Delta Reviews

I needed a longer fence than what the standard 30" Unifence comes with. This fence is nearly 10" longer than the standard fence and is great when ripping longer or larger panels. Fit my existing Unifence Saw Guide perfectly. Should have purchased this long ago.

I just received Delta's DELUXE Miter Gauge # 34-928 and as a separate item the Delta 34-568 Clamp Attachment. It's a marriage made in heaven. Not only does the clamp attachment work like it was made for it, (because it was, as well as in the 34-895K kit)but because the Deluxe Gauge is so well made. It goes for about the same money as the cheapy that comes with the kit, so why not buy them individually and go for the gold. Here is my review on the Deluxe setup.

I just received the Delta Deluxe Miter Gauge #34-928. You wouldn't believe me if I told you how long ago I ordered it. I guess a fresh batch is in so order it quick. Now on to the item. When they say that it is accurate, the first thing I did, when I took it out of the box, was break out the Bosch Digital Protractor. It measures angles with a digital readout in tenths of a degree. (Equal to 3600 dots in a circle, no matter how small the circle) I put the miter gauge to the test. I clamped an aluminum level onto the face to extend the surface, and guess what? I got perfect readings after trying the detent stops, and even got the same results when I eyeballed a setting just using the pointer. It wasn't even off by a tenth of a degree.
At first I was confused, because some of the stops weren't right on the number, then I realized that they have stops at the popular detents, and some of those are in tenths of a degree.
Point number two is that I was impressed that the miter gauge bar that rides in your miter slot has little Allen bolts imbedded in it, so you can adjust it perfectly, to eliminate any play. When I put it in my Powermatic 66, it fit so perfectly, without any play, that I don't even need to fiddle with it. It is so snug that you would have to measure the play in thousandths of an inch, as in non-existent, yet it slides along the track like it was on greased wheels. It fit my Bench Dog miter track on their Router table extension for table saws the same way. The Might T track miter track guides had a little slop in it, but that is obviously the track and not the gauge. I guess you can tell where I will be using it. (Although the play is adjustable for any 3/4 x 3/8 track)
Point three is that the bottom of the gauge is polished so smooth that it will not scratch your saw tabletop. The front face of the gauge where you rest your work, looks like it was fine ground-polished with something like a 1000 grit wheel. You can see ultra-ultra fine lines going in a circle from where it was fine machined.
I strongly recommend that you also get Delta's clamp attachment that works with this gauge. The one that I bought is the 34-568 clamp assy, and it fits and works perfectly. Delta and Amazon feature the Delta cheapy miter gauge with the clamp as a combo package for about the same money as buying this Deluxe gauge and the 34-568 clamp assy as separate pieces. So for about the same money you are getting Delta's best, and in this example it is worthy of that title.
The gauge and clamp combo perfectly resolves the problem of when you are trying to cope the ends of your rails in a raised panel bit set. You know the problem, you have to hold that two-inch wide board and run the bit over the tip. Trying to get the bit to not move the board, by either pushing it a little away from the fence, or run into the second fence face causing a stop is a major accomplishment. Many use sleds with clamps on them, but then you are raising the work piece off of the table to make up for the sled base plate. With a router, that is a major consideration, because that oftentimes leads to having to raise the bit higher up out of the collar, causing more vibration and potentially a dangerous bit flying condition. This gauge and clamp combo locks it in just the same, but keeps the work piece flat against the tabletop. The other advantage to that is if you are running some larger pieces at the same time, you can do it by removing the gauge, and not have to change a bit setting. Wow! I'm getting off on this, I don't know about you. :-)
Another point is that the picture doesn't do it any justice. The fit, the finish, the accuracy of the deluxe gauge is better than any other miter gauge I have seen, even the one that came with the Powermatic saw. I can't recommend this high enough. Is it because it is a waxed Ferrari sitting in the garage? No, it is because it is as accurate and fine as a miter gauge can get. Buy one, you won't be sorry. Hope this helps.

i can cut a very find line if i have to

It really helps to have these if you don't have your own workshop. My space is limited, so these are great. I love the stop so you can make repeated cuts of the same length. It really saves time.

Tried other saws and for the money this beat them all. I recently returned a Hitachi 10" with laser because the bevel gauge was falling off after only a few cuts. With that kind of quality who needs it. I then bought the Delta 36-322L, what a difference. The bevel gauge is made of metal and the miter gauge is adjustable. The twin laser is very accurate. Get a Delta, you can't go wrong.

This Dado set is exactly what it claims to be. Solid steel and nicely packed. Designed to be used for the Delta Bench Saw and its short arbor, it can only cut dado's up to 1/2 inch. Nicely packaged in a reusable container. The price is right.

I've owned a Delta 34-829 10" 3 HP Tilting Arbor Unisaw with 52" Delta Unifence since 1989. The only differences I can see between my saw and the 36-820 Special Edition is the newer model has a better switch, and my fence guide-bar is black.

I've used my Delta table saw hundreds of times and have found it to be an outstanding tool. The cast-iron main table and two cast-iron side-wings are still perfectly flat (although not highly polished like the Powermatic model 66 table saw).

The 3 HP motor is a total powerhouse. When doing heavy-duty cutting, the motor never bogs down, or even slows down -- there are two V-belts to keep the blade turning. Tough work will go into the blade at a slower speed, but just push harder. Unless you run a production shop, there is no need to buy the 5 HP unit (which needs 3-phase service anyway). You'll need a 220-volt outlet for this tool.

If you can afford it and have the room in your shop, get a 52" cabinet grade table saw. With it, there's virtually no wood size you won't be able to handle. E.g., you can even rip a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in half (at the 48" point) with this saw. The right hand table area is perfect to double as a router table. Not as good as a shaper, but less expensive and it takes no additional shop space. If you have less than a huge shop, put the table saw on a wheeled stand. I roll mine in place to use it, and then roll it back against the wall when done.

Getting the fence parallel to the blade took some time initially, as I recall, but I've never had to realign it in 16 years of use. E.g., wood never binds because the fence isn't parallel to the blade. The fence is so accurate and perfectly flat on all sides; there is no need to mark the wood to be cut. A ruler is adhered to the guide-rail and that's what you use to determine where to lock the fence. Simply put the red line from the fence locking assembly on the exact place on the ruler, and cut. The wood is the right width, every time.

I have no complaints with the Unifence. It's amazing that it has stayed in perfect alignment for 16 years. It never warps, bends, or twists. Unlike other fence systems, you can slide the fence forward or backward on the fence locking assembly, before tightening the fence in place. I find that useful, for example, when an anti-kickback device is attached to the fence and it gets in the way of the blade guard. It's also useful if you want extra fence length forward or backward, for control purposes. Simply unscrew two knobs and slide the fence into the desired position, then tighten the knobs. The fence shape is ideal for attaching kickback devices that clamp on because the aluminum is 1/8" thick and there is a large flat area the length of the fence that is ideal for this purpose.

The fence can be attached vertically (normal), or horizontally (flat) to the locking mechinism. In the flat position, the fence part that touches the wood is only 1/2" high, versus 3 �", when the fence is vertical. This is advantageous if the blade is tilted towards the fence and you need the fence close to the blade (i.e., when a high fence would impede the saw guard or blade), or, if part of the side of the work to be cut pokes out, assuming that part will ride above the 1/2" high fence (e.g., as in laminate work). I don't use this often, but it's a nifty feature of the Unifence. To move the fence to the left of the blade, loosen those two knobs, flip the fence end over end, and mount it on the right (instead of the left) of the fence locking assembly. Pull up on the locking mechanism's handle and the fence is easily removable from the saw to move it to the left, or, to get it out of the way (e.g., if using the "router table"). Like all top-of-the-line fences, the Unifence firmly locks into place with a single handle and the fence mechanism rides on a single guide rail. You cannot do precision table saw work without a perfectly accurate fence. The Unifence fills that bill.

My Unisaw's 4" dust port is connected to a 3 HP dust collection system. I don't use the Delta blade guard that came with the saw -- made my own out of 3/16" polycarbonate. Mine has three advantages over Delta (and most other) blade guards. My saw guard:

1.Is stronger, since it's thicker material
2.Prevents sawdust from flying out the front of it since it has piece of polycarbonate blocking that path
3.Has an airtight 3" hose port facing to the rear (tilted 11 degrees up from the table) on top of the guard. A 3" flexible hose is connected to the dust collection system. Between the 3" vacuum hose on top and the 4" vacuum hose underneath, almost all sawdust is sucked away.

About the only mechanical negative on the Delta, is that the blade raising/lowering and tilting mechanisms binds slightly at the end of their travel (unlike the Powermatic 66, which is better in this regard).

Table saws are amongst the most dangerous shop tools, along with radial arm saws. You can be seriously hurt, or even lose a body part if careless. In addition, on certain types of cuts, if you don't use an anti-kickback device, the blade can hurl a piece of wood backwards at great speed. To keep from being distracted, I always work alone, with no radio or TV going.

In spite of this being a professional grade cabinet saw, if the shop burned down tomorrow, I'd consider buying a Saw Stop brand table saw, (Sawstop dot com), because its blade stops instantly if it comes in contact with your hand or fingers. (I understand that Delta, Powermatic, and General declined to reengineer their table saws to include this safety feature.)

I really didn't realize how big this thing was until I saw the boxes it came in.... This is not really a portable feeder, if you want to use it on your table saw or jointer, you'll have to disassemble it as it weighs about 150 lbs.... It has one of the widest speed ranges on the market (6.5 - 108 fpm) and the four rollers come in handy. The 1hp motor is plenty strong to climb cut. The various linkages will take some getting used to but I managed to figure out all possible combinations. It is a worthy addition to any shaper for safety's sake. Just keep in mind the size of it!

This saw is a very nice piece. It went together fairly easily in about 6 hours of assembly and adjustment, but well worth is. IT cuts so smooth,and the Biesmeyer is a great fence, most likely the best, the only other saw that ive used in this class is the 5 hp powermatic which is also a very nice saw but costs more and i think the delta paid a little more attention to detail.

The picture shown for the Delta Unifence is a DeWalt Air Compressor. Just thought you'd want to know.