The planer has a broad paddle switch for quickly cutting the power. Just above the feed opening is a gauge that shows how much wood is being removed.
Back in 2016, Audrey and I were asked to restore BARBASHELA, a Mississippi River skiff designed in the 1880s by Natchez Steamboat Captain Thomas P. Leathers. She was made of cypress and needed some new planking to get her shipshape, and, luckily, we had a cypress mill nearby to supply the 4/4 rough-sawn stock. The mill could have planed the boards for us, but we needed to get the perfect thickness to match the original planks as we scarfed them together, so we purchased a DeWalt DW734 Benchtop Planer to add to our arsenal of tools.We try to keep the shop footprints of our tools low, so we use portable saws and benchtop tools that can be put out of the way when they’re not in use. A large, heavy planer would have been great, though expensive, and would have taken up a lot of room for the few planer jobs that we need to do. Hand-planing the planks was also out of the question, so we researched benchtop planers and decided the DeWaltDW734 would meet our requirements. Its 12-1/2″-wide bed could handle the 12″-wide garboard that we needed to replace, and its 6″ thickness capacity it would come in handy for shaping some 4″ stock for the stem. The 734 weighs a sturdy 80 lbs, a bit heavy for moving around, but solid and stable in use, especially when working with long stock.
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Comments (5)
I’ve had the earlier model #733 for many years and have been very happy with it. Has two blades instead of the three on one reviewed. One modification I made was adding a deck and casters to the underside: a lot easier to roll it into a corner when not in use and position wherever appropriate when it’s needed. Another approach by Jim Tolpin ( in Working at Woodworking ) was to mount the planer to a frame which could be hung, via block-and-tackle arrangement, to the ceiling of his shop.
With long heavy planking we have supported the plank in various places and let the planer run itself down the plank. No heave lifting, no long tables, just takes 2 or 3 people to move the supports around while the planer travels down the length of the plank.
I’ve owned the 734 for about 2 years, mine throws the breaker sometimes on start up but I’ve put a new breaker in and that fixed the problem. I’ve planed soft maple, cherry, walnut, and poplar with no problems.
For the money, these are great planners. I’ve reversed the knives after about 2 years of use. When I buy new knives, I’m looking at the Infinity Tool knives.
Photo and video by the author
I’ve had the earlier model #733 for many years and have been very happy with it. Has two blades instead of the three on one reviewed. One modification I made was adding a deck and casters to the underside: a lot easier to roll it into a corner when not in use and position wherever appropriate when it’s needed. Another approach by Jim Tolpin ( in Working at Woodworking ) was to mount the planer to a frame which could be hung, via block-and-tackle arrangement, to the ceiling of his shop.
I have the 735, my second one. Works great.
I have been looking at these and always had questions about how long the knives last. Thank you for the information!
With long heavy planking we have supported the plank in various places and let the planer run itself down the plank. No heave lifting, no long tables, just takes 2 or 3 people to move the supports around while the planer travels down the length of the plank.
I’ve owned the 734 for about 2 years, mine throws the breaker sometimes on start up but I’ve put a new breaker in and that fixed the problem. I’ve planed soft maple, cherry, walnut, and poplar with no problems.
For the money, these are great planners. I’ve reversed the knives after about 2 years of use. When I buy new knives, I’m looking at the Infinity Tool knives.