Planing the material is necessary to create a perfect surface for your project and products. Manually cutting and planning them is possible but you may want to use a thickness planer such as Dewalt DW735 Vs Ridgid D4331 in order to keep the workflow quick and efficient. These planers are easy to use and very reliable yet the two are not exactly the same. For those wondering which to go for, let’s see what you may like better here.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- How to Decide on a Thickness Planer
- What are Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331
- How are the Unit of Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331
- How are the Features from Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331
- How are the Performance of Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331
- How are the Dust Collection in Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331
- Dewalt DW735 Vs Ridgid R4331
Buying a Thickness Planer
Thickness planer is probably one of the most basic equipment you will need when handling or working with lots of woods or material. The purpose itself is to make one side of a material parallel to the other and usually they are working hand in hand with the jointer. They are working in a similar manner but not everyone will need the equipment since it is more of a professional or enthusiast tool. There are so many options to choose from and it can be quite confusing.
The first factor you may want to consider is the type of planer itself because if you will be working with lots of materials then we recommend getting at least a benchtop planer. The benchtop planer such as Dewalt DW735X Vs Grizzly Planer will be ideal for a wide range of users from the light to medium type of tasks. They are less expensive and also easy to carry in case your working space or spot often changes, as the dimensions are usually compact.
The standalone planer on the other hand is large and also stands on its own or comes with its own base. The motor is powerful enough to handle a wide range of material thickness and lots of workload at once. Next is the capacity of the machine because we need to buy based on the task or material you will be working on. Not every planer is the same but typically benchtop type come in 12-13 inches wide.
If you often build furniture, this dimension may not be ideal because it often requires you to glue the material together and if users find it quite limiting, we do recommend to go for a 15 inches or even 25 inches variant but be prepared for the cost since they will be quite expensive to have. Another factor to consider is the horsepower which is related to the capacity so bigger machines will have a higher motor too.
Higher motor allows for a more effective performance and you can feel it when feeding the material on the planer because it will feel smoother and also faster as it cuts down the surface. Benchtop planer is quite low on the motor but it is to be expected since the machine is relatively small as well and once you decide to invest more, the standalone or combo planer will be very different in terms of performance and time worked on each material.
| Dewalt DW735 | Ridgid R4331 | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
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| Product Dimensions | 24 x 22 x 19 inches | 26 x 16 x 20 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 92 pounds | 73 pounds |
| Best offer | Check price | Check price |
About Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331
There are so many good planers in the market depending on which seems to match your application or type of work. Not every DIYers will have the same opinion and need so it is wise to go based on your own need. If you are here then we assume that this planer not only needs to be compact but also reliable so a benchtop planer is a perfect solution. They are quite affordable for typical small and medium jobs, especially for enthusiasts.
Based on the capacity, you can find these planers easily such as from Dewalt and Ridgid since the two are well-known names in the power tool market. They are easy to find as well if you plan on visiting a physical store and bring home one of their tools. What we love the most from their products is the quality and price point because they make a good investment on the lasting ability as well as the ease of use.
For those who think a 13 inch planer will be adequate, the Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 are going to be very ideal options to consider. These planers are very much similar to each other and the tallest material they can plan is the same or 6 inches so they should be adequate for a wide range of materials or wood planks you want to work with. In comparison, they are about the same in price point and have a very similar ease of use.
What sets the Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 apart the most in our opinion is that DW735 comes with more features and ease of use in the unit but performance wise the two are not very apart from each other since they have the same motor. However, we will recommend the DW735 for the ease of use, additional features, as well as the strength of its motor. Sadly this variant is not coming with the necessary feeding table so we will need to add more into the budget.
Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 Unit
Before checking out what these planers can offer, let’s take a look into the unit first and as you can see, the construction or system itself is already different. Usually most benchtop planers are very similar to the R4331 with two stationary panels that hold the blade housing. The R4331 is supported by 4 steel on all corners while the blade housing itself is supported with two nuts; one on each side. It is already installed with the in and out feeding table.
On the other hand, the DW735 is not featured with the table but if you get the DW735X, it will come with the pair. The machine’s mechanism is a bit different because there are no stationary sides anymore but the whole top housing is moving together. It is supported by 4 large nuts that move together at a time for an accurate height adjustment. In comparison the weights are about the same for both machines and it is possible to lift them alone, even though two people will always be better.
Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 Features
Now for the most important part, let’s see what the Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 can offer starting from the features first. We do think the two are made with safety in mind and both do place the power button on the feeding side. Besides the power button you can find the cutting depth adjustment and height adjustment as well. To adjust the height of these planers there is a crank at the top of R4331 or on the side of DW735.
What’s unique to DW735 is the speed adjustment because not every benchtop planer comes with one and this is meant to set the blade speed into your preferred task between dimensioning at 96 cuts per inch and finishing at 179 cuts per inch. Besides coming with the same width and height, these planers are also having the same maximum depth of cut at 1/8 inch.
Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 Performance
Next for the performance, the Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 are very reliable. They come with the same 15 Amp motor to accommodate the capacity of the machine and it is working really well. The triple blades are rotating fast to shave the material into the dimension that you desired. The maximum speed of DW735 under no load is 10,000 RPM while the R4331 is slightly slower at 9,000 RPM but in practice they are equally powerful for typical small and medium tasks.
They do feel a bit slower as you work with longer planks as it gets heavier to push them towards the feeding channel but the most important is probably the blade itself. Since they are kept in the housing and not visible, it is not always noticeable but once the blades are chipped or dull, it won’t produce a smooth surface and the motor must have to work harder as it shaves the surface off. What surprised us is that under maximum load DW735’s motor is still very fast.
Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 Dust Collection
Lastly for the dust collection, both Dewalt DW735 and Ridgid R4331 are coming with the dust shroud and it is important since planer produce lots of dust and a good management will help a lot in order to keep your working space clean so we recommend to attach dust collector and channeling it away from your room. In comparison they are very strong at ejecting the debris but DW735 is noticeably stronger that in case you work outdoors and not using any collection, it may hurt a bit on skin.
Dewalt DW735 Vs Ridgid R4331
These planers are very similar in terms of ease of use and also price range but they are not identical. The DW735 sadly doesn’t come with the in and out table so we must buy it separately but based on the performance it has some of the strongest motors that can still keep up the speed regardless of the wood or material types we feed into the machine. It also comes with two different speeds to match with your goal.
Conclusion
The decision is all yours depending on how much you want to spend but if you don’t mind adding a little bit more, we highly recommend the DW735 because this planner is housing a very powerful motor, easy to get used to, and also has adjustable speed.