The DeWalt DW735X is one of the most established benchtop planers around, but it comes with straight knives. I eventually upgraded mine with a FindBuyTool helical cutterhead. Once you factor in the planer and the aftermarket cutterhead, though, you’re spending considerably more than the roughly $1,000 price of an FB132H that comes with a helical cutterhead from the factory.
So the question becomes: does the more expensive, upgraded DeWalt actually perform better? I’ve tested both machines directly, and this article is about that head-to-head result.
👉 Check Current Price of the FB132H at FindBuyTool
👉 Check Current Price of the Dewalt 735X
👉 Check Current Price of the FindBuyTool Helical Cutter for the Dewalt 735
FindBuyTool provided the FB132H for me to test, but they had no input on this comparison and didn’t get to see it before it was published. All opinions are my own.
Quick Answer: In my testing, I couldn’t find a meaningful performance advantage for my more expensive DeWalt DW735X with an aftermarket helical cutterhead. Cut quality and dust collection were comparable, while the FB132H was quieter and costs considerably less. The biggest advantage of the DeWalt is its established reputation and track record.
FB132H vs. Helical DW735X Specs
| FB132H | DW735X + Helical Head | |
| Maximum Width | 13 Inches | 13 Inches |
| Motor | 15A / 20,000 RPM | 15A / 20,000 RPM |
| Cutterhead | Helical | Helical |
| Carbide Inserts | 40 | 56* |
| Feed Speeds | 2 | 2 |
| Feed Rate | 12 & 21 FPM | 14 & 26 FPM |
| Max Depth of Cut | 1/8 Inch | 1/8 Inch |
| Weight | 109 Pounds | 92 Pounds** |
| Cutterhead Installation | None | Required |
| Approx. Cost | $1,000 | $1,100+ (planer + head)*** |
| Warranty | 12 Months | N/A |
*The 56-insert count applies to the specific FindBuyTool replacement head I installed in my DeWalt — not every helical cutterhead available for the DW735.
**The DW735 weighs 92 pounds without the trays. With the trays it’s over 100 pounds.
***The DW735 is around $700, and a cutterhead can be purchased for $300 to $600. Or you can buy a fully assembled DW735 with a helical head for around $1,800 to $1,900.
👉 Check Current Price of the FB132H at FindBuyTool
👉 Check Current Price of the Dewalt 735X
👉 Check Current Price of the FindBuyTool Helical Cutter for the Dewalt 735
The Biggest Difference: Factory Helical vs. Upgrading the DeWalt
This is really the central purchasing decision behind this whole comparison. With the FB132H, the helical head is already installed — you unbox it, attach the handle and dust chute, and you’re planing in about five minutes. With the DeWalt, you’re buying a straight-knife planer and then replacing a major component yourself.
I installed the helical head in my DeWalt myself. It’s doable, but it’s a real project. You can see my complete installation review here.
Controls, Scales, and Small Design Differences
The two machines actually share a lot in common on paper — same 15A, 20,000 RPM motor, same two-speed setup (a faster rate for dimensioning, a slower one for finishing). But once you start using them side by side, some quirky differences show up.
The FB132H’s scales are inconsistently imperial and metric. The height adjustment scale — probably the most important one on the planer — gives you both imperial and metric. The depth gauge, which runs the full width of the machine, is imperial only. The speed-change markings are metric only. And the preset knob’s six positions are set to imperial fractions only. So depending on which part of the machine you’re looking at, you’re getting a different mix. The DeWalt, by comparison, is imperial everywhere, which is simpler if that inconsistency would bother you.
Preset knobs are functionally identical, and both adjust the same way to the same preset positions. The FB132H adds a small locking knob to keep you from accidentally bumping the preset out of place — I’m not entirely convinced that’s a real problem, but it’s there if you want it.
Power switches are similar but not identical. Both pull on and push off, and I actually prefer the size and feel of the DeWalt’s switch. The FB132H makes up for it with a removable safety pin that prevents the machine from starting when it’s pulled — a nice touch if that extra layer of safety matters to you.
The FB132H has an LED light; the DeWalt doesn’t. It illuminates both the depth gauge and the infeed stock. It’s a genuinely useful idea for a dim shop, even if I don’t personally get a ton of use out of it.
For me, none of these differences are dealbreakers in either direction, but there are some differences coming up that I believe lean heavily in the favor of the FindBuyTool.
Infeed, Outfeed, and Storage
This is one area where I think the FB132H is objectively better for a small shop. Instead of the DeWalt’s familiar fold-up trays, the FB132H uses extendable rollers, and I prefer them for a few concrete reasons:
- They extend out farther than the DeWalt’s trays.
- They make the machine more compact when not in use — the DeWalt’s rear tray can’t even fold all the way up because of the blower mounted on the back.
- The DeWalt’s trays aren’t spring-loaded, so they tend to fall down if you bump into them, which happens more than I’d like in a small shop.
If you’ve got a big shop, this probably won’t move the needle much for you. But for smaller shops, I think the rollers are a real improvement.
The FB132H’s adjustment handle also folds away when it’s not in use — something I wish the DeWalt did, since its handle sticks out the side and I bump into it constantly in my own tight space.
Cutterhead Warranty Considerations
Something worth factoring into the decision beyond raw performance: installing an aftermarket helical head in a DeWalt DW735 typically voids the DeWalt’s warranty. As far as I’m aware, even buying a pre-modified unit from a company like Byrd Tool with the helical head already installed voids the warranty as well. The FB132H, by contrast, comes with a factory 12-month warranty as-is — no modification required to keep it intact.
For what it’s worth, I did have a screw strip out on the FB132H while removing the top panel during testing. I reached out to FindBuyTool to ask if something like that would be covered, and they confirmed it would be.
You can see my full side-by-side testing of the FB132H and my helical-head DeWalt in the video below.
Cut Quality
My test result was basically a tie. I ran the same board through both machines and couldn’t distinguish one finish from the other. That’s a notable result, since the DeWalt’s helical head has 56 inserts compared to 40 in the FB132H, yet in my actual testing I couldn’t see a meaningful finish advantage from the higher insert count. I don’t know whether there are situations where the additional inserts would make more of a difference, but I didn’t notice much of a difference in my testing.
Winner: Tie
Snipe
During my initial testing with smaller boards, both planers produced some snipe, and the DeWalt did slightly better. But when I later ran larger boards through both machines, neither produced any snipe at all. I didn’t see a consistent enough difference between the two to call one clearly better.
Winner: Tie
Noise
This is a clear win for the FB132H. My DeWalt with its helical head measured around 100 dB, while the FB132H came in closer to 95 dB — a difference you can clearly hear. Five decibels doesn’t sound like much on paper, but it represents more than three times the acoustic energy. But both machines are still loud enough that hearing protection is non-negotiable either way.
Winner: FB132H
Dust Collection
Essentially a tie in my testing. Both machines did a good job capturing shavings when connected to dust collection, leaving only a little behind. I was a little worried the FB132H’s side-mounted blower and its 90° angle might hinder collection, but I didn’t see any real difference. I actually appreciated the FB132H’s 90° dust chute angle because it keeps the dust hose or bag from interfering with the workpiece as it exits the machine.
One safety feature I discovered by accident during this part of testing: the FB132H has kickback protection that’s designed to keep a board from shooting back out at you once it’s being fed in. I found out about it when I pushed a board in a bit too far while just trying to check the depth gauge, and it wouldn’t come back out. You have to raise the carriage to free it — worth knowing about ahead of time, especially if your height is already dialed in exactly where you want it.
Winner: Tie
Power
I ran both machines through a heavier stress test — a full 1/16″ pass at the faster of their two feed speeds, specifically to see if either would bog down or trip a breaker. Neither one did. If there was any difference at all, I’d say the DeWalt handled dust collection slightly better during that heavier pass, but neither machine had any real issues.
For what it’s worth, my DeWalt used to trip breakers on light passes back when it still had straight knives — before I ever installed a helical head. That stopped once I upgraded the electrical in my shop, and I never had the issue again, helical head included. So in my experience, that’s a shop electrical-capacity issue, not something specific to helical cutterheads on either machine.
Winner: Tie
Features and Usability
Both are two-speed 13-inch planers, and as configured here, both have helical cutterheads.
The FB132H gives you:
- Factory-installed helical cutterhead
- Retractable rollers
- Fold-away handwheel
- LED illumination
- Anti-kickback protection
- 12 month warranty
The DW735X gives you:
- A very established design
- More solid feeling controls
- Long-standing reputation
Winner: FB132H (unless brand recognition is your top priority)
Price: This Is Where the FB132H Makes Its Strongest Case
The relevant comparison here isn’t a $1,000 FB132H against a $700 stock DW735 — that’s not what I tested, and it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. The real comparison is the FB132H with its factory helical head against a DW735X plus the cost of an aftermarket helical head.
A DeWalt DW735 planer typically runs around $700, and a quality aftermarket helical head runs another $300 to $600 — so you’re all in around $1,100 plus tax before you’ve even started. And you still have to install it yourself; it took me around four hours, and as covered above, you won’t have a warranty once you’re done.
The FB132H runs around $1,000, and buying directly from FindBuyTool’s site typically comes with some kind of coupon plus no tax or shipping. Financially, it’s easily the better deal based on current pricing.
The biggest argument for spending more on the DeWalt setup is its track record. The DW735 has been around for years, and it’s extremely popular. The FB132H simply doesn’t have that history yet, and it’s up to you to decide how much that matters to you.
Winner: FB132H
What If You Already Own a DW735?
This changes the recommendation quite a bit. If you already own a perfectly good DW735, I don’t think it makes much sense to sell it just to buy an FB132H. If you’re up for the task, upgrading the DeWalt you already own with a helical cutterhead can still make a lot of sense, provided you don’t mind the lack of a warranty. Check out my full DW735X Helical Head Upgrade Review if that’s the route you’re considering.
But if you’re starting from scratch and choosing between buying the FB132H outright, or buying a DW735X, buying a helical head, and installing it yourself, the FB132H becomes much harder to argue against.
FB132H vs. Helical DW735X: Which Should You Buy?
Buy the FB132H if:
- You’re starting from scratch
- You specifically want a helical cutterhead
- You don’t want to install an aftermarket head
- Value matters
- You want the quieter machine based on my testing
- You’re comfortable buying from a less established planer brand
Buy the DW735X + helical head if:
- You already own a DW735/DW735X
- You strongly prefer DeWalt
- Brand track record and service availability matter significantly to you
- You don’t mind the additional cost and installation
If I were starting from scratch and specifically wanted a benchtop planer with a helical cutterhead, I’d buy the FB132H. If I already owned a DW735X, I’d be much more inclined to keep it and upgrade the cutterhead.
👉 Check Current Price of the FB132H at FindBuyTool
👉 Check Current Price of the Dewalt 735X
👉 Check Current Price of the FindBuyTool Helical Cutter for the Dewalt 735
FAQs
Is the FB132H better than the DeWalt DW735? It depends which DW735 you mean. Against a stock DW735X with straight knives, the FB132H has a real finish-quality advantage. Against a DW735X upgraded with a helical head — which is the comparison this article covers — the two machines performed very similarly in my testing, with the FB132H coming out ahead mainly on noise and total cost.
Does a helical cutterhead make the DW735 better? Yes, a helical head noticeably improves finish quality, tearout, and noise over the DW735’s stock straight knives. I cover the full installation and results in my DW735X Helical Head Upgrade Review.
Which is quieter, the FB132H or DW735 with a helical head? The FB132H, in my testing — about 95 dB versus about 100 dB for my helical-head DeWalt.
Does the FB132H produce as good a finish as a helical-head DW735? In my testing, yes. I couldn’t distinguish the two finishes.
Should I upgrade my DW735 or buy an FB132H? If you already own a DW735, upgrading it with a helical head can make sense — just keep in mind that doing so typically voids the DeWalt’s warranty. If you’re starting from scratch, the FB132H is the stronger value proposition, and it comes with its own factory warranty intact.