Planers Reviews

I purchased this unit based on the reviews and the reputation of Makita. The first time I put this machine to full use was while making a cherry dining table. I was milling 5/4 inch stock and noticed that after 5 or 6 boards went through that the feed would stop and then start resulting in a very uneven plane. As I proceeded milling the machine would continually stop with each board. I then cleaned the rollers and even changed the blades and checked the chain drive assembly. I noticed that the chain drive mechanism was skipping and that the source of the skipping was from the internal gearing mechanism that is completely sealed with the motor housing. After calling Makita customer service I was severely disappointed! They were no help at all and seemingly uninterested in my problem with their machine. Not at all what I expected to hear from a company that many industry pros regard as the best. As my planer is just over one year old (and past the 1 year warranty) my choices are to take it to a service center and pay the $40/hour labor cost plus parts or sell this thing and buy my second choice which I wish I had done in the first place. My second choice was the Ridgid planer by Home Depot. I have several of their power tools in my shop already and I have to say their cust. service is extraordinary. Combine that with a LIFETIME warranty on all their power tools and you have a winning combination. Makita, I am very disappointed in your lack of interest and will seriously think twice about purchasing any of your tools in the future.

After a small amount of use I found the initial start-up very easy. The results of the different types of wood processed were very satisfactory.After reading reviews on other machines of this type I decided on this machine. Seems like the right decision at this time.

I couldn't believe it when only a few small pieces of the stand arrived (in a very large box) It didn't even resemble a stand! The top, all of the legs, three of the feet and two side braces were all missing.
I was pleased, however, with Amazon's return policy.

Everything went in about 30 minutes without any problems. The stand is well made and the top is pre-drilled to bolt the planer down.

I always read these reviews before buying anything on here. But for some reason I didn't on this stand, as I needed one to go with my new planer and this one was recommended. I finally read all of the reviews after I purchased it and I was afraid that I would have the same problem that many others did when it came to putting it together. However, that was not the case at all.

I spent a total of about 30 minutes putting this together. Everything fit together perfectly. I didn't have to file, grind, drill, or adjust a thing and all of the hardware was there. So I guess if there was a problem before maybe Delta has straightened it all out.

As to the quality, it's great. Heavy gauge metal, carriage bolts everywhere, and a great finish on everything. The top is very thick and sturdy. My new 22-580 planer bolted right to it, with hardware included with the stand.

The manual for my planer recommended either the 50-322 or the 50-326 stands, but I bought this one because of the top that it has, which the 50-326 does not have, the planer just mounts to the top rails of the stand.

One thing that Delta could do to make this better is to include a center shelf for it, after all it has the brackets on the lower cross members already. I'll make one for myself

Wonder why there is so much variation in experiences with this planer and its knives? I have had my Delta 22-580 for almost three years with excellent performance. Today's order is for my second set of replacement knives. I have planed many bf of white oak, cherry, walnut, tulip poplar, and some softwoods with no problems and very satisfactory results. I appreciate the ease with which the knives can be changed.

As another review noted "all knives chip" -- eventually, even when working carefully. Just purchase an extra set of blades and expect to swap them out at some time. Also, I think doing more, thinner passes over wood that has been carefully inspected helps prevent the knives from chipping.

Best fix is to get a 4' or 5' piece of melamine shelving and put it over the flimsy infeed/ outfeed tables. Now it's easy to plane 8'+ boards with little to no snipe.

Nice that you can move the blades side to side - gives you at least 5-6 adjustments for nicks in the blades. Don't know what everyone is complaining of. You're going to have to do a light sanding or scrape no matter what planer you use.

My driveway is covered with snowdrifts of shavings, twenty cubic feet last weekend. Then I flipped the blades after seventy passes of 1/64inch each on 2x12x12 salvaged oak and poplar crating planks. So, I ended up with 50bf of finished 2x12. The knives are the heart of the machine and they are turning one man's trash into some beautiful material. They wear and dull just like my saw blades. While I wish they could be resharpened, I also wish that lumber didn't come with nails, knots, and sap.

I purchased my DW735 as a quicky (read: impulsive) replacement for a Jet JWP12 that died in the middle of a job. (The poly belt broke.) Uncharacteristically, I didn't research the tool before buying. I should have. Although the planer is satisfactory, the knives are not. I planed about 80 lineal feet (yes, JUST 80 feet!) of antique white oak 1x6s before suddenly finding the blades too dull for the feed rollers to overcome the resistance. This occurred suddenly...within the span of three boards! Going along just fine in the "dimensioning" mode when the feed became slower and slower until finally, the boards quit feeding. The dull knives offered too much resistance. I cleaned the feed rollers with acetone, thinking there was contamination causing them to lose friction. This helped for one board, then the feeding stopped again. These boards were salvaged church kneelers from 1900. I had rough planed them of old varnish and grit to clean wood with a DW675 power hand planer and then ran them through the DW735 to true and thickness to 3/4". Surprised and annoyed, I flipped the knives and continued with the project. I surfaced another 50 linear feet without incident. A few days later, I start another job that required surface planing some 2x10 Select structural Doug fir. These were new clean planks. I managed to surface two sides of one plank before the feed stopped again. Cleaning the rollers had no effect. The blades were SHOT! I tried just a very shallow pass (the material removal gauge didn't even register that material would be removed, but failed halfway through when the planer kicked out a 20 amp dedicated breaker. Cranked up the planer head and removed the plank. The resultant stopped cut was barely perceptible, perhaps less than 1/64th of an inch. Hardly a heavy cut! I've seen some snipe that was greater. So, now I've got two planers and both down! I've ordered replacement knives, but what a PITA. The knives on the Jet were three years since replacement with a huge amount of varied lumber under their belt and although not sharp, still managed to bull through some 2x10s without complaint. I've found some aftermarket knives for the DW735 online at Infinity Cutting [...]. Apparently not laminated or reversible, but anything is better than the stock knives!

We have been pleased with the DW735 Planer, it works well for our needs. The knives are the weak point in the system. They seem to wear quickly. This could be due to the abrasive nature of the particular wood (Makore) we are milling at this time. I think DeWalt does a good job overall but could do better with the knives.

I liked another reviewer's idea about reversible, solid carbide knives. As it is, the DeWalt knives don't wear down any faster than the replaceable knives on other planers I have owned. I have had a woodworking habit for over 40 years and, luckily for me, I can now sell enough of my work so that I can afford little luxuries like replaceable planer knives. I used to sharpen my own. It was one of my least favorite things to do. If you can afford it, go for it, even if you work mostly with redheart. This little DeWalt planer is a gem, a great planer for the price. By the way, it costs almost as much to send them out to be sharpened. The only way to save money is to make a jig (I haven't seen a good one for sale in a long time) and spend an hour or two grinding and honeing, honeing and grinding. I do that to this day with the knives on my jointer. It's annoying.

I am very glad I bought carbide blades when I bought this unit, since they seem impossible to find now. I have had a notify request in to Amazon/ToolCrib for over a year, never got any information, and they long ago seem to have removed the carbide blade item from the site. This unit NEEDS carbide blades for the planer. Without them, the unit is relatively useless on anything harder than fresh yellow pine. Old wood, ash, oak and the like require carbide or this machine simply folds the edge of the steel knives. while they can be resharpened, they are relatively useless compared to carbide blades. The planer is great, the steel blades are a waste of time.

I have the Hitachi PR12 Planer, it's a wonderful machine. The one big problem are the steel blades. I surfaced "new" pine boards,(about 200'), and the blades already have several nicks. So much so that I have to power-sand the ridges off the boards after they've been through the planer. I'm on my third set of steel blades. At $100 a set you are approaching the cost of a new low-end planer. I've searched for carbide blades to no avail. If they,(Hitachi),don't start making carbide blades available they might as well stop making the machine. Thank you.

Given a set of carbides are over [$$$] you can assume these are steel. The steel is useful for certain applications like recycling wood where you dont want a nail to shatter your carbides. Sharpening steel is about [$$]a pop, so you do the math for your needs. Given I do a lot of recyling of softwoods, the steel works fine. I rotate two sets. If you want carbide the Hitachi part number is 200001. Call a local dealer.

There is no way that this long blade adaptor can be leveled with the horizontal stone on the 23-710 Sharpener. It too is a poorly designed piece of equipment. The support can not be lowered sufficiently and even then it is about 1/4" higher on one side of the stone than the other. It is obvious that little engineering went into this support. I can not recommend this to anyone. It is a pure waste of money as is the sharpening center itself. I finally gave up trying to make use if this unit and bought a Swedish made one. Now, that one is a great 5+ star unit.

Sharpener is a big mess maker though - the splash sheild does little to contain the mess. The system lacks a drill bit adapter although I plan to try to modify one for standard grinders.

the only problem i had with this adapter is that the instructions in the manual for leveling it with the stones are incorrect. the set screws for the mounting bar go into a groove in it, so you can't rotate it. but, i simply spun the mounting bar so i DON'T hit the groove, and it's fine now. i'm not horribly THRILLED about that, but i can tolerate it.

I'd like to be able to buy just the cordless planer with out all the other tools included

As a person who was in the construction field I know which products will last, and which ones I wouldn't use if the Manufacturer gave them to me for free. My doubts about buying the drill, the planner and the jigsaw on line before I could actually feel the weight displacement and the ease of the buttons was dispelled the minute I opened up the box. This Bosch cordless combo set is truly a solid piece of equipment, I have no doubt it will last me for a very long time. It's a great addition to my tool collection. THANKS BOSCH & AMAZON

This is a lot of money for your basic brick shaped like a doughnut! Oh well, I guess if you need one to get your planner blades sharp again, it's not too much (right! Keep telling yourself that).

I think the product is a good piece of machinery , but for our buisness , it is not heavy enough. I would need an industrial planer molder. If you make a heavier one, let me know. I like Grizzly products.

i love the ease of replacing these blades. i plane alot of old barn wood and have to replace these blades often. when i was getting these blades for 22 bucks a set, i didn't mind them wearing out so fast on the hard woods. now that the price has jumped to 30 bucks a set i am wondering if going to a carbide blade would be more economical in the long run? are you or do you offer such a blade?