. I too looked at several reviews on the DW735, and think that the other reviewers were mostly correct, based on my experiences.

1) Regarding the packaging, several other reviewers said that the packaging was barely adequate. They are right. The box and "padding" (cardboard doubled over) would be fine for normal shipping conditions, but would allow the planer to be damaged pretty easily if there is any rough-handling by the shipper.

Incidentally, I used the standard $5.00 shipping (not the free shipping), and I had my planed to my door in 4 days flat! Very impressive, I think!!

2) Regarding mechanical failures, my planer looked and functioned perfectly, so far. I read that some reviewers had drive gear failures and a bad time fixing them. This planer has a gauge on the front that indicates approximate amount of material that will be removed as you feed the boards into the machine but before the cutter hits the board. The gauge has a little chart that shows max cut depth for various width boards, and I have been careful to stay within the range of material removal that the gauge shows. I don't know if the other reviewers with mechanical failures were doing that or not, but I have, and so far working great. I really like the design of the machine a lot, I think the ergonomics and controls are well laid-out, and I think the machine feels like it functions well. If this machine holds up for me over the long haul, I will be pleased with the design. It does feel like a well made machine.

3) Regarding cutter snipe, one reviewer said that snipe was not a problem if you hold some upward pressure on the ends of the boards as you feed into and then out of the machine and it will almost eliminate the snipe problem. That does work for me. I also bought the infeed/outfeed tables, but have not installed them yet. The hold-the-board trick is working fine right now, and I never let the machine run without full attention anyway.

4) THE BLADES ARE JUNK! I have not used other planers to be honest here, and for the most part the blades are still working fair. I also have not reversed them yet, but I have only planed 30 b.f. of soft maple, and they are putting ridges on one side of my boards. The ridges are small enough to sand out, but I still think this is unacceptable. Also, I am noticing increasing amounts of tear-out on the planed surfaces, and think it is due to the blades getting dull. The replacements aren't cheap either, especially if they only last so short a time, and I've only been able to find replacements manufactured by DeWalt. Most other planers use blades available from more than one manufacturer, and usually with a choice of carbide, but not these. This is the worst drawback in my opinion too, as this is a significant recurring cost. Incidentally, I am getting better results on the faster feed rate than on the finishing feed rate. I think this is partly due to dull blades passing over the freshly planed surface more often, and also that the planer will sometimes recirculate some chips in the cutter area, and occasionally squeeze some between the cutters and the workpiece, marking the workpiece.

Overall, I am happy to have it, but my next choice will be something more professional-oriented. In my opinion, the reason to have a piece of equipment like this is if you want to use it more than 5 times per year, and I am worried that I should have gone to look at the $700-$900 range models. And I would DEFINITELY RESEARCH CUTTER KNIFE OPTIONS FIRST!!!

3 stars thanks to the poor knives, 4 and a half stars if it came with carbide knives that weren't proprietary.