Planer or cyclone?

[MLB3164]

Ok everyone I am asking for more advice here. I currently have a Dewalt DW735 planer and have been looking at the Grizzly G0453. I like the Dewalt except for the miserable wear you get on the blades. With just being a home hobbyist should I even think about the Grizzly or should I spend the money on a cyclone dust collection system? I currently have a HF dust collector with the Wynn cartridge filter that I just move around from machine to machine. This works OK but I wonder if I will see that big of an improvement with the cyclone (Oneida 2hp Super Dust Gorilla). I really don't "need" either one so I am throwing this out there for all you seasoned sawdust makers. Also when you were originally setting up your shop did it seem like you spent more time refining the shop than building projects? That's the way I have felt lately. Thanks everyone.

Marty

 

[D L Ames]

Marty, it has been about 5-yrs since I had my shop built and I am still not done refining it yet. Seems like every time you upgrade a tool or get a new one you have to roll back into the refinement mode.

As for choosing between a new planer or a cyclone, if the planer is working okay for you right now (other than blade wear) then IMHO I would opt for the cyclone. I have a Oneida 2-hp cyclone with duct work to all of my major tools and I love it. I had a Jet 1100 DC prior to that and got tired of rolling it around the shop from machine to machine and often times just blew off moving it. Of course as you add additional tools your back to the "shop refinement" piece again so you can add additional DC drops.

D L

 

[4yanks]

I vote for the cyclone with ductwork as well. Especially the duct work. A well thought out system will help even the most anemic DC. I will be moving to my new shop in about 10 days. I am planning on putting in an Oneida system as well.

 

[Travis Porter]

I upgraded to a 3HP cyclone in January. I have then spent another $700 upgrading the duct work.

I currently have a G1021 15" planer that I upgraded 10 years ago from a Makita bench top. The difference in how much you can cut was night and day. The downside to it (and the G0453 that you list) is the base goes up and down, not the motor head. That means every time you change the height of cut you have to adjust whatever rollers you are using to try to minimize snipe. The good thing about it is it can do much deeper cuts a whole lot faster.

On my 3HP dust gorrilla if you stick your hand in front of the intake it will practically suck it in. My old Jet DC-1200 bag system would start a cloud of dust every time I started it. Not so with the dust gorrilla. It is loud, but not much more than the Jet I had.

If I were you, I would probably do the planer now and wait on the dust collector upgrade. You have a Wynn cartridge so that is a plus for keeping the dust down. If you are ok with going around machine to machine, no big sweat. I got tired of doing the machine to machine thing and went full bore with duct work. I can sincerely say putting up metal pipe is a PITA. If I do ever have to do it again I will either buy all spiral pipe or put up PVC. My .02.

 

[William Bender]

Had the dewalt and the grizzly until we upgraded to a 5hp planer. A benifit of the bigger planer is alot less work for you while the cyclone will give you cleaner environment. So do you mind sanding out the problems and having little less accuracy on your project or do you hate the dust? You could get the planer and add a simple shop vac for 50 bucks from someplace like lowes that has a 3hp electric engine that will never die. I saw a shop where all they had was 10 or so shopvacs on each piece of eq. of course with alot of production you will run into bag changing problems. I just think planer sounds better than vaccum.

 

[ashley_phil]

I own a 735 and have used it a friends house who has a cyclone. I'm very impressed with the quality and have seen lesser finish off of planers that cost 10 times as much. My guess would be that your current collector isn't pulling the chips off fast enough and allowing the poor quality. I'd point the thing outside and put the hood that allows the chips to blow and see what type of results you get. When my knives need replacing I'm going to see if I can find some better quality other than from Dewalt, because I can't imagine they are the best given the low cost of replacement blades.

 

[Steve D]

I think the DC upgrade is the better bang for the buck right now. The bigger planer would be nice but you will see more benefit from the DC.

 

[woodguy1975]

I'm going to vote for the planer right now. You can't do any basic woodworking without a planer and a jointer. They are critical machines. If you can can't make flat stock that is even in thickness you can't do woodworking very well. DC is a convenience. Air filtration is a must for health, but a cyclone is only about convenience. Get the planer.

Good Luck,

John

 

[MLB3164]

Ok everyone it looks like a split down the middle for either the cyclone or the planer. It isn't like I "NEED" either right now. The DW735 with sharp blades leaves a great finish and my HF dust collector catches most of the dust. I think the cyclone will be the next big outbreak of "woodguy disease". I am getting tired of lugging the DC from machine to machine. Anyone have experience with the aftermarket DW735 blades? Looks like I will need some soon. Thanks everyone.

Marty

 

[RandyJ]

Marty, I know this might be a dumb question, but have you turned your blades around yet? My 735 came with "two-sided" blades that you can rotate when the first side gets dull. They can also be sharpened, if you're not opposed to using a little elbow grease:lol:
Take care,
Randy

 

[MLB3164]

Randy I have flipped the ones in the planer now once so they are on the last edge and I have a spare set. Please tell me how you sharpen yours!!!! I have read they can't be sharpened. I have read about a few companies offering the aftermarket sharpenable blades for the DW735. Thanks for your help.

 

[RandyJ]

Marty,
There are those who would say only a professional can do it right. I have heard many people say even the pros mess up their blades. I'm too cheap to pay someone else to mess up my blades! I can do it for FREE. There are many ways to sharpen your blades. The question is how much time and money do you want to spend.
I prefer the Scary Sharp method because it's slow, and hard for me to mess up a blade!
Here is an example of a Makita/Grizzly that will sharpen up to 16" blades.
The Makita is Model 28220 the Griz is Model g2017. They are both around $250. If you already have a sharpening system, you can just buy the jig to hold your planer blades.

There are much more sophisticated machines selling for Thousands of dollars!! (Only Woodguy would be interested in one of those:lol: .)

Or look here for other options:
http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/svh320rvu.html

I'm sure if you Google, you'll probably find much more info than you ever wanted to know about the subject.
Hope this helps,
Randy

 

[MLB3164]

Randy I guess I have read so many articles on the DW735 blades having an unusual profile and being 1/16th thick that they are hard to sharpen. I do have a Tormek but don't have the plane sharpening attachment. When you have some time tell me how you sharpen your planer knives. I am sure we are not the only ones here with the DW735 that would like to save some money. Thanks for the info.

Marty

 

[RandyJ]

Marty, I don't have a "real" sharpening system. Only a 6" grinder with various grit wheels I have to change out. So far, I've been lucky enough to not nick any blades which requires grinding. I use the Scary Sharp Method™ for sharpening all cutting edges(plane blades, chisels, planer knives, pocket knives, etc). Here is a link to an "abbreviated" version" http://vfish.net/sharp.htm or all the gory details of the original http://www.shavings.net/SCARY.HTM. The only difference is, in order to accomodate 13" blades, you have to glue (or wet) 2 pieces of sandpaper end to end. If the blade isn't too beat up, just a few strokes on 1000 and 2000 grits will polish the edge like a mirror! I hope this helps...good luck.
Randy