Dewalt 735 with Helical cutter.

[Dave Monk]

Does anyone have one and what do you think of it?

[kmmcrafts]

I have the 735 with extended in and out feed tables.. Not the helical head though.. I love the planer itself and have considered buying the helical head upgrade for it.. 

I'd be interested in hearing the comments on the helical head from those that have used both.. I've never used or even been around one other than the showroom floor but I've read a lot of good reviews on this design. Worth the cost? Probably depends on the amount of workflow.. I often wonder how much it'd cost to replace the knives as a full set. I know there are some with two sides and some that all 4 sides can be used so that could be a factor in the cost of them as well. 

On one hand I feel like for the money they get for the planer and the helical head together for little more you can get a more robust commercial 15" planer which also has the helical head ( I think? ) I know when I bought mine 2-3 years ago a bigger heavier unit wasn't much more. Probably for most people the 13" width is plenty.. Many of my CNC projects end up being glue-ups that are 15-17 ( pretty common ) and have done a few that were 24" wide glue-ups.. But getting a drum sander might be a better more cost effective tool for these big projects too..

Anyway, I love the DW 735 with the regular knives.. can't help with the helical head version from a personal experience standpoint though.

[Dave Monk]

3 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I have the 735 with extended in and out feed tables.. Not the helical head though.. I love the planer itself and have considered buying the helical head upgrade for it.. 

I'd be interested in hearing the comments on the helical head from those that have used both.. I've never used or even been around one other than the showroom floor but I've read a lot of good reviews on this design. Worth the cost? Probably depends on the amount of workflow.. I often wonder how much it'd cost to replace the knives as a full set. I know there are some with two sides and some that all 4 sides can be used so that could be a factor in the cost of them as well. 

On one hand I feel like for the money they get for the planer and the helical head together for little more you can get a more robust commercial 15" planer which also has the helical head ( I think? ) I know when I bought mine 2-3 years ago a bigger heavier unit wasn't much more. Probably for most people the 13" width is plenty.. Many of my CNC projects end up being glue-ups that are 15-17 ( pretty common ) and have done a few that were 24" wide glue-ups.. But getting a drum sander might be a better more cost effective tool for these big projects too..

Anyway, I love the DW 735 with the regular knives..  help with the helical head version from a personal experience standpoint though.

I've had mine for about seven years and it's been a work horse. I'm considering selling it and buying another one. I've looked at a Jet and Grizzly 15".I have a drum sander so I don't know if the extra width would be a big deal. I would also have to run another 220 outlet which wouldn't be a big deal. It's a lot cheaper if I am willing to install the cutter head myself but I don't know that If I want to mess with it. 

[Davevand]

I upgraded my DW735 a while back with a Shelix head  that I purchased from Grizzly.  The head I have must be the smaller diameter head because I didn't have to remove all the inserts to install it. The install was straight forward and fairly easy, at the time there was a YT video showing all the steps, can't find the video now.

The first thing you will notice is that it is much quieter then the straight knives, so quit I had to remove my hearing protection to verify the planer was running. The finish is about as good as a set of slightly used straight knives, the difference is that the finish has always been that way since I installed the head several years ago, I have yet to turn the inserts.  I would have gone trough several sets of OEM knives during this same period.

There is a lot of internet chatter about the "fact" that an insert head uses more power than straight knives, but nobody have ever offered any test results. I tested mine before and after and I found the insert head used the same or in some case slightly less power. I think it is the fact that the inserts a so much quieter that you can hear the motor bogging down and people think it is using more power, when in reality the straight knives are also bogging down the motor you just can't hear it because they are so loud.

[Dave Monk]

8 hours ago, Davevand said:

I upgraded my DW735 a while back with a Shelix head  that I purchased from Grizzly.  The head I have must be the smaller diameter head because I didn't have to remove all the inserts to install it. The install was straight forward and fairly easy, at the time there was a YT video showing all the steps, can't find the video now.

The first thing you will notice is that it is much quieter then the straight knives, so quit I had to remove my hearing protection to verify the planer was running. The finish is about as good as a set of slightly used straight knives, the difference is that the finish has always been that way since I installed the head several years ago, I have yet to turn the inserts.  I would have gone trough several sets of OEM knives during this same period.

There is a lot of internet chatter about the "fact" that an insert head uses more power than straight knives, but nobody have ever offered any test results. I tested mine before and after and I found the insert head used the same or in some case slightly less power. I think it is the fact that the inserts a so much quieter that you can hear the motor bogging down and people think it is using more power, when in reality the straight knives are also bogging down the motor you just can't hear it because they are so loud.

I don't know that I would save any money going with the Shelix head but the noise reduction would sure be welcome. I've been paying about $22 for straight cutter knives on Ebay which come from China. A set will last me about a year. Thanks for the feedback. If you don't have one already you might look at a wixey readout for it. Love mine. 

[Davevand]

This was the first step in making my shop quieter. The second item I replaced was my Shop Vac that I used with my scroll saw. It worked fine but was screaming load. I found a older Fein at an estate sale and use that now. Much more comfortable scrolling now. The last tool I replaced was my Ryobi OSS, it worked fine, just screaming loud. I purchased the Jet OSS5 to replace it, all of the rubber spindles have warped so it it kind of a pain to use, but it is very quiet to use. The Ryobi would just wear me out if I used it any length of time.

For me, it is amazing how extended loud noise will wear me out. I do wear hearing protection, some times double protection.

Edited July 14, 2024 by Davevand