DeWalt DW734 12.5-Inch Benchtop Thickness PlanerHobbyist

The DW734 is a strong three-knife benchtop for a hobbyist who wants a clean finish and buy-once durability without stepping up to the two-speed DW735. Its 96-cuts-per-inch head and long cast tables give smooth, stable results on hardwood. If you want the finest finish and better dust handling, the DW735 is the step up, and if width matters, note this one caps at 12.5 inches.

• Owners say the 96-cuts-per-inch three-knife head leaves one of the finest surfaces of any lunchbox planer, with little sanding needed
• The 15-amp motor handles hardwood without bogging down
• The long cast infeed and outfeed tables give good support and stability
• The reversible disposable knives are cheap and fast to swap, and owners find the knife life claim holds up

• The carriage lock reduces snipe but owners still see it on hardwood, and say the fix is supporting the board ends, running long and trimming, or sacrificial boards
• It has a single feed speed, with no fine finishing mode like the DW735
• There's no fan-assisted chip blower, so dust collection is weaker and owners add the DW7331 hood and a shop vac
• It's heavy at 80 pounds and loud, and the 2.5-inch port makes 4-inch collection awkward without the accessory hood

Owners fit an aftermarket Byrd Shelix helical head for quieter, tearout-free cuts. DW7342 disposable knives are the OEM replacement, and the DW7331 hood adds 4-inch dust collection. Common tweaks are leveling the tables and adding a Wixey depth readout. There's no variable-feed option.