Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
 Great Addition to the Shop June 6, 2009
Dust Man (California)
DEWALT DW734 Heavy Duty 15 Amp 12-1/2-Inch Benchtop Planer
My planer arrived in top condition and took but a few minutes to set up. I have had two Delta planers that I liked in the last 12 years, but so far, this Dewalt product ranks above them. I especially like the different micro thickness gauges that are included as standard. 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. 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. However, the chute may have clogged up on me when I did not get it turned on before I began planing. Good product for the beginner or the pro.
 fine finish April 2, 2009
George Botkin
Works great had some sniping but the lock takes ccare of most of it smooth finish
 Poor cutting blades March 23, 2009
Fred (Bay Area)
The problem with the DW734 (and DW735) is the thin Mickey Mouse disposable cutting blades. The discontinued DW733, basically the same machine as the 734 except it had thick blades that could be sharpen numerous times. My friend is a small time cabinetmaker and hates his DW735 and how it eats up the blades so fast.
The cutting head could easily be stripped when the bolts are over torque. Best to use a 1/4" torque wrench. The problem is when the blades get dull, which is often; it over stresses the machine - i.e., overstressing the rollers, chain, bushings and drive sprockets. This could result in crack bushings and broken sprockets and other associated parts in the drive assembly. Parts are not expensive but if you don't do you own repair, might be cheaper to get a new planer.
When the machine sounds different, when the chips are smaller or when the pressure rollers not feeding the wood, its time to clean the rollers, wax the bed and, in particular, check the blades. When you see the cutter head jump, even by a small amount, that's an indication the machine will self-destruct. Time to check the drive assembly. Dewalt tech support was clueless and the user's manual was useless. I've found out the hard way after my machine self-destructed couple of times.
My cutting head is not parallel to the bed with one side of the blade lower by 1.5mm. The manual does not show any alignment proceedures. I've added a 12.5" wood board as a new bed and plane to the blade profile so any feedstock now would be parallel. This will do for now until I have more time to align the machine.
Anyway, it's a good little planer when it's maintained and with a fresh set of blades.
I love this planer that I had purchased two already! February 6, 2009
E. Hernandez (El Paso, TX)
I purchased this planer back in 2004, because of a lumber intensive project I had in mind, and I didn't want to pay the extra price of planed lumber sold in the home centers, so I wanted to plane my own lumber myself.
I love the smoothness of the boards as they come out of the planer, that I used it for everything that was not built of plywood in my shop!
Then, last year a friend of mine whom I intruduced to the wonderful world of woodworking saw the cost benefits of planing cheap lumber, and I offered my planer for him to try it. He loved it so much that he was not willing to return it back!!! He ended up buying it from me, so I had to buy it back again!
I had some other choices, but for the price and great results that I've had with it, I went back to the same model, and it works great!
Good Buy January 25, 2009
J. OBrien (Florida)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Lowes had the 734 on sale for $300.00 and I jumped on it. I just used it to plane 50' of long leaf pine, with very little snipe, I got from an old stock loading dock. It did a great job- much better than my benchtop Delta. As with all tools of this type I don't force them to do more than they are able. I take small bites. I will now sell the Delta.
The 734 has some nice bells and whistles; longer table extensions. carriage head lock, material removal gage, turret stop, dept adjustment gage on head lock lever. The three knives make for a much smoother plane. Very little sanding will be required. The double sided knives is a improvement. The Delta knives were only one sided and cost about $20.00 for two to replace. The DeWalt costs $50.00 for three- not much difference. All of these bells and whistles make the job of planing much easier. Of coures I have not replaced the knives, but I did a dry run and it doesn't look that hard.
My only problem was with the dust hood. The attachment holes were not exactly lined up and it was a job to attach. When attached one of the table extensions can't be raised. I solved this problem by drilling and tapping a hole in the tool tray. It is now easy to attach and remove the dust hood which allows storage in a smaller area. The hood is much more firmly attached now. Not exactly quick release but close to it.
Overall I am pleased with my purschase.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
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