Shake, Rattle & Roll...DeWalt DW733
Written: Sep 11 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: adjustments are relatively easy
Cons: heavy, high vibration, no ready out of the box as boasted
The Bottom Line: Not worth the investment. Heavy with lots of vibrations. There are much better options available.
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| GuisBuild's Full Review: DeWalt Heavy-Duty 12 1/2" Portable Thickness Plane... |
Portable and planer seem words at opposite sides of a spectrum. Planers are traditional very heavy, immovable beasts which require a substantially sized shop and, quite frankly, a substantial pocketbook. An investment, to be sure, but probably not necessary or feasible for hobbyist woodworkers, or guys just starting out on their own. Further, even large construction companies would be out time and money if all planing had to be done in one central location. Enter the portable planer. Smaller than stationary models and purporting to be portable, the user is still looking for essentially the same thing: accuracy, nice finish, plenty of power.
DeWalt DW733
In the realm of what a typical construction crew does day in and day out, perhaps stating that this is a heavier version of portable is laughable. Weighing in at around 80 pounds, perhaps it doesn't sound terribly heavy. Yet when you consider other competitors have manufactured a portable planer weighing in at least 10 pounds lighter....well, saying it's "heavy" makes sense. This is the first strike against the DeWalt. Too heavy for a "portable".
Accuracy and finish is dictated to a great extent by stability. A portable planer that cannot be properly set-up and stabilized results in a planer heavy on vibration. Vibration is the enemy. To DeWalt's credit they have given two sets of of holes for fastening it down. Add to that the fact that there is no set-up required upon purchase, and DeWalt will win some consumers over.
Yet being ready out of the box doesn't mean much if factory settings aren't all they're cracked up to be. I took mine out, fastened 'er down and zipped through a piece of stock to see what I'd be given. Factory settings were off. Oh, nothing horribly blatant like an inch, but anyone using a planer knows that fractional inches are as key as can be. Adjustments were needed for thickness as well as side-to-side. So much for "ready out of the box".
Finally, after adjustments were made, myself and the guys on the crew put the DeWalt through the paces. Volume was typical for on-site work. Nothing too strenuous, but rather consistent use. What we found was the 10,000rpms the DeWalt boasted didn't meant too much when push came to shove. The motor slowed down considerably to a belabored moaning sound....almost felt bad for the little guy. If that weren't enough, it shook considerably and added time to the job.
Final Results...
The DeWalt is still on the job thanks to weeks of use and my reluctance to return it in the shape it's currently in. Accuracy is my biggest concern which includes the high vibration experienced. For the weekend woodworker, I also dread the fact that DeWalt promises this ready "out of the box". My warning there is to run a piece of test stock through first and make the necessary adjustments.
If you really need a portable planer, whether it's for work or hobby, you can do better than the DeWalt in terms of performance and even in terms of price (we paid $369). Better performance is available which are lighter on the back and the pocketbook.
Recommended:
No
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GuisBuild
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Location: USA
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to a man with a hammer everything looks like a nail
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