DELTA 28-682 18-Inch 2-Horsepower Woodworking Band Saw with Ball Bearing Guides, 230-Volt 1 Phase
by Delta
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List Price: Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of DELTA 28-682 18-Inch 2-Horsepower Woodworking Band Saw with Ball Bearing Guides, 230-Volt 1 Phase
Customer Review: solid, powerful, quiet
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this bandsaw (delta 18", 2hp industrial) for years now. And I love it.
Mostly, I use 1/2" woodslicer blades (thin kerf) -- with excellent results. I've also resawn 200 year old chestnut beams, using a 1" blade.
The guide, which some reviewers have complained about, is better than some custom ones i've ordered and returned.
Disclosure: I don't work for Delta, nor own stock in the company or have any financial interest. Nor am I affiliated with any competitor of Delta. I am offering this disclosure because sometimes competitors use reviews for marketing purposes.
Customer Review: Pretty happy
Summary: 4 Stars
Got a great deal at Amazon for about half off. Not really in the market for another bandsaw at the time but couldn't resist at $649.00. This appears to be made in Taiwan which is fine with me. In my experience Taiwanese equipment is better quality than Chinese and even American (lackluster experience with Powermatic Model 72 Shaper). I had a problem with broken motor mounts that required replacement parts. A call to the number in the manual got me in touch with a very nice lady that got the parts sent out pronto. She had a grandmotherly southern accent so I know I wasn't connected to an overseas call center.
I have been quite satisfied with the performance and can't think of anything else I would ask of this saw. I read the reviews here and was a little concerned about the guides. I can say that after some good use that the guides are fine. I took a look at the Carter site for aftermarket guides and they don't carry any. That tells me that there is either not enough of these out there for Carter to make the R&D investment or there simply is not a need for aftermarket guides because the stockers are fine.
I would have given this 5 stars if not for the broken elastomeric motor mounts delivered with the new saw.
Customer Review: Great saw, great price
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this saw for the past 3 weeks. Quality is very good. I gave it the nickel test after set up, and the nickel stood up through start up and shut down. A real smooth runner. Blade change was easy. So far I have resawed 8" wide walnut, 10" maple spalted logs 3 to 4 ft.long, some 8" sycamore, and a 5" log of osage orange, 3 feet long. The saw had no trouble with any of these woods and did not bog down in the slightest. I was able to make 1/8" veneer from the splated maple. SWEET !! The blade tensioner is beefy and very easy to use. Just pull down on the handle to tension & pull up to release. I actually take the tension off after use now. There are several minor annoyances. The lower inside blade guide is difficult to adjust. You have to angle the table to get at it. The saw blade was onlt 1/2", cheap, and needed to be replaced. The tip of the allen wrench broke off in one of the set screws for the guide bearings.What a pain. The manual could be a little more verbose, especially about tracking and guide adjustment. The tracking adjustment screws seem a little cheap but are functional. All in all, this saw has earned every bit of the 4 stars I gave it. If it cut the wood by itself, I'd give it a 5!Customer Review: Great saw
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this saw after reading reviews on several different 18" saws. From the reviews all the saws had some negative points to them, so in the end I decided to go with the delta due to past experiences with there tools.
First off the saw came and did not have a flaw anywhere that I could see, fit and finish were very good and assembly went very quick. Upon starting to make final adjustments, I did find that the blade guides took some time to get them set, but after getting them adjusted right the saw performed beautifully.
I read the other reviews on this saw and I don't Know why some people gave the saw such a low ratting. If you are in the market for a good saw that can handle what ever you throw at it this is it.
Customer Review: Good saw but could guides could be much better
Summary: 3 Stars
I got this saw the other day. Very beefy saw. Fit and finish are good. Agree with other reviewer that lower blade guide is tough to adjust since you have to tilt up the table just to be able to access it. First the bad parts:
I will go further and state that I think for a saw of this quality, Delta should have put much better upper and lower blade guides that what was included with the saw. The castings for the mounts are cast iron and are not very high quality. Not smooth finished and the upper guide bearings that ride on either side of the blade do not even ride parallel to each other. The bearings ride on eccentric shafts that are held in place with a setscrew to adjust the distance to the blade. The rear upper guide bearing sits on a cast iron piece that is held inplace with a set screw. It is adjusted for distance to the blade by moving it by hand in and out. No screw adjustment or any fine tuning available. Also it and the lower rear bearing adjustment have plenty of slop in them. So much that the bearings can droop down (not parallel with the blade) by about 1/8th of an inch or more. Given the fact that this is one of the more expensive Taiwanese 18" saws on the market, this lack of quality is unacceptable. Other competitors saws have much better QC and designs for their blade guides. Unfortunately Carter does not yet have a retrofit blade guide kit for this saw. So far I have not been able to get the saw to cut strait when trying to resaw a 3" piece of hardwood.
The good: As I said, fit and finish is good. Power is good and I think the overall design of the saw is good. Comes with a magnetic starter, table extension and a good solid fence. I have ordered some replacement parts from Delta and their response was very good. Unfortunatley, the design of the blade guides is critical to the working of the saw and these will probably get replaced when Carter comes out with a replacement kit.
UPDATE: Since I posted the review I have been able to retrofit a set of carter guides on to the saw. Delta should have fitted the saw with guides of this quality to start with, but with their current state of affairs (buyout by B&D), who is to say what will become of the company. I noticed another reviewer that had issues with the blade length. Frankly, saws of this size are not that common yet (not like the 14" standard, 93.5" blades) and you will have to get your blades custom made. Not a big deal nor a costly option either. Several places on the internet sell them and all you do is tell them the specific size and they make them up. No real price difference that I can tell.
Also, I dont think the table trunions are all that bad. Table is plenty sturdy and they use an additional support in the back. Now if you want to see cheesy, look at the wheel bearing assembles on a Rikon 18". They use four bolts to hold the shaft and adjust it into plane.
Still feel that with the current cost difference between the delta and the other brands (grizzly for one) you would be better off with something else till delta fixes this machines shortcomings or drops the price a few hundred (yeah right).