hopefully this post will prove useful to somebody.
about 6 months ago i bought a delta 14-651 - read a review on benchtop
machines, it was highly rated, on sale, so i did it.
anyway, when i first turned it on it sounded odd. a bit of
metal-on-metal grinding noise, which i quickly determined was in the
bit. of course, given the nature of such machines, i immediately
assumed that i set up the bit incorrectly, so was careful to make sure i
used proper spacing, etc. still sounded bad. bought a new bit - still bad.
used it for one project, blue-tipped the auger in one job. wasn't
pretty. a month ago i decided to find out what was wrong with it, and
my dial indicator told me that the motor shaft was wobbling by 10 thou.
took it in today to local delta dealer, they agreed with my assessment
that the motor shaft was shot, and they are getting me a new machine.
this was my first real out-of-the-box dud. hopefully others have
had/will have better experiences with this machine.
--- dz
David Zaret <news@__REMOVE__zaret.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> hopefully this post will prove useful to somebody.
>
> about 6 months ago i bought a delta 14-651 - read a review on benchtop
> machines, it was highly rated, on sale, so i did it.
>
> anyway, when i first turned it on it sounded odd. a bit of
> metal-on-metal grinding noise, which i quickly determined was in the
> bit. of course, given the nature of such machines, i immediately
> assumed that i set up the bit incorrectly, so was careful to make sure i
> used proper spacing, etc. still sounded bad. bought a new bit - still bad.
>
> used it for one project, blue-tipped the auger in one job. wasn't
> pretty. a month ago i decided to find out what was wrong with it, and
> my dial indicator told me that the motor shaft was wobbling by 10 thou.
> took it in today to local delta dealer, they agreed with my assessment
> that the motor shaft was shot, and they are getting me a new machine.
>
> this was my first real out-of-the-box dud. hopefully others have
> had/will have better experiences with this machine.
>
> --- dz
I think you just got unlucky. SWMBO bought me one last xmas and I
absolutely love it. Works flawlessly.
yeah i've been pretty lucky. but then again, i've also purchased really
good tools - canadian-made general 650 table saw, minimax bandsaw,
woodmaster planer, etc. most of my hand tools are bosch, which at least
seem acceptable. i cannot believe that my dewalt ROS is still running,
given how hard i push it.
what this demonstrated to me was that delta did zero quality control
before boxing the mortising machines. i'm not terribly surprised. as
you said, it seems hit-and-miss nowadays. frankly what's more
surprising is that it took me six months to deal with it!
see ya,
--- dz
David wrote:
> Wow! If that was your FIRST "out of the box dud" then you haven't been
> buying enough tools! :) I've either had to replace tools immediately,
> or in some cases switched to a different brand, such as in the case of
> going from DeWalt to Makita power tools. About 6 years ago I bought a
> cordless 14.4 or 18V Dewalt drill and saw combo. The saw made an
> UNGODLY noise upon startup and the drill's chuck had so much run-out you
> could spot it from 6' away. I returned them to HD and picked up Makita
> versions of each. The first Makita cordless saw leaked oil, so it too,
> had to be replaced, but after 6 years I'm happy to report the second
> Makita saw doesn't leak oil and the cordless drill is a pleasure to use.
> I've continued to patronize Makita and ignore DeWalt tools, except I've
> had my eye on their newer surface planer.
>
> I won't EVEN get on the subject of Delta problems...
>
> No matter whether or not a tool is made in the good ole US of A or not,
> quality control is an endemic problem these days. Sigh...
>
>
> David
>
> David Zaret wrote:
>
>> hopefully this post will prove useful to somebody.
>>
>> about 6 months ago i bought a delta 14-651 - read a review on benchtop
>> machines, it was highly rated, on sale, so i did it.
>>
>> anyway, when i first turned it on it sounded odd. a bit of
>> metal-on-metal grinding noise, which i quickly determined was in the
>> bit. of course, given the nature of such machines, i immediately
>> assumed that i set up the bit incorrectly, so was careful to make sure
>> i used proper spacing, etc. still sounded bad. bought a new bit -
>> still bad.
>>
>> used it for one project, blue-tipped the auger in one job. wasn't
>> pretty. a month ago i decided to find out what was wrong with it, and
>> my dial indicator told me that the motor shaft was wobbling by 10
>> thou. took it in today to local delta dealer, they agreed with my
>> assessment that the motor shaft was shot, and they are getting me a
>> new machine.
>>
>> this was my first real out-of-the-box dud. hopefully others have
>> had/will have better experiences with this machine.
>>
>> --- dz
>
>
yep - i haven't lost faith. looking forward to getting the machine back
in the shop.
take care,
--- dz
Swingman wrote:
> "David Zaret" wrote in message
>
>
>>about 6 months ago i bought a delta 14-651
>
>
>>this was my first real out-of-the-box dud. hopefully others have
>>had/will have better experiences with this machine.
>
>
> For a benchtop, its a pretty good work horse ... don't let your "dud"
> experience sour you on it.
>
> Keep your chisels sharp, your feed rate nice and even, the opening in the
> chisel in the same axis as your mortise length, pull out often to clear the
> mortise of chips, and it will do the job nicely in the toughest of woods.
>
"David Zaret" wrote in message
> about 6 months ago i bought a delta 14-651
> this was my first real out-of-the-box dud. hopefully others have
> had/will have better experiences with this machine.
For a benchtop, its a pretty good work horse ... don't let your "dud"
experience sour you on it.
Keep your chisels sharp, your feed rate nice and even, the opening in the
chisel in the same axis as your mortise length, pull out often to clear the
mortise of chips, and it will do the job nicely in the toughest of woods.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 7/10/04
I also bought one about 6 months ago. The only problem I have had was in the
set-up. The gear was so stiff I couldn't move the handle up or down. Finally
after some grease on the ratchet gear, it has loosened up. Works great and
no problems with motor wobbling. You must have gotten a bad one. At least
you are having no problem replacing it. Says something about the Company.
"David Zaret" <news@__REMOVE__zaret.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> hopefully this post will prove useful to somebody.
>
> about 6 months ago i bought a delta 14-651 - read a review on benchtop
> machines, it was highly rated, on sale, so i did it.
>
> anyway, when i first turned it on it sounded odd. a bit of
> metal-on-metal grinding noise, which i quickly determined was in the
> bit. of course, given the nature of such machines, i immediately
> assumed that i set up the bit incorrectly, so was careful to make sure i
> used proper spacing, etc. still sounded bad. bought a new bit - still
bad.
>
> used it for one project, blue-tipped the auger in one job. wasn't
> pretty. a month ago i decided to find out what was wrong with it, and
> my dial indicator told me that the motor shaft was wobbling by 10 thou.
> took it in today to local delta dealer, they agreed with my assessment
> that the motor shaft was shot, and they are getting me a new machine.
>
> this was my first real out-of-the-box dud. hopefully others have
> had/will have better experiences with this machine.
>
> --- dz
Wow! If that was your FIRST "out of the box dud" then you
haven't been buying enough tools! :) I've either had to
replace tools immediately, or in some cases switched to a
different brand, such as in the case of going from DeWalt to
Makita power tools. About 6 years ago I bought a cordless
14.4 or 18V Dewalt drill and saw combo. The saw made an
UNGODLY noise upon startup and the drill's chuck had so much
run-out you could spot it from 6' away. I returned them to
HD and picked up Makita versions of each. The first Makita
cordless saw leaked oil, so it too, had to be replaced, but
after 6 years I'm happy to report the second Makita saw
doesn't leak oil and the cordless drill is a pleasure to
use. I've continued to patronize Makita and ignore DeWalt
tools, except I've had my eye on their newer surface planer.
I won't EVEN get on the subject of Delta problems...
No matter whether or not a tool is made in the good ole US
of A or not, quality control is an endemic problem these
days. Sigh...
David
David Zaret wrote:
> hopefully this post will prove useful to somebody.
>
> about 6 months ago i bought a delta 14-651 - read a review on benchtop
> machines, it was highly rated, on sale, so i did it.
>
> anyway, when i first turned it on it sounded odd. a bit of
> metal-on-metal grinding noise, which i quickly determined was in the
> bit. of course, given the nature of such machines, i immediately
> assumed that i set up the bit incorrectly, so was careful to make sure i
> used proper spacing, etc. still sounded bad. bought a new bit - still
> bad.
>
> used it for one project, blue-tipped the auger in one job. wasn't
> pretty. a month ago i decided to find out what was wrong with it, and
> my dial indicator told me that the motor shaft was wobbling by 10 thou.
> took it in today to local delta dealer, they agreed with my assessment
> that the motor shaft was shot, and they are getting me a new machine.
>
> this was my first real out-of-the-box dud. hopefully others have
> had/will have better experiences with this machine.
>
> --- dz