I just ran about 10 bd feet of maple through my DW735 with the new infinity blades installed.
Do my displeasure, the same nicks began to appear that I saw with my dewalt knives.
This was nice clear hard maple from a very good lumber dealer. It was in the rough, but looked clean and free from gravel/dirt which could damage the blades.
I guess this is just something I’ll have to live with.
For the most part, the knives still seem to be sharp… but the little nicks still have to be removed to get a nice surface.
What is is about this planer that makes the blades develop nicks so quickly?
Is this normal for HSS knives to start leaving small ridges after running only a dozen bd feet of hardwood lumber?
Can I hone a microbevel at a steeper angle and create a more durable edge?
I’ll continue to keep everyone informed about the long term quality of these blades vs. the dewalt. I know there are a lot of other DW735 owners out there who would love to find better blades.
vincent
Replies
Oh Vincent thanks for your timely post. I too have a DW735 and in the next couple of day getting about 100BF of Maple. I have had no problems with Red Oak of other woods. I have been thinking about S2S on the maple (4/4)after your post I am thinking about going ahead with the S2S. Will probably be a wash or a + over the blades and because I try to cut everything off of a single set-up changing blades will not make me a happy camper.
Ken
What is is about this planer that makes the blades develop nicks so quickly?
Is this normal for HSS knives to start leaving small ridges after running only a dozen bd feet of hardwood lumber?
I hate to say it but this doesn't sound like a planar problem. How much wood are you taking off at a time?
Perhaps the wood isn't as clean as you think it is...
BusterYes, you can nick your planer blades with just one board. All it takes is a little piece of sand or grit. Just shift ONE of the blades a little to the left or right. then the nicks in the blades will not be lined up. Your boards will come out smooth again.SAM
Yes, you can nick your planer blades with just one board. All it takes is a little piece of sand or grit. Just shift ONE of the blades a little to the left or right. then the nicks in the blades will not be lined up. Your boards will come out smooth again.
Yup, been there done that. I also have the Dewalt 725, the first board I put through, "The test board" had a small finishing nail in it. Nicked the blade, my bad. Shift a blade over a bit and I was back in business.
I think it's odd that anything in the design of the planer would cause the blades to be nicked. I suppose the blades could be contacting something inside the planer that is nicking the blades... But that would probably be noticable.
I take very light passes, maybe 1/32 to 1/16th of an inch at most.It is possible, however, that the wood is not as clean as I suspected.
It's tricky to know just how clean a rough sawn board is. Even when they look clean, there can be debris hidden in the sawkerf lines. Do you have a sure fire method of cleaning your lumber, or do you have it milled to thickness by your lumber yard (who likely has carbide blades that can deal with more sand and debris)?any insight would be welcome, since good blades don't come cheap. I can't think of anything else I could be doing that might cause this... I've used other planers without any problems in the past. vincent
Rough lumber would certainly hide many, many villains. I keep an old (but not too dull) set of knives around for "suspect" wood, and run it through on both sides before switching to a clean set of blades. However, there's still a chance of nicking a blade. Those ridges are so easy to clean up though, and sanding is going to be necessary anyway, so I've gotten over worrying about them.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Just thought you would want to know that infinity blades don't seem to be a 'cure all'
I still hope that the long term blade life is better than the dewalt. I do plan to go to greater lengths in cleaning my rough lumber. You are right, the little nicks don't take much effort to clean up... but when you have a LOT of them to deal with it does slow things down.
Perhaps they're harder for me to deal with because the surface left with really fresh sharp blades is so darn good. It still seems odd to me... i've used other planers with HSS blades and they don't seem to have the same issues. And I've run really rough lumber through that other planer too. I just wonder if the bevel angle is different, or the greater thickness of the blades is a factor, or perhaps the cutterhead speed is the issue... I'm just thinking out-loud.vincent
I totally appreciate the report on the Infinity blades, sorry I should have said that in the beginning! Too much re-muddling going on in my life, am losing the niceties.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
There are a number of reasons for your frustration- as others have referred to. In addition, one problem might be unreasonable expectations.
I would just point out that producing a "nick free" surface is not the primary purpose of a planer. Rather it is to plane the board to a selected thickness, parallel to a jointed surface. If you end up with a snipe free, properly planed (and jointed) board after milling, you have succeeded. Producing a glass smooth surface with a planer is not that important- you can clean up the planed and jointed surface with a smoothing plane or cabinet scraper.
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
thanks for the feedback-I was wondering if i might not have set my hopes too high.
I know that one should not rush to change blades the moment these nicks appear...
I have just been surprised by how quickly they happen.It seems, however, that the solution to my problem might just be better cleaning of rough lumber. Since I do handplane most of my boards after they come out of the planer, i suppose i really have no reason to be so picky. vincent
When I was starting out, I took WWing classes at a local arts college. They had industrial strength equipment, but it took a beating as the students were not always very kind to it. As a result both the jointer and the planer tended to leave nicks, and I early on get in the habit of smoothing and scraping for a finish.I own the DW735 and have not had as many issues with the blades as some, not clear why. I have a Grizzly jointer with a spiral carbide cutter head- it is very rugged, does not chip, and leaves a pretty nice surface that needs only minimal dressing before finishing. I suppose a planer with a carbide cutterhead might do as well, but I think there would still be some tool marks that would need to be scraped.In the end, I don't mind honing my 4 1/2 smoother and taking out my day's aggressions on the planed and jointed surfaces. It leaves me with a smooth surface, a pile of paper thin shavings and a better frame of mind.There might be a better (or easier) way, but I haven't figured it out yet...Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
I hone my planer blades from time to time just to touch them up and to maintain a longer life for the blades. Also, when a nick shows up, I will loosen the screws of a blade and slide it to one side or the other, thus off-setting the nicks. I also run my material through a drum sander after planning.
Ray
This topic has been beaten to death on many sites with no truly definitive conclusion. From users who have run hundreds of board feet with no problems to the first board run through causing the problem. After market blades, second generation DeWalt blades, clean rollers, tipped up infeed and outfeed, nothing seems to provide a definitive fix.
I can only add some worthless speculation. The cutter heads on larger planers are much heavier in design and allow for a thicker blade with shallower grind angles which makes for a more robust and durable cutting surface, less prone to deflection. This added weight requires a more substantial frame and housing to accommodate the weight of the heavy cutter assembly. This must be the trade off.
On the other hand my little Black and Decker electric hand plane has three inch blades that are approximately a quarter inch wide. These little blades have provided unbelievable performance cutting through horrific painted surfaces, dirty wood etc. Compared to the benchtop they keep their edge within reason. I think the DeWalt style blade is so wide and so poorly anchored that they deflect just enough to cause a weakness in the cutting edge which quickly develops into a nick, but what do I know it's only speculation.
While this can be a frustrating condition I still find the 735, its portability, and its ability to remove massive amounts of material invaluable in my modest shop. A solution would make this one trick tool.
Vic
I honed the blades yesterday at a slightly steeper micro-bevel with my 1000 grit norton waterstone, careful not to remove much material. That got rid of most of the nicks, and seems to still leave a very nice surface. Now I'll be sure to clean any rough lumber very well before putting it through the planer.
Will the micro-bevel give me a more durable edge? Only time will tell. I think your theory about thinner blades being more prone to deflection and vibration sounds very wise to me. Also, I did notice that the cutting angle on the knives in the large 5hp industrial planer I have used from time to time was much higher- making for a more durable edge.
This helps me to rationalize why those knives, made from the same german HSS, would last much longer than the knives in my dewalt.
Vince, I think this is an issue we're simply going to have to accept. The risers these blades can leave are easily sanded down a sanding I would generally do prior to finishing anyway. I still find the 735 to be a little work horse.Vic
AGREED...and i can use the free RO sander that dewalt included with the 735 as part of a special promotion.
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