Delta Reviews

This accurate fence is everything it promised. I took my time putting it together (5 hours) and it was worth it. It is accurate within 1/32 of an inch. Great product.

I purchased this system a couple of weeks ago and I instantly fell in love with it. I ordered a custom fence. I got a 24 inch left and 50 inch right rail. I did this because my saw is a right tilt and this allows me to make cabinet doors on the left side and avoid the chance of pinching under the blade. It is rock solid. I used the template to set the front rail and it was about an 1/8th of inch to low. Instead of redoing the whole fence, I added two furniture slides available at any home improvement store underneath the fence. It works wonderfully. I am very pleased with fence system.

Excellent product, simple installation on my Delta Unisaw, pre-drilled holes lined up exactly!

I have a small home shop, and purchased this saw about 3 weeks ago. I love it. I don't do any heavy production work, just furniture and cabinet work, and this is the perfect saw. I can honestly say that I will have this saw for a long time. Power is great, blade control is excellent, and the 50" Biesmeyer fence system is spot on accurate. I highly recommend this saw to anyone looking to purchase a cabinet style table saw. Delta is the best.

I am very happy with the purchase of the 36-821L Unisaw. Although they do not specify it, you need to order or build the right extension table or you will not be able to use the saw correctly. It seems that the saw comes with all the parts needed for the extension table except for the most important part, the extension table. I decided to build my own extension table and it ended up costing me half the price. The saw was very easy to put together, it did not take 5-6 hours like the other reviews stated. Only one problem with the saw so far and that is that the on/off switch seems to be defective and although the saw does work, i will have to get in touch with... and/or Delta to fix the problem. It also does come with a very wimpy blade so you should upgrade it as soon as possible.

I bought the Delta left tilt arbor Unisaw. I'm very happy with it. I could have purchased either the Powermatic or the General. The attention to detail on the machining seems better on the Delta than the other machines.

The previous reviewer, Richard, stated that he used 18 AWG wire to replace the cord on his saw. I believe that is a typo and that Richard meant 10 AWG wire since 10 ga is the recommended wire size for a 30A circuit. I bought a length of SOOW 10/3 with the same NEMA L6-30P plug and NEMA L6-30R receptacle that Richard recommended. Don't forget strain relief on your cord, especially if using an overhead outlet. I used the Hubbell 073041279 bus grip attached to a hook screwed into the ceiling.

I like this saw a lot. Over the years I have used many different table saws and very few will equal the quality of this machine, especially for the money. Set up was a breeze and needed only minor adjustments.

I do have a complaint but it is not about the quality of the saw but with the quality of organizational skills of the people in charge of sending out the $500 coupon book and free mobile base. It's been 9 weeks since I purchased the saw and still no coupon book or mobile base. It would have been nice to have the mobile base with the table saw so that during the assembly process the saw could have been assembled on the base.

If you want an accurate and powerful table saw this is it, but don't have the expectation that your freebies will arrive with it, shortly after or in the near future.

I recently purchased a Delta L51X Left Tilt 5 horse power Unisaw with the 52 inch Biesemeyer fence and the side extension table. Since I like to move my equipment around the shop either for cleaning or for re-arranging I also purchased the Delta 50-289 Mobile Machine Base for the Unisaw with a 52 inch Biesemeyer fence. To my dismay shortly after I ordered the saw and mobile base, Delta began offering the base as part of the total saw package at the same price. In this case you might say the early bird got the shaft.

I would like this review to be helpful to those who read it so I have divided my comments into four specific paragraphs 1.) My motivation and incentive for purchasing the Delta Table Saw, 2.) My thoughts on the packing, shipping and delivery of the saw, 3.) My thoughts and experience on the assembly of the saw, and 4.) my experience in using the saw.

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Motivation and incentive for purchasing the Delta Unisaw
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I had been looking for a saw of this type for over a year. I finally decided on purchasing the Unisaw from Delta through Amazon.com because the price of the saw was down by more than $200 from its price a year ago, and because Amazon.com was offering free shipping for this heavy machine. I also was interested in the free tool and the $500 tool accessory coupon book that Delta was offering in its promotion to sell this saw.

When the saw arrived, inside the carton was a mail in post card that allowed me to select one of four items as my free tool. The four items were: 1.) a mobile base for any one of several tools from drill presses to lathes, 2.) a Delta cordless drill, 3.) a Porter Cable nail gun and 4.) a Porter Cable Router. I didn't need a mobile base so I checked out the remaining tools on the Amazon.com website. The Delta cordless drill is no longer being manufactured. The user reviews on the Amazon site for this drill were mostly negative. The reviews for the Porter Cable nail gun and the Porter Cable router were for the most part very positive. I didn't need any of these tools but I selected the router. Perhaps it might be useful as a Christmas present for some young wood worker who is just getting his repertoire of tools established.

The bad news is you have to make your selection on the post card and then wait 6 to 8 weeks to get your tool and the $500 coupon book. It would have been to Delta's advantage to ship the coupon book with the saw so the excited new saw owner could make a few more purchases of saw accessories before the warm glow of a new purchase wore off. Looks like the Delta marketing people weren't thinking too clearly. Perhaps the people who do the marketing for Delta are descendents of the flower power generation.

Overall grade B. My grade would have been an A if the coupon book had been shipped with the saw.


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Packing, Shipping and Delivery
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The saw was shipped in four heavy cardboard cartons. The saw itself was in one large carton weighing in a little less than 500 pounds. The Biesemeyer fence was shipped in two cartons and the side extension table was shipped in a separate carton. The packing was excellent, and of much higher quality than what I have previously experienced with shipments of heavy equipment from Grizzly. All items were packed well and reached my doorstep in good condition.

The method of shipping was poor as usual. The shipment arrived on a large delivery truck with no lift gate, and with a woman driver. Nothing against women but how in the heck is a woman even with my help going to lift a 500 pound carton to the ground from the back end of a trailer whose floor height was above her shoulders. I asked her why not take the shipment back to their dock and re-load it on a truck with a lift gate. She said that was possible but her shipping companies dock was in Blythe California and my shipment would have to be shipped all the way back to Blythe in order to make the transfer. Since I live in Prescott Arizona this was not an option for me.

Fortunately there is a house under construction a block away from mine. I called two friends, we borrowed two 2x6 x 8 foot scaffold planks from the house under construction and laid them on the trailer floor spaced about 2 foot apart. We then placed the 500 pound carton on its side on the two planks with the bottom pallet side of the carton facing out the trailer door. Then we pulled the planks out of the trailer along with the carton until it began to teeter on the trailer edge. We then lowered the ends of the planks to the ground and let the saw slide down the incline of about 30 degrees to the ground where we used a dolly to move it to my shop. The lady truck driver was very patient as she watched all this. I think she was a little surprised that ordinary non truck driving males could be so resourceful.

I give this task an overall Grade of B. I would have given the trucking company a grade of D but the woman truck driver was kind enough to wait until my friends arrived from across town to help unload the saw and because there was no visible damage like fork lift holes or crushed corners on any of the cartons when I received them. It's also nice to have friends who can help turn a bad situation into a good one.

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Assembly of the Saw
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The Unisaw is heavy. If you add the 52 inch Biesemeyer fence, guide tube, angle iron mounts and side extension table, it gets a whole lot heavier.

I bought the mobile base and I would strongly recommend you buy it too if you decide to purchase the saw. Although the directions are poor, the base assembles quickly and easily, and it works great. A simple foot pedal that locks into place raises the base up onto three wheels and the Unisaw can be easily moved by a single person. A simple hand lever releases the lock and the stand lowers back to the floor where it sits on rubber feet that are individually adjustable to compensate for floors that are out of level.

Assembly of the Unisaw itself is time consuming. In order to assemble the Unisaw, Biesemeyer Fence, and side extension table you will need the help of at least one other person. You will also need at least one 8 foot pipe clamp, four Quik clamps, two 2x4's at least 4 foot long, several wood shims, a drill with a 1/4 inch bit, a 3/16 inch allen wrench, a socket set, a large Phillips screw driver, a small crescent wrench, a 9/16 inch open end wrench, some red rags and a can of solvent to clean the packing grease off the machined cast iron parts.

The Unisaw comes attached to a wooden pallet with bolts that have 3/16 inch allen wrench heads of all things. It would have been more practical to use � inch hex head bolts but perhaps the packaging people at Delta like to pull practical jokes on unsuspecting new saw owners.

The Unisaw comes with the two detached cast iron wings. They are very heavy. They need to be cleaned with solvent on all edges so they mate well with the saw table bed.
The wings need to be aligned with the top of the saw table so they are in the same horizontal plane and so there is no noticeable discontinuity along the edge where the wings and the table join. This is not easy because the wings are so heavy. It's difficult to hold the wings and tighten the mounting bolts at the same time. Better to have a second person hold the heavy wings, tighten the bolts just enough to hold them in place then use the palm of your hand as a mallet to move the wings up or down to align the tops to the plane of the saw table. All other items in the assembly of the saw itself are reasonably simple.

Assembly of the side extension table and the Biesemeyer Fence system is labor intensive and is a good candidate for requiring the help of a second person. I strongly recommend that you read the entire instruction manual before starting this task because as a previous reviewer has stated some of the numbered steps in the assembly procedure seem to be out of order. If you don't want to undo and then redo some of the assembly then read the assembly steps ahead of time so you can move some of the later steps ahead of some of the earlier ones.

The Biesemeyer fence has two pieces of very heavy 6 foot long x 3 inch x 2 inch angle iron rails that need to be bolted to the Unisaw table, one rail bolts on the front of the saw and one rail on the back. The horizontal portion of the front angle iron rail has to be exactly 2 and 27/32 inch below the saw table surface. The bolting part can be done by one person but setting the correct height alignment on the front rail will require two people. Although an alignment template is supplied, the angle iron rail is so heavy that one person cannot hold it in alignment and at the same time tighten the bolts that hold it to the saw bed. Once again this is a two person task.

Now comes the interesting part, the assembly and installation of the side extension table. The extension table is made from hardwood with a laminate top. The directions tell you exactly how to attach the table outboard legs, unless of course you happen to have a mobile base, then the directions tell you that "the position of the legs will have to be changed to fit the mobile base extension". So it's up to you to figure out how to attach the legs in this case. In my case it wasn't difficult.

The extension table fits between the two angle iron rails that extend beyond the right side of the Unisaw table. The directions tell you to place the table between the rails and make sure that it mates with the edge of the saw table so that both are in the same horizontal plane, and to use a straight edge to make sure there is no discontinuity between the edge of the saw table and the extension table. Well this is ok except that the extension table is heavy, and there is nothing holding it up but the two legs on the one end. It is impossible to align the table with just two hands.

I ended up having to place one 2x4 underneath the angle iron rails at the egde of the saw table, and another 2x4 underneath the angle iron rails at the end of the rails to support the extension table between the rails. I held the 2x4's in place with two Quick clamps for each 2x4. Fortunately the top surface of the extension table when resting on the 2x4's is about an 1/8 inch below the top surface of the Unisaw. This enabled me to use opposing wood shims inserted between the support 2x4's and the bottom of the extension table to adjust the height so it was level with the saw table. I then discovered that there was a 1/32 inch bow in the middle of the extension table where it interfaced with the Unisaw. I had to take the now aligned table back to the work bench and add a hardwood stiffener to the edge of the table to eliminate the bow. Once this was accomplished I had to re-align the extension table, and then use an 8 foot pipe clamp that ran the entire length of the table to pull the extension table into the saw table edge, to remove a 1/16 inch gap between the two, and to hold it in place.

Once the table alignment and clamping is complete you have to drill several 1/4 inch holes through existing holes in the angle iron rails and through the wood sides of the extension table so you can attach 1/4 inch bolts to hold it in place. So far this was a great deal of work for what should be a simple tool assembly, and I'm still not completely sure that I got the extension table exactly on the same plane as the Unisaw table. For this reason I only drilled four holes and installed 4 of the supplied bolts so if some time down the road I decide that I need to re-align the table I will have several existing but un-drilled holes in the rails to drill new support holes for a newly aligned table.

The next step is to mount the Biesemeyer Guide Tube on top of the front angle iron rail. There are threaded holes on the Guide Tube that match up with holes on the rail. Although there are many holes, Delta only gives you 7 bolts and lock nuts to attach the tube to the rail. Don't be surprised if the holes in the rail do not exactly line up with the threaded holes in the Guide Tube. I could only get 6 of the 7 bolts in because some of the Guide Tube threaded holes were offset by as much as an 1/8th of an inch or so from the rail holes and the bolts wouldn't catch.

Here's a good tip. When you first begin the assembly of your new Unisaw, take off the motor cover and remove the Styrofoam block that keeps the motor in place during shipment. This piece of Styrofoam is beveled and is just right to use as a neck and head rest when your laying on your back installing the Guide Rail and the extension table legs. I found it very comfortable. When I was laying on my back on the shop floor, I had all the bolts and washers stacked in an orderly pile on the floor by my ear where they were easily accessed as I needed them. A couple of times I looked over and discovered all my bolts were gone. It turns out that my 8 month old Chihuahua had been busy taking one bolt at a time in his mouth and moving them to another stack he was making on the other side of the saw. I have a practical joker for a dog. I can hardly wait to see what he does with my shorts and socks.

Once the Guide Tube is installed it is very easy to install the Biesemeyer Fence. The adjustment of the fence to make it parallel to the blade, and the adjustment of the hold down lever were made more difficult then necessary because the assembly instructions dealing with that task seemed to be last minute additions to the assembly procedure and were out of order at the end of the manual.

The Biesemeyer fence system is fantastic. I am used to the rack and pinion fence on the DeWalt table saw that I've been using for the past several years and was a bit worried about the fact that you have to move the Biesemeyer fence by hand. My concerns turned out to be a non issue. The fence slides like it is on glass. It locks down parallel to the blade with little effort. The two adjustment allen screws that simultaneously set the hold down tension and the fence angle with respect to the blade are very simple to use. My one complaint would be that the allen screws were filled with grey paint and I had to clean them out before I could get an allen wrench in them.

Delta says that they do not supply a power cord for 5 horse power motors but my saw came with a power cord. I have standardized my 30 amp shop electrical service in that all of the 220 volt shop power receptacles are NEMA L6-30-R 30 Amp 250 Volt three prong lockable receptacles. The plug supplied by delta was for 20 Amp service and was incompatible with my outlets. Since I want all my 220 volt shop machinery to be compatible with my standard 220 volt receptacles, I removed the Delta power cord and plug and rewired the start/stop switch box with a new 8 foot long 300 volt rated 18 AWG 3 conductor cable and a NEMA L6-30-P 30 amp locking plug. There are many different types of 220 volt receptacles and matching plugs. Different types are designed for specific current loads and are purposely made so they are mechanically incompatible with one another. This helps you avoid doing things like plugging in a 30 amp machine into a 20 amp service. My apologies to Delta for modifying their fine machine, but I did what I had to do. By the way when the rewiring was finished, I turned the saw on and it didn't smoke.

I give the grade of B to the overall saw assembly task. There were a lot of assembly tasks that were left to the owner to do that required a bit of shop knowledge and shop tools, but the way I figure it, if the new owner is a novice in the shop he probably shouldn't have bought this bad boy in the first place.

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Using the Saw
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The first time I turned the saw on was to verify that my new wiring was done correctly. I did not have the large injection molded plastic motor cover installed. This cover helps direct the airflow for a shop dust collection system, and it also helps deaden the motor noise. Even with the cover removed, I was surprised to note that the saw ran very quietly. As a matter of fact it ran a lot more quietly even without the motor cover than my DeWalt saw does. So right away I was impressed. One day I will get a decibel meter to measure the noise the two saws put out. I'm betting the Delta noise level is on the order of 3 to 4 db down from the noise level of the DeWalt. If this is true then it's a significant noise reduction.

The saw blade height adjust wheel and the left tilt adjust wheel turn very smoothly with little effort on my part. Each wheel has an easily set lock down to maintain the settings for both the blade height and blade angle.

Before I actually used the saw I cleaned the entire cast iron saw table with mineral spirits to remove all packing grease, finger prints and other oils and dust deposited there from shipping and assembly. I then applied a thin coat of Johnson paste wax to preserve the metal and protect it from rusting.

The miter gauge appears to be well designed. It is sturdy and therefore heavy. It slides straight and true in the T slot in the saw table. I tried to move the miter gauge sideways when it was in the slot and I could not detect any lateral or angular movement. This translates to clean cross cuts with out error that would be caused by a miter gauge whose slot bar width doesn't precisely fit the width of the miter slot.

I was a little concerned initially about how the miter gauge slid along in the miter slot. It did not slide smoothly and the gauge tended to squeak as it rubbed against the table top. In addition when the gauge was pulled out past the table edge and then pushed back in, the gauge would catch on the front end of the saw table. This was not a good thing. After studying the situation for a bit, I ended up putting a 11/16 inch diameter washer between the gauge pivot screw and the slot bar, and a second 11/16 inch diameter washer between the gauge handle and the slot bar to raise the gauge about 1/32 inch above the slot bar. It now slides smoothly and does not catch the front end of the table. You need to raise both ends of the gauge so the front end maintains a 90 degree angle to the slot bar and therefore the saw table. There was nothing in the assembly manual that addresses this issue. If you need to make this adjustment do not use washers that have a diameter larger than 11/16 inch, otherwise they will be too wide to fit in the miter slot, and the gauge will not slide freely.

The Biesemeyer fence works great. It slides across the cast iron table and the extension table with ease and locks down firmly when the lock handle is depressed. The fence can be easily set to a maximum of 51 1/2 inches from the blade. The Biesemeyer fence can be visualized as a large T square with the T part sliding along between the front edge of the saw table and the Biesemeyer Guide Tube.

Pressure is applied between the guide tube and both the right and left ends of the T to keep the fence aligned parallel with the saw blade. As long as the T is between the table edge and the guide tube edge it remains in good alignment and parallel with the blade. When the fence is set to 51 1/2 inches from the blade the right portion of the T is at the far right edge of the guide tube. Moving the fence further than 51 1/2 inches from the blade causes the right portion of the T to move past the end of the guide tube. When this happens there is still locking pressure applied to the left end of the T but there is no longer any pressure applied between the right edge of the T and the tube and this causes the fence to angle right and looses its parallel alignment with the blade. So the maximum width of cut this saw will make with an extension table is 51� inches. This is still plenty good enough to accurately rip 4 x 8 sheets of plywood.

I tried to use the saw with the blade guard installed but found it cumbersome. The clear plastic guard extends beyond the front of the blade by a few inches and makes aligning the blade with a mark on a piece of stock very difficult to do. I like to be up close and personal with my blade so I can make accurate cuts. In case you're wondering, I still have all ten fingers. Anyways for this reason I removed the blade guard. Unfortunately the splitter is attached to the guard so when I removed the guard I had to remove the splitter too. Later when I get the guard and splitter separated I plan to re-install the splitter to keep pieces of long stock from binding the blade when ripping.

I tested the saw depth of cut and blade alignment by using a 4x4 chunk of redwood fence post. I chose a 4x4 that was 3 and 5/16 inches thick which is thicker than the maximum height of the blade. I set the blade to its maximum height and then made a cross cut on the end of the 4x4 about 1/8th inch in, which is less than the width of the blade. With the blade height set at its maximum height, I was able to make a 3 1/8th inch deep cut, leaving a 3/16th inch high shoulder along the top edge of the 4x4.

I tested the alignment of the miter gauge with the blade and the blade alignment with the table by rotating the 4x4 180 degrees and removing the shoulder that remained from the first cut. My objective was to make a second cut to remove the shoulder so it was even with the first cut. I then looked to see if the blade left any marks or cuts on the previously cut portion of the 4x4.

As I suspected even though the shoulder was removed clean as a whistle, the blade cut into the 4x4 on the high edge leaving another 3/16th inch thick shoulder, indicating the blade was not set to 90 degrees with respect to the table. I also noted that the shoulder was deeper at one end than it was at the other indicating that the miter gauge was not aligned to 90 degrees with respect to the blade. I adjusted the miter gauge stops by placing a square against the miter gauge and the blade using the very small adjustment allen bolt on the gauge. That eliminated the uneven shoulder on subsequent cuts but I was not able to get the blade to an exact 90 degrees with respect to the table. I don't know at this time whether or not there are adjustable stops for the left blade tilt. So at this point I am still getting about a 1/64th inch shoulders when I make the second cut of the two cut shoulder test. Basic Trigonometry tells me that my blade is off 90 degrees by 0.0047 degrees. This will result un-noticeable error for thinner pieces of stock but I want to get this fixed anyway.

I cut cross several pieces of wood of various thicknesses and then checked these against a square. All cuts were nice and smooth and clean. It appears the dust collector chute works as well. I won't know until I create more saw dust and then remove the motor cover to see how much sawdust has accumulated in the chute.

I give the table saw operation a grade of A. This is a very nice machine. I would have given this machine an A+ but I couldn't because I think the miter gauge adjustment I was forced to do was something that shouldn't have had to be done, and if so it should have been documented in the user manual. I expect to use this saw for a great deal of heavy duty work. I think for the price I paid for this saw I got a good bargain. This machine is the now center piece of my shop. Knowing what I know now, would I buy this saw again? The answer is yes I would.

great jointer!! The fence takes a little time to get adjusted if your not careful it will slam down on the table but otherwise a great tool.

Great addition to my shop.
Fence drags and needed adjustment.
A must for any serious woodworker.
Mobile base a must feature

I have owned this jointer for about a year now having upgraded from the Jet JJ-6CSX 6 inch and a Delta Deluxe 6 inch model prior to that. The DJ-20 has performed magnificently. It was dead on right out of the box. The only tweaking I performed was to tighten the belt as the motor would "bang" when you initially turned it on. Cuts are smooth with the oak and pine that I have mostly run through it at this point. The fence adjusts smoothly. The infeed table is very smooth to adjust which I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first having been used to the handwheel adjustments on the Jet. But I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the table adjusts up and down. Please note that even with the 1.5 HP motor, the unit comes pre-wired for 220 so you will have to accomodate that with a 20 amp breaker. The motor shows plenty of power even with extra wide lumber. If there were one complaint I would lodge it would be with the lack of a magnetic switch. Also, I have not had to change the blades yet but everything that I have read indicates that it should not be a painful process. I would definitely recommend this machine as it has served me well to this point.

I too, like some of the others, could not find the clamp in any local retail stores. I have the low end Delta MS250 10" compound mitre saw. The Amazon listing did not show my model for this clamp, but on the Delta website, it said that the clamp would fit any Delta 10" and 12" mitre saw. The clamp fits perfectly on my MS250. I felt the shipping cost was a little excessive from Amazon, with shipping and original price the cost was about $25. But, I was glad to be able to find it online, and clamp was shipped in a timely manner.

just what I was looking for at a lower price than the local store.

I actually got this as a quick way to get my order for a Delta Miter Saw above a dollar threshold so I could use a discount coupon. I am glad I did, it has been handy to have an extra clamp.

Not sure yet. You didn't send any assembly instructions with the unit. I would appreciate it if someone would either e-mail me or mail me the necessary documentation.

Bill Scott
2917 Misty Ridge Drive
Norman, OK 73071-4118

I gave new life to an old faithfull delta cabinet saw by adding a 30inch unifence and sliding table.The installation of the sliding table requires removel of the left extention wing,which now the hardware for the sliding table interfears with the fence. I called Delta about this combo and they said to cut off 8inches of the fence guide rail which would keep the mounting holes and the tape rule right where they should be.I could not see cutting a 270$ fence. By relocating the mounting holes ( two 1/2 holes)down eight inches to the left my 30in fence became a 38in fence I purchased a new sticky back rule and put over top of the old one.The only problem is the fence table you have to add 8inches to it. I made mine so there was no problem, or you could buy the 72in table and cut it down. I love the combination cross cutting has never been this easy and safe. Good Luck.

Was pretty easy to install, you will need a 7/16th drill bit for some minor drilling. Template was easy to use and pre drilled holes on bottom of fence can be used for power switch. The fence is easy to adjust and is a welcomed change from the craftsman fence. A must have wish I would have purchased this a long time ago.

I would definately recommend this lathe to anyone but production woodturners. It's very smooth, especially after filling the hollow legs with sand. It has a much beefier spindle than the smaller Delta, which is a major consideration if you are turning larger bowls. As a matter of fact, I bought this lathe after killing the headstock on my smaller delta lathe doing just that. The Baldor motor and DC controls are very nice also.

My only qualm is with the control stalk. Due to it's position, it both picks up dust and is in the firing line for items that shatter while the lathe is at speed. Luckily it seems fairly beefy, as it withstood a large chunk of cherry at 1800 RPMs. Otherwise, this lathe is fantastic for the price. I'm very happy with mine.

I have had a 46-765x model for over a year now and I love it.I had a 46-700 12" lathe for quite a few years. The verable speed drive is awsome and is not to be confuised with the mechanical type.I added sand into the base pedestals and steel rod into the bed.I have the weight close to 700# now and it is very smooth.This lathe has not been recieved well in the woodturning world but I'm not sure why.Mine works great and as you see by the reviews most people who have these really like them.There are better lathes out there,but they cost alot more.The nova dr-3000 is compareable but I haven't used one.The 16" jet is also in the same price range and has a large following,although I'm not a fan of Jet. You just can't beat Delta for support in my experience

I've had this lathe now for 10 months I have made all kinds of things on it. This machine is a serious work horse. I have not had any problems with it at all. If you are looking for a true value this machine has it all.

I really enjoy a quiet shop with just a radio playing soft background music. Quiet is a relative term and compared to some things in the shop, the Delta air cleaner hanging four inches from the ceiling is quiet but the tools only run for the short time I am using them. I am glad it has a remote so I can turn it off easily when guests and customers come in. Even on low, it is too noisy to talk over. I have a vacuum system for the power tools and about the only time I use the cleaner is during heavy dust times like sweeping up the shop and an hour after I leave.

Mechanically, it works. I am going to try to make it quieter by wrapping it in foam but the major noise is coming from both intake and exhaust.

I have my shop in the cellar & the dust used to drive my wife nuts. Got this unit & she hasn't said a word since! WORKS FOR ME!!!

I have used the charcoal filter and the dust filter. The dust filter is pretty good at knocking the dust out of the air after a few minutes. The charcoal vapor filter reduces the amount of vapor noticeable in the air. It's a little loud at full speed though. I think that it's a good filter and am glad I have it.

i picked up this set about a year ago and have been extremely satisfied with its build quality. with a little over a year of use, everything still works flawlessly and the batteries are still as fresh as the day i bought the set. i personally use the drill the most, followed by the jig saw and the circular saw, and lastly, the sander. i haven't really found much of a use for the brad nailer as of yet. one thing i feel is very important to mention is the use of the flast light... i dont believe its truely intended to be used as a flashlight, but rather a means of completely discharging the battery before recharging it; at least thats what i use it for. BOTTOMLINE: its the perfect set for the weekend worrior.

My husband poo-pooed this purchase until he heard the price. He thought it cost over $450.00. I'm so glad that I got it before Amazon ran out. This combo is just about everything a girl could ask for in a tool kit. The circular saw is smaller than Mac's big one and I can do things on my own. We are building a new house and this kit is wonderful.I used it to install 490 sq. ft of floor tile with no problem.

I picked this up at a closeout sale about a year ago and have been very satified with the quality and value of this set. I've dropped the drill/driver many times and it still functions beautifully. The batteries keep a good long charge, often last several days with medium usage and several weeks while not in use. I've used every tool in it numerous times on home improvement and woodworking projects. The batteries are heavy, as expected for 18V, but the tools are ballanced well with the batts attached. The sander is the best cordless I've ever used, including some fairly expensive ones. My only complaint is that the flashlight doesn't put out much light for 18V, and is very awkward if you're trying to carry it around. Really, though, the set would be more than worth it w/o the flashlight, so it's a pretty minor annoyance.

I had been looking at carter guides for some time before I bought them but was reluctant to go ahead because I have a hex post saw which poses some interestion problems. for one, this kit will not fit on your hex post and even thought carter makes a special kit for the hex post saws you should not buy it because it sucks. their special hex post kit does not have acomidations for a blade guard (they suggest you rig your own), the mounting bracket uses this stange ofset pin which I gather is a pain to align and will make it impossible to use their blade stabilizer, and finaly it cost like twenty dollars more. No you should buy this kit for the round post which does not fit your hex post saw and heres why. the only think keeping this kit from fitting your saw is the post and if you didn't know, the newer style round post fits pefectly into the hex post hole, so pick up a new style post on ebay and this kit and your good to go and at worst you spent the same amount you would have for the hex post kit for a better setup. alternativly if you have a metal lathe you could do what I eventually did which is make your own post out of a 12in piece of 7/8in stainless steel hex rod just face and chamfer the ends and turn down the one end to 7/8 round and you get that original look with the new style guides the way they are suposed to be. I will be posting pictures of both installations soon.

Also I must add that these guides are a wonderful addition to my saw on all fronts. the quality of construction is top notch and they opperate flawlessly I would highly recomend them to any one with a band saw.

I have a fairly recent 14" Delta bandsaw which has been pretty accurate through most of its life. Until, out of the blue, is snapped the upper wheel mount. Delta cheerfully replaced the part, but for some reason, the blade suddenly developed a tendency to yaw when resawing under full steam. I decided that, if I was going to go through all the adjustment hassle I might as well extend the height as well. To my surprise and delight, this worked, but the blade would intermittently wander, and then, just as suddenly start working perfectly again. Definitely time to tear my hair out.

I already had a set of cheap ball bearing guides in the saw, but since the problem had to be in the guide performance somewhere, I bit the bullet and sprang for the Carter's. These have an excellent reputation among woodworkers. So I figured that the risk was minimal. I normally have a 1/2" blade on the saw - while the Carters don't work well with 1/8" blades they do fine with everything else. For tight curves I prefer a real scroll saw, anyway.

Installation is basically a case of removing the entire upper and lower guide mechanisms from the saw. No small feat, but doable, The upper guides fit neatly on the round post (there is a different set available it you have the old hex posts). The lower disassembly is a bit more complicated as you are removing both the guide set and the adjusters. Putting the new bearing set in was something of a trip, since the bolts are definitely not easy to turn. By all means, get a hex driver set for your socket wrench, you will need them.

Adjustment is uncomplicated, although you have to do without the Delta's dial adjusters. But basically all you do is loosen the socket screws for the bearings and set them up correctly relative to the blade. You may have to adjust the upper wheel angle a bit as well, but in essence it is exactly what you did before (although you will now need two allen wrenches to change a blade). Once finished I ran some wood through and was suitably impressed. Properly set, the blade moves not at all, and the quality of the cut is excellent. Time after time.

The parts are very well made and machined - no compromises anywhere. Of course, when I figured it out I spent nearly as much to enhance my 14" band saw as it would have cost to by an 18" saw in the first place. But that's another issue entirely. If you are trying to improve what you have, this kit is the way to go. If you're shopping for a new saw than the standard advice is buy the very biggest you can - it's cheaper in the long run.

This is a review of the Carter Products Band Saw Guide Set for a 14" Delta Saw. This category is so similar I added it here because they haven't added the Guide Set yet and the Guide Set is significantly more popular than the STD1.

I was really excited to get these. I have a shop full of tools, but my bandsaw is my favorite tool. I think it's also one of my safest tools. I have a Delta, enclosed base 14" saw with no riser. I'd been using coolblocks instead of the steel band saw stabalizers that come with the saw. The coolblocks worked fine, but they do wear and if you don't re-machine them a bit every now and then, you end up with a bit of blade slop.

The Carter guides are well packaged and come with simple instructions. Simply, you remove the guard, table, and both upper and lower guides. Then you mount the Carter products, adjust and then you have ball bearings controlling and supporting your blade. Total installation time was about 40 minutes to an hour, mostly because I cleaned everything up, including the saw table, during the process.

Installation tips: Have some aerosol based dry coating available to spray everything down once you clean it all up and install the new products. I used Dow Corning 321 in the past, but it does get messy if you ever touch it again. Another good option I hear about is Chesterton's 438 Teflon. I ended up using Bostik's DriCote (http://tinyurl.com/4cqtc) because I like that it'll handle 550 deg. F. These bearings can get real hot.

When you are done with the install, do yourself a favor and double check that you securely tightened everything. Last thing anyone needs is parts dropping down when the saw is on.

Setting the clearances: I've heard that one of the best ways to set them is to wrap a cigarette paper around the blade and tighten the bearings up to them. Once the paper is removed, you have a VERY small clearance between the blade and the bearing. I just set them as close as I can for now, but I'll try the cig. paper gig and report back.

Quality of materials: I love that all of the parts are well machined. The look smooth, sleek and smart. I don't like at all that they used aluminum for some of the structural members. Steel would be better. The socket head fasteners are SAE, not metric, but more on that later. The bearings used are SEALED bearings. This means they have little metal and polymer shields that actually seal in the bearing lubricant for life. They do not collect dust, metal particles, or gunk. It's a beautiful thing. I only wish more manufacturers spent the extra $$ to use such high quality bearings. More on bearings below.

Design: The concept is beautiful. The execution is nearly perfect, but I'd like to see some refinement for the amount of money this jig costs. I'd like to see tool-less adjustments possible (cam action clamps perhaps? thumbscrews?). I'd also like to see a minor improvement in the bearing mounting. For side to side play, they use two bearings smashed together because these smaller bearings are a standard size and cheaper. That's fine, but how about a small spacer between them to prevent the transfer of lateral forces once the bearings are tightened onto their shaft. Just a thought. We'll see how long they last.

Improvements: One simple, but VERY important improvemnt can simply be made here. Carter MUST redesign the fasteners so that they all use the same size allen wrench. The way it's set up now, you need a minimum of two different wrenches each time you install a new blade. Grrr.

Another improvement that I did was to remove the barrel fasteners on the back side of the double bearings and buff polish that barrel fastener. Stock, they are rough and I had one that was hard to move about. I quickly cleaned them up, lubed them and reinstalled them for easier adjustments.

Disadvantages of this product: It's difficult or perhaps impossible or unwise to use this with very small, scroll type blades. Keep your old gear. With CoolBlocks, you could cinch them right up to and sometimes over the teeth with no harm done. Not so here.

Advantages of this product: Stability. In short, this will prevent your blade from wandering at all during difficult cuts or resawing. Because the bearings are spinning and providing so much support while generating so little friction, the blade should stay cooler longer.

Replacement Bearings: I'll have to measure them to be exact, but I'll bet you can replace these bearings with roller skate / skateboard bearings. They are a standard size, readily available from EXTREMELY high quality manufacturers and really inexpensive.