GaryFord Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 I have a DeWalt DW733 portable thickness planer, which is about 15 years old. I need help troubleshooting a problem.Recently while planing some rough-sawn cedar, the planer started making a "clunk" sound about every two seconds. With each clunk, the work piece stopped feeding briefly. After planing, the work piece had a very slight snipe mark every few inches.At first, I thought it might be dull knives, so I replaced them with a new set. That did not solve the problem.I then ran the planer with no work piece. Viewing from the infeed side, I noticed that the left end of the rubber feed roller on the outfeed side would drop down briefly, maybe about 1/8 inch, with each clunk sound. The right end would remain in its normal place.Later that day, I noticed a piece of deformed plastic on the floor near the planer. See a photo at http://share.plaidflannel.com/Planer_Part.jpg. This piece seems like it could be a damaged washer or bushing of some kind that could be related to the misbehaving feed roller.An exploded parts diagram of the DW733 is at http://plaidflannel.com/DW733_Exploded_Parts.pdf.I would appreciate suggestions on how to repair the tool, if possible. I believe DeWalt no longer sells parts for this model, but some third-party companies my have them. Is this something I can do myself, or would the reassembly of the tool require precision alignment tasks not suitable for a novice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneburgess Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 I would take that one to a well recommended repair shop as those machines do need to be set up very carefully so the planer takes off exactly what you dial in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter4187 Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Do you have a DeWalt service center near you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryFord Posted April 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 I'm in rural south central Colorado. The nearest DeWalt service center is in Denver, about 175 miles. I'll call them for an estimate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter4187 Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 I think that would be your best bet. They should be helpful in troubleshooting the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conductor562 Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 Sounds like a piece of the roller drive is broke. I've never had ours apart to know for sure how it all works, but if you can tear it down partially the broken part should become apparent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conductor562 Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 I routinely take things apart. Most times I get them back together, but once in awhile not so much. If its under warranty I wouldn't touch it. If not, taking it apart can't hurt too much because (assuming you don't lose any parts) it won't affect the repair the cost too much if by some chance you can't fix it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryFord Posted August 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2013 I was able to repair my planer, and I thought I might post what I did in case someone else has a similar problem.The exploded parts diagram was important to solving the problem. Get it at http://www.ereplacementparts.com/images/dewalt/DW733_TYPE_1.pdf.I removed the side panels and the chain drive cover. Then I removed the clips holding the chain wheels on their respective axles on the left side of the planer, and then removed the chains and drive wheels. I could then remove the rear pressure roller by removing the brackets on each end below the bushings. I discovered that one of the bushings was cracked, which allowed the hole supporting the roller axle to become significantly elongated. That allowed the left end of the pressure roller to travel up and down.I was able to get a new bushing from ereplacementparts.com. Installing it solved the problem.Note that I did not have to take apart anything in the motor housing or knife area. I'm not sure I could have done that and gotten it all put back together and correctly adjusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conductor562 Posted August 27, 2013 Report Share Posted August 27, 2013 Awesome Gary! Thanks for the follow up. I take pride in the fact that I was right about it being part of the Roller Drive. Makes you feel awesome when you tackle a problem like that and get it fixed doesn't it?Damn I love tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Underwood Posted March 8, 2020 Report Share Posted March 8, 2020 I have a different problem My DW733 doesn't turn on. I have a new circuit breaker to the machine but before I replace it I have a question about the rollers. Are they supposed to turn freely like the blades? The blades turn freely The infeed roller does not turn and the output roller has some play in it but it does not make a full rotation. Before I install the new circuit breaker I need to know that if the rollers are working are required to specifications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bro Dan Posted March 5, 2021 Report Share Posted March 5, 2021 I have a Dewalt dw733 planer that has started cutting deeper into the wood when i it about 2 inches from the tail end of the board. I changed the blades some time ago but have only been experiencing the deep cut in the past few weeks. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockman Posted March 16, 2021 Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 Hi! I bought a used DW733 planer and it worked great for a number of jobs but I am now having similar issues with it. When I put a board through, it accepts the board fine at first but after a second or so, it seems to stop and then continue, stop and continue...kind of like a hiccup or a sudden jerk. This only happens for a second each time but this is causing the boards to have lines in them once finished being run through. I took it apart like Gary did above and found the 4 bushings to be fine. The previous owner must have messed with the bushings or replaced the blades at one point as one of the screws holding bushing bracket #1 was missing and the other was pretty much stripped. I managed to get the stripped screw out and replaced both screws on that one bushing. Nothing to note on the other 3 bushings. I put the planer back together and no change. It still hiccups when running a test board through. Any ideas where to start checking next? Thanks! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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