I got mine just yesterday, so I haven’t used it except to sand the end of my wood fence extension for the included aluminum (miter head) and steel (guide bar) miter guide. That went well. Here are the things that set this machine apart from the many other 12” direct drive sanders (All clones from the same factory) out there: • It’s not a clone from some massive factory, its from its own massive factory. No other machine has the dust collection blower feature, and only some have the table angle adjustment gearing. • Good power, for 1/2 hp. Many manufacturers overstate their HP rating. This seems accurate in my experience (over 40 years using this kind of machinery) Smooth running, well balanced and quiet, the disc will freewheel for minutes unless you use the: • Very convenient disk brake. This little cast iron lever you install upon receipt stops the disk in less than 3 seconds. It has brake pad compound on it, about 1/4” thick, and rubs on the machined outer rim of the disk which is over 1/2” thick. That massive disk weight (including the cast fins on the back to generate the suction for dust control) helps immensely in heavy sanding operations. • It’s Heavy, like: over 70 lbs. Not going to dance a cross your bench, but you can use the available base holes to bolt it down. Never a bad idea. Still, for most, the weight is enough. • 5 year warranty! Although Delta is FAMOUS for having lame support and VERY slow response times. TEST your machine thoroughly on receipt so you can use amazon’s return policy, not delta’s warranty! And save the VERY PROTECTIVE box and packing materials for a few days, weeks... 30 days! • Nice cast iron table. It will need some cleanup, though. The surface isn’t so smooth, and should be. A few minutes with some 400 grit and oil will create a silky smooth surface. I also started with a big flat mill file to detect and take down any high-spots on what needs to be a DEAD FLAT surface. Then I used a Molybdenum Disufide dry coat lube that makes for a slippery smooth work surface. I recommend this for ALL machine tables, like table saws, band saws, sanders, etc, unless you need to clamp to it, like a drill press table! Don’t use it on that... • I attached a canvas bag (actually a real old-fashioned money bag) to the end of the dust hose with a velcro strap and the built in fan inflates it pretty well. Definitely seems to capture all but the very finest dust, and SO easy to rig and stash beside the table. UPDATE: The dust collection is inadequate! I bought a mini shop vac and using a vacuum switch I adapted them all together to make an automatic vacuum dust control setup. It works great. Total cost was about $70 for the two parts. • Greasy parts, a messy deal. Cleaning up the heavy grease slathered carelessly onto the trunnions is a messy and unforgiving task. I sprayed some lubricating oil (LPS 3 i think... I LOVE that stuff!) to help melt it off, and a disposable brush to get it out of the nooks and crannies. Darn crannies! Leave a tad to actually smooth the operation of the janky gear adjustment feature. It barely works. • The detents on the tilting mechanism for the table are not accurate, but can be adjusted easily. Use a square, get it perfect and tight, then loosen and then re-tighten the ball-detent mounting so it falls into the notch. Should be repeatable now... • Cord strain relief. I don’t trust the one it has in the switch box, so I added my own to the rear foot of the base. Easy and worthwhile. A single cord-yank could create some VERY dangerous conditions! • The included sanding disk seems to be of quite a good quality. Don’t cheap-out on replacements. A disk flying off the machine at 3500 rpm is not something you’ll enjoy. • disk run-out (that’s wobble, for the uneducated out there) was very low, but difficult to measure without removing the included disk. It was +- 0.005, within the Delta tolerances. Ill check it again when I change disks, but that will be after quite a while. It does feel wobble-free at speed when sanding a piece of hardwood, though. Whew! Some are way out of true and need to be returned. Mine seems good. YMMV. Test it first thing! • I’ll be back again after a while to update. . . . . . I hope this is all helpful. Any questions you have, ask them here and I’ll try to answer them. LEK
