# Why I keep buying/using Delta Tools......



## Marv (Nov 30, 2008)

I've been doing some shop remodeling recently to conform to the speaker cabinets I now build more of than home cabinets and I started by selling my DC-380 Planer along with my 6" Jointer since I can use those at a friends shop when needed which is not too often these days. I also sold my dust collector, radial arm saw and bandsaw to free up some more room (afterwards I realized the bandsaw would be more useful than I thought so I actually turned around and bought a new one!) I bought a new dust collector that more suited my needs/space and added a 10" miter saw with a wall station for that. My latest purchase was a new Unisaw (last years model) to replace the Hybrid saw I purchased as a "temporary" saw nearly 20 years ago. :smile: 
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f12/mounting-jessem-sliding-table-unisaw-left-extension-wing-12328/
I have been very fortunate with the reliability of most of these tools (did I mention they were ALL Delta :smile and on the rare occasion I had a problem/needed support they always took care of it even when not under warranty. 
Fast forward a bit to a last week...the new Unisaw came without a fence so I decided to get a new Biesemeyer. I drove 3 hours to a different branch since my local shop didn't have one. I get the fence installed, spent a while dialing everything in and went to make the first pass. As the piece was passing the back of the blade I saw it move a little to the left and heard the saw blade pitch change. Luckily it was just a piece of MDF or I probably would have had a nice kickback on my hands since the piece ended up moving a good 1/8" away from the fence! After checking my alignment and finding everything was good I ran my hand down the fence face to find a lump in the laminate!  Called them up and they sent me a new fence so I wouldn't have to drive back. Put the new fence on, dialed it in and went to slide it across the table to make sure it moved freely and I heard a loud scraping of metal. I look down on the tube to see an 1/8" wide gouge about 17" in length!  Took the fence off and found that there was a piece of metal embedded in the teflon guide that rides on the tube! I look up and find that there was also a large scrape across the top of my BRAND NEW saw again caused by a piece of metal embedded in the forward piece of teflon! Now I am really not happy so I call the shop again to tell them what happened. He said he would have the Delta rep give me a call ASAP which he did. After explaining what happened and telling him of all the Delta tools I have/have had/recently purchased he apologized for the inconvenience and said he would send me a whole new fence system. I told him I was a little gun shy with the quality since my old Biesemeyer went for 15 years without a problem. He said he understood and how about if I send you the newly redesigned Biesemeyer from the new Unisaw instead?! Of course I said heck yeah and to top it off they are also giving me a brand new 80t TCG blade for my troubles! :smile::smile: BTW, I am also going to replace my nearly 20 year old Delta drill press with a variable speed model. Guess what brand it will be?


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## Jay Ras (Jul 26, 2009)

Thanks for sharing that Marv! There’ll probably be lots of horror stories about Delta come from your post but my experience has been also very good. My shop is mostly gray and I like it!:thumbsup:


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## Clouseau (Mar 22, 2009)

*Good news*

I'm glad to hear Delta is stepping up to the plate. I had mostly Delta equipment when I taught in the 70's and 80's and had good luck with the machines and needed very few parts. The stories I have heard the last few years have not been pleasing. Many people love their older Unisaws. Hopefully Delta's new Unisaw and a new commitment to service will get them in better graces with the serious woodworker.

Dan


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## Marv (Nov 30, 2008)

Jay Ras said:


> Thanks for sharing that Marv! There’ll probably be lots of horror stories about Delta come from your post but my experience has been also very good. My shop is mostly gray and I like it!:thumbsup:


Mine has turned from the old Delta greenish color to gray as well :smile:




Clouseau said:


> I'm glad to hear Delta is stepping up to the plate. I had mostly Delta equipment when I taught in the 70's and 80's and had good luck with the machines and needed very few parts. The stories I have heard the last few years have not been pleasing. Many people love their older Unisaws. Hopefully Delta's new Unisaw and a new commitment to service will get them in better graces with the serious woodworker.
> 
> Dan


I have not purchased any large machinery nor had a need for customer support in some time Dan and had no idea Delta's reputation had gone sour. Hopefully it is turning around since customer service is a major factor for me (especially when I purchase large/expensive items) and seems to be important for a lot of people as witnessed by comments on this forum. On a side note the customer service (or lack thereof) from JessEm seems to be an ongoing issue based on comments on forums as well as Amazon. I called twice concerning my sliding table and never received a reply so it may be a good thing I took that back due to the fact that I will not be cutting up my new Biesemeyer in order to use it. :smile:


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## Marv (Nov 30, 2008)

Well it's been a month plus a day and I still don't have my new fence nor the blade I was promised!


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## Marv (Nov 30, 2008)

After waiting all this time I just didn't have the heart to cut up the new Biesemeyer fence in order to use the sliding table so I decided to sell it and bought a Unifence. I had planned to buy a new drill press as well as possibly a shaper from Delta to finish my new shop remodel (I figured after 20+ years I deserve all brand new machinery :smile however with my frustration at this point since I also had to return a defective Delta bandsaw recently I am seriously considering selling all of my Delta tools including the new Unisaw and going to Jet or something else!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I usually don't give a one word reply*

GRIZZLY :yes: bill


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## Marv (Nov 30, 2008)

woodnthings said:


> GRIZZLY :yes: bill


Do they make a right tilting saw?! :smile: I am actually considering Grizzly as well and may buy 2 saws to do something similar to what you did (I would like to have one right tilting contractors type saw on the left for use with the sliding table and a larger left tilting saw  just for ripping). :smile:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Two birds, one stone*

http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-Sliding-Tablesaw/G0623X :yes: bill


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## Gorp (Jul 17, 2009)

Marv said:


> however with my frustration at this point since I also had to return a defective Delta bandsaw recently I am seriously considering selling all of my Delta tools including the new Unisaw and going to Jet or something else!


My Jet bandsaw has the same warped table top.


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## Clouseau (Mar 22, 2009)

The Asians have yet to embrace cast iron aging. Until they do, there will be warpage problems. Buy older Powermatic and Delta tools. You might have to change the bearings, update the fence, and tune them up, but they were built to last several lifetimes. Often parts cant be bought aftermarket (Accurate Bearing). I have a few Deltas from the '40's and '50's and they are still good tools.


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## Marv (Nov 30, 2008)

Gorp said:


> My Jet bandsaw has the same warped table top.


That's not a good sign! 



Clouseau said:


> The Asians have yet to embrace cast iron aging. Until they do, there will be warpage problems. Buy older Powermatic and Delta tools. You might have to change the bearings, update the fence, and tune them up, but they were built to last several lifetimes. Often parts cant be bought aftermarket (Accurate Bearing). I have a few Deltas from the '40's and '50's and they are still good tools.


I remember when the Chrysler plant (and I'm sure other manufacturers that used cast iron) used to chuck the fresh castings out back in the sand pile for some time before machining them but I guess that doesn't happen these days (I think I once read that some now use chemicals to speed up the aging process). A few years ago I bought several older Delta Milwaukee and Walker Turner machines from the 40's-50's at an estate sale but I never found time to restore them and needed the room so they went to others (I actually tried to get the bandsaw back but my buddy wouldn't let me have it!). In any case hindsight right now is pretty much 20/20 for me as I'm thinking I probably should have just kept what I had (nothing was really wrong with anything I had rather I just "wanted" new tools for my shop remodel!)


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