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Feeding lumber to a Dewalt 735 planer

Like Allen said always stand clear of the trajectory best way to keep from getting hit when that planer decides that that knot you just ran into it needs to come back out. As for the short piece with the grain going the wrong way the answer is No.:thumb::thumb:
 
Glad it worked out. My Griz planer is fine for me. But it lacks an accurate guage. What you describe is a design feature some smart planer maker needs to incorporate into the smaller units, IMHO. I would love to see an ACCURATE reset-able guage on planers, mine especially. I just go trial and try again to get matching thicknesses. A high volume shop would never tolerate this.
 
Short pieces of wood around power tools is usually an accident waiting to happen. Cross-grained or not.

Your wood goes into the planer under a pressure bar to keep it on the table. On little planers that is also the feed roller. The cutter head removes the wood. Then then it goes under another pressure bar/feed roller and exits the machine. The wood must be under the control of one pressure bar or the other. If it isn't, then it become fodder for the cutter head resulting in much the same thing as dropping food into a blender.

Good for smoothies, but not good for woodworking. :)
 
Frank Fusco said:
Glad it worked out. My Griz planer is fine for me. But it lacks an accurate guage. What you describe is a design feature some smart planer maker needs to incorporate into the smaller units, IMHO. I would love to see an ACCURATE reset-able guage on planers, mine especially. I just go trial and try again to get matching thicknesses. A high volume shop would never tolerate this.
Click to expand...

http://www.wixey.com/planer/fit/index.html

Also google search "iGaging DRO planer" - some assembly may be required :D
 
Wow, you folks are the best. Okay, no planing cross-grain, and no little pieces, thanks Carol. I am careful about the trajectory, Chuck. I sit off to the side and wait for pieces to come out the back onto a roller stand before touching them (or going near them). And yes, I know the first rule of woodworking machines is that if you have a problem, shut it off first.

Question: The thing is so loud! Like a jet engine! Are any other planers quieter? Fortunately, the shop dog is deaf....:) :p
 
Cynthia White said:
...Question: The thing is so loud! Like a jet engine! Are any other planers quieter? Fortunately, the shop dog is deaf....:) :p
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Larger ones are generally quieter, and the ones with helical cutter heads are even quieter than that. :thumb:

My planer is one of the few tools that I wear hearing protection around. It's indeed the loudest thing in my shop.
 
My DeWalt 735 is the loudest machine in the shop...that is real ear damage noise as far as I am concerned.

I have the Wixey depth gauge on my planer. It works fine and is accurate if you read the directions. I got mine at Rockler several years ago. It was approx. $45.

Enjoy your beautiful Cynthia Made lumber.

JimB
 
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Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The planer worked fantastically yesterday and this morning. I'm comfortable feeding in and feeding out, and I have no snipe. The bad news is that since about noon, the planer itself isn't feeding. Now when I start a board, the planer isn't "grabbing" it. If I insist and push it in, eventually it's "grabbed" farther in and planes normally, but it's definitely not working like before. So I read the manual again. ;) It says check to see if the dust outlet is clogged. Nope. Look inside and see if there's a sprocket broken. Nope. Does anyone have any ideas? :bang:
 
1) Wax the table.
2) Clean the rollers with a little denatured alcohol
3) Are the blades sharp?
4) How much are you hogging off at a time?

My biggest problem with mine is when I run something like hard maple through it. Sharp blades are a must, and I try to take pretty light cuts.

Have you used it much? Or used it with wood that's been on the ground. Dull blades can be a pretty big problem.
 
Okay
1. I'll do that in the morning.
2. How do I access the rollers?
3. I can't imagine that they're already dull....
4. Very little. Like 1/16 at a time.
Have I used it much? How much is much? Maybe 6 hours total since it was new.

It just "feels" different. I used to push it in just a little and it grabbed it from me. Now I have to beg it to take it....
 
On mine, I clean the rollers by just raising the cutter head and rollers enough to where I can get my hand underneath it, then carefully wipe the rubber rollers with a DNA-soaked paper towel. Of course, this is with the planer unplugged. Do this cautiously, since you don't want to accidentally rub a knuckle on one of the blades. You might also be able to access the rollers more easily by removing whatever covers you would normally have to remove to change the blades. (It'll be discussed in the manual.)

Also, you might be surprised how easily lunchbox planer blades can get dull. I've toasted a set in about 30 minutes by planing old painted lumber.
 
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