Power Supplies Reviews

This drill index is solidly made but not precision. Bits can fit in holes up to 2 sizes smaller than the proper hole. Which was disappointing because that was why I ordered it. I have a fractional index they made 35 years ago and it is still solid and accurate, so this one should last. I can't see the nano-type stamped on the bits anymore and was hoping this index would keep them sorted - no such luck.

This drill index is solidly made but not precision. Bits can fit in holes up to 2 sizes smaller than the proper hole. Which was disappointing because that was why I ordered it. I have a fractional index they made 35 years ago and it is still solid and accurate, so this one should last. I can't see the nano-type stamped on the bits anymore and was hoping this index would keep them sorted - no such luck.

This item does not come with the end clamps as pictured and as seen on other sites. Disappointed

This charger is incorrectly listed as an accessory for some Makita 18 volt cordless tools. The specs for this item say it is for charging batteries from 7.2 to 14.4 volts.

My heater arrived yesterday. One of the warmer days we've had. But I wanted to use it anyway. It works nicely, BUT IT IS LOUD. My air compressor can not even drown out the noise, but I will get used to it as I do wear ear protection when I operate the machines in my shop. The thermostat controlled shutdown and start-up is a plus.

I have had two of these compressors and both of them have sheared off the motor shaft at the compressor end. They seem to operate just fine at lower pressures and have thermal protection. The volume is high and fill even the bigger SUV tires in just a few minutes. I believe they suffer from a design flaw in that when you use them at higher pressures (80-100psi) the starting torque of the motor is quite high and on the compressor end the manufacturer has machined a groove in the motor shaft for an "E" clip. This reduces the shaft diameter from 5/16" to 1/4" and this is the point where the shaft shears off.

If you are working at lower pressures you should have no problems but if you intend to use this compressor above 60 psi, Beware!

This item has an MSRP of $59.99 - you can find it cheaper from another retailer. That said, it is very comfortable to hold and the extra battery life is perfect for long trips. This will take up the screw holes at the top, so many flip-down screen covers won't work.

Although it claims to fit "All Sears" Routers, there are no hole sets for the Sears Professional Series Routers, which have a four screw configuration, as opposed to three for the smaller Craftsman routers.

Otherwise, it's an OK product. The bushings are steel, and the baseplate is plastic.

I purchased this BS100 band saw as NEW from Amazon.com. I received in its place a used and damaged band saw. An attempt had been made - unsuccessfully - to repair the damaged top of the table. The plastic insert around the saw blade was damaged and discolored. The table top had huge saw marks in the table top slot. It appears that Amazon must be getting these Delta products from a gray market source that repackages used, damaged and defective products. Delta advised me that they do not ship saws in this condition. The Amazon motto should be "Let the buyer beware".

Hello , this saw works like a charm, I purchased another blade ( $10 HomeDepot ) which will cut a tighter radius, the saw comes with a very good blade. The Owners manual covers everthing well but it's hard to understand even if you know what you're doing ( fortunately I do so I was able to set-up the blade mechanism which is particularlly difficult on belt saws ). My wife uses this saw to cut out the grandchildren's initials as do my grandchildren, we keep a basket of scrap wood pieces nearby and have fun cutting things. The saw is quiet, fun, the light works wonderfully and is a fine asset. This saw is hard to be without if you are the person that likes making little things and fiddling round , we keep ours handy and wish that we had one 30 years ago. Amazon just about gives these things away, so I'm thinking about giving them as presents, it's hard to set up but it's worth the effort in that it is a great tool that is at the ready and very capable. This is a tool that I can't seem to do without but have done without all these years , that is my only regret.

I have had my BS100 Shopmaster for 4 years now, and I am a very satisfied user. I feel I have enough experience with the saw to see its shortcomings and virtues. It IS a great saw when you know and accept its limitations which are: (some can be overcome...)

1) Saw is designed and made for small scale woodworking. Period.
2) Low "power" for resawing or cutting thick hardwood stock (not designed for this, see 1).)
3) Blade wander can be a problem if saw used right out of the box with original guides and original blade (and in general, especially when using 1/4" blade).
4) This saw requires high quality blades to perform its best (not found in ordinary hardware stores).
5) Its small table is not sturdy enough for large, heavy workpieces, but will do for smaller pieces. (I have however used my saw for ripping 6'long 1 1/2" birch into smaller, straight strips, using a roller stand).
6) The saw is not ready to go out of the box - will require tuning for best performance.

I believe most of the problems people encounter with this saw are due to lack of experience with bandsaws because the 9" Delta is often their first saw. Problems are related to:

1) how to use the saw in general (use the saw for what it was intended for; some jobs are better done on other machines; some jobs are TOO BIG for this saw etc etc)
2) proper selection of blade for the job at hand as well as proper tensioning the blade.
3) set-up and tuning of the saw including wheel alignment, guide set up etc.
4) not knowing that there are different quality blades out there. Some are cheap, some are expensive - some are good, some are bad. You probably wouldn't want to buy the cheapest brand tires for your Porsche, right?
5) No gauge or guide can be used with any powertool without setting it up and checking, resetting and rechecking. So it goes with this bandsaw. The miter gauge and fence will have to be corrected for blade drift as for any other bandsaw on the market.

This review is rather long, but I think the saw deserves a thorough review to address some of the issues typical to many bandsaws, not only this 9" Delta. A bandsaw is more of a delicate "cutting instrument" than a cutting machine and requires tuning for top performance... Some experience is required to master the band saw to get the most out of it as with any instrument.

I don't have space for a large bandsaw, and I don't need the power of one either. If I were to buy another band saw, it would only be because I would be scaling up my woodworking to large pieces or heavy resawing, or to get another machine and set it up for a specialized task for one blade only... I would still keep my 9" Delta. It is too good of a saw to give away (read: sell used for cheap).

The saw will work pretty much out of the box, but if you don't take the time to tune it properly, you will most likely be disappointed. Realize that this is not a saw made for heavy resawing (though resawing of stock can be done using a proper blade). It is a small, quiet benchtop saw suited for small scale woodworking and this it can do very well. And its worklight is very handy.

Many of the "shortcomings" of a small saw like this can be overcome by tuning the wheels and setting the saw up properly e.g. like suggested in the Bandsaw Handbook by Mark Duginske or The Bandsaw Book by Lonnie Bird. Both are highly recommended. Before you buy any bandsaw, go through either of these two books and learn how to set up a band saw properly, including using the mitre gauge and setting the saw up for perfect mitre cuts and how to rip and resaw. This will also help you realize that straight cuts, resawing etc does require certain techniques whether you have a 9" Delta or a 36" RotoMatic industrial band saw with 2" blade. Both books will show you how to make an adjustable rip fence and other jigs helping you getting the most out of any bandsaw.

How to maximize its performance (or the performance of ANY bandsaw for that matter):

1) Throw away the blade that came with the saw, and buy a high quality blade e.g. Timberwolf. For resawing (yes - it can be done!) I use a 1/2" Woodslicer for resawing or ripping stock for boxmaking: Koa, oak, rosewood, maple etc. Works great, but feed slowly and the saw will not stall! The blade is rather expensive, but worth any penny if you need to resaw or do long rip cuts using this bandsaw. It also has a thin kerf so you won't overtension the saw. This blade will also make it easy to cut straight. Using the original blade or Delta's own blade or any other "regular" blades found in ordinary hardware stores WILL be a disappointment on this saw. I have never found Delta's own blades to be satisfying, but for somebody else, they might do. (Sorry Delta!)

2) Replace the guideblocks with Coolblocks (Woodcraft, Rockler etc). If you can't find the right size, buy oversize and file/grind it to fit (that is what I did). These will support and help clean and lubricate the blade. You could also make your own hardwood guides, but I found the Coolblocks to be the best. These guideblocks will also help support the blade for cutting curves.

3) Tune the saw when you have a high quality blade and coolblocks for your saw. Saw will run smoother, quieter and have more of its power available for sawing after the tuning. Tuning will also help stabilize the blade and avoid drift to the left or right. With proper setup, this saw IS capable of cutting straight! And vibration can mostly be eliminated by balancing and truing wheels! The saw is in itself very light and won't "absorb" or dampen the vibration as well as a large, cast iron machine. Mounting it to a heavy base is also advised.

4) Use slow feedrates and be gentle - it is a delicate machine - don't force-feed it.

5) Use the correct blade for the job. Don't use an 1/8" or 1/4" 14 TPI blade for resawing/ripping, and don't use the 3 TPI blade for cutting intricate patterns 1/8" thick stock....

6) Correct tensioning of the saw blade as well as proper wheel alignment/adjustment will avoid blade coming off the wheel by itself. A rough cutting technique can also cause the blade to come off.

7) Proper maintenance will keep the saw in top shape....

I would also suggest replacing the throatplate with one you make yourself (discussed in the books mentioned earlier).

The saw can very well handle a high quality 1/8" blade, but only after coolblocks and tuning. Don't even bother with 1/8" blade on a stock 9". (Others might disagree here.) Be aware that setting up the saw with an 1/8" blade is a little tricky until you learn how to prepare the saw for it.


I will rate this saw 5 stars. One star could have been taken away because if the saw had been equipped with a high quality blade and guide blocks, many problems would have been gone!!!! But then again, most bandsaws on the market are delivered with inferior blades and guides anyway. Recommended upgrades (Coolblocks, good blade) is about $35, and will greatly improve the performance. If you decide to buy this saw, buy one or the other of the recommended books mentioned as well. They will become your best manual and guide whether it is for tuning and setup, choosing the right blade or ideas for small projects!

This has been a disappointment from day one. Take a look at my other reviews and you'll see that I'm a straight shooter, and only too happy to give praise when warranted. Here, however, the right rating is one star. The comment about the rests being unsuitable for lathe tools is precisely right. Worse, the one on wheel wobbling is spot on, too.

The stone that came with my unit had a "hard spot" that wouldn't true no matter how much I tried to dress it out. Eventually my dressing stone "caught," and there was an ugly "snap." I opened the unit up and was amazed to find that the main wheel was splined onto a nylon gear. Instead of engineering a steel gear with a shear pin to take an overstress, Delta went with a cheap nylon gear. Mine was in pieces, all over the gearbox.

I won't waste the cash to repair it, and I'm not kidding.

It's been weeks since I endured this, so this isn't a hot-headed review. I am, frankly, amazed that Delta let this piece of junk have their name on it.

If this is what Delta is becoming now that B&D has them, I'm concerned.

This grinder is a very good design and configuration for tool edge preparation. It lends itself to a good rough out then polish of the tool edge.

The flexibility of the large wheel tool rest is excellent. The overall design eliminates all vibration, and runs smoothly.

However two main points of the operation are very lacking.

First the 6 inch wheel rest does not accomodate itself to the angles of lathe tools. Attempting to adjust this rest to more than 15 degrees is not possible because the rest design and attachment point prevent this.

Modifying this attachment by adding spacers to provide clearance will allow securing angles needed. Once this is done though, your rest will be too far away from the wheel. You will then have to add an additional plate to the rest that extends closer to the wheel.

The second detriment, is the speed of the large polishing wheel. The speed this wheel turns is too slow. It is very difficult to hold or guide a tool with an irregular edge across this wheel at the perfect angle without gouging a channel into the large wheel.

Gouges appear almost instantly, and then attempting to dress the wheel to repair these gouges takes way too much time because of the slow speed it turns. Extreme pressure is needed to grind the wheel true. This one aspect, trueing the large wheel, takes many minutes with the best of diamond dressing tools.

It will take considerable practice to use the polishing stone effectively, and the use of this wheel will consume many minutes of your time to use. Time you should be using to use the tool you just sharpened.

If I can recommend to the engineers how to improve this grinder I would suggest to:

Redesign the 6" wheel tool rest to incorporate greater flexibility of angle configuration.

Redesign the polishing wheel gear reduction to increase the rpm's of this wheel to 500 rpm.

If this were done, this would be the perfect tool sharpening grinder value available.

James Holland
Handturnedbowls.biz
cadman013@eartlink.net

I was a little hesitant to buy the Delta after I read the reviews but I really needed a way to sharpen my lathe tools. I did a lot of research comparing the Delta to the Tormek and in the end bought the Delta. My reasoning being I couldn't afford the Tormek and all of the accessories to go with it and the two systems "spec out" about the same.

I am a complete novice when it comes to sharpening but I am able to sharpen all of my tools on the Delta with out difficulty. Here are my thoughts: 1 Yes the 23-700 is a great idea for a tool but it is built a little "cheesy". 2. As far as sharpening speed it is just slightly slower than the Tormek based on RPM 70 vs. 90. No big deal. 3. The small wheel is not intended to "rough sharpen" lathe tools or anything other than drill bits etc. You just don't put a good tool on a 3450 RPM wheel. The tool rest does just what it's supposed to do. This should not be an issue. 4. The large wheel is soft and I do have to dress it often but I don't ever over heat my tools. 5. The wheel does wobble just like all the reviewers have said. Delta really missed this one.

The bottom line is, I am able to put a razor sharp edge on my 10 tools in about an hour. This tool has been much better than expected. (I have considered buying the Tormek adapter for the 23-700 but so far I haven't needed to.)