Band Saw Gloat

Good find, I paid more than that for a resaw blade form my Laguna.

A "drive-by", if I ever saw one! ;)

Nicely done though. Just the right touch of "nah, nah", but not overly done. :^)

Nicely done though. Just the right touch of "nah, nah", but not overly done. :^)

Actually I was really just indicating what a good buy he got... The Laguna ResawKing blade is sold by the inch, for 1-1/4" blades the price was $1.25 per inch and I use 150" blades... It is a great blade....as well it should be.

But a NEW Delta 14" BS for $150, that is a great deal.

(As you may know) Lowes is in the process of switching out their Delta tools to PC tools, which is related to how I got a clearance price. I tried to get even a "decent deal" on the Delta 16.5" DP (regular price is $379) but my local Lowes won't budge yet (I needed to drive to a different city to get the BS for $150). Anyone familiar with the quality of that DP? To me, the brand "Delta" represents a pretty level of quality which probably exceeds my needs as a hobbyist, but it may be a bit naive of me to think that way.

Best, Bill

IMHO to get the best tool for your money you should never be Brand Loyal... while many of the Delta machines are way below in quality from what they used to be there are still some that are a good value. It seems also that many of their newer pieces are better than what they have been in the last several years. I recently bought a new Delta DP, the 17-959L and looking at the Delta web site it appears through their reorganizing they have dropped quite a few DP's. I retired my older Rockwell Radial DP. I wanted a crank to lower and raise the table, I wanted speeds slower than 450rpm and I wanted a table that would rotate, tilt, and bevel. It looks like the current 16.5 DP does that also , Mdl# 17-950L. There were several 16.5" DP in the past, I am not sure which one you are looking at. I paid about $520 for mine.

Thank you for the info. I was looking at Model 17-950. I think that your

Best, Bill

I want to be able to be able to drill peg holes in my workbench (to be), and I wish to drill a 5/8" hole in the bottom end of a banjo neck, and make nice square (true) holes on the other end where the pegs go.

I'll probably be able to think of a few other things I want in a DP after I own one for a year or two, but at this point I don't have the experience (or the need or the budget) to be too particular.

Is it true that using the DP as as shaper is unhealthy for it (likely to lead to "run out"), or is occasional use like that okay?

Best, Bill

One thing that the one I purchaed offered and I for got to mention was the length of bit/wuill travel. Many are under 3" and that can present problems in some cases. MINE IIRC trables about 5". The Steel City DP travels 6"

Typicall DP's are designed for downward pressure. Side pressure will typically wear the bearings out prematurely. I would advise against it. Actually I have never heard of using a DP as a shaper.

According to Amazon.com, the Delta 17-950L I was looking at has a quill travel of 3.875" and your Delta 17-959L has a quill travel of 4.875" (in case anyone else is reading this). If the numbers were under 3", I would look elsewhere. Thank you for reminding me about this feature (quill length). Among a sea of facts, it's easy to forget one. I will read up on the Steel City DP. Thank you!

Bill

That was my understanding too. I saw someone demonstrating a shaper tool on a DP at a woodworking show. At least it looked like a DP. Maybe the tool had already been fully depreciated, and weighed less than a shaper.

I had actually boilded the decision down to the Steel City or the Delta that I actually purchased.

I don't recall if either had more hp over the other but that is typically not an issue since you can "gear down". My previous DP had 1/3 hp IIRC and it was always adequate even on larger forstner bits. I just could not get it to turn slow enough to prevent burning the larger bits.

My old DP was right at 3" and going up less than 1 inch was not enough to justify upgrading for me. I could live with just under 5", 6" would have been preferrable.

IIRC the final feature that sold me on the Delta was the multi angle tilt table and its larger size over the Steel City.

I still don't see much point in the laser that came with mine... its good for getting things sorta close but I can see well enough and don't depend or rely on the laser at all.

Seems like the (following) mortiser attachment would violiate the principle too, despite good intentions. If the mortiser attachment does not hurt the bearings used as a mortiser, then it seems like it would not hurt the bearing used with a shaper bit, no???

Should the Rikon DPs be avoided? Leon, I can see why you chose the

Bill

I'd have to agree with Leon's assessment and tend to disagree with your thinking. A mortiser attachment for the most part is exerting downward pressure. Some type of shaper attachment would primarily be exerting lateral pressure and be much more likely to wear out those bearings that Leon is talking about.

Admittely, I don't have a drill press mortiser attachment, but I've read quite a few practical usage opinions on their use and by far, those opinions have panned drill press mortiser attachments.

The mortising attachment attaches to the quill, not the spindle. no load on the bearings except the drill bit.

No argument. Nonetheless, I've yet to see highly favourable comments concerning the usage of a drill press for mortising purposes. Most have admitted that their drill press mortising attachment was relegated to the unused tools storage bin in fairly short order.

Because it wasn't effective or because they were concerned about their DP?

No,,, the mortiser attachment works differently. The chisel which receives most of the load is attached to the quill IIRC and the bit simply spins inside like most any other bit. A shaper would exert side pressure.... BUT mortisers tend to be quite a bit of extra trouble when used on a DP. Putting it on adjusting and removing it is a multi step precess that takes time For me that would get real old Quick. I would advise a dedicated mortiser to leace your DP free to drill holes. Dedicated mortisers tend to be relatively inexpensive.

I think I would confirm that with Delta... it still shows on their site.. But it looks like the 16.5" has most of the features that the 17" has.

I would not say to avoid the Rikon, DP's tend to not be complicated as long as the bearing run out is OK. I doubt Rikon has problems with that. BUT IIRC the Rikon had a pretty short quill travel and although the table seemed large it did not tilt like the Delta.

I would think because you could cut the mortises faster and as accuratly with a router if the DP did not have the mortiser attached and set up. You can not drill holes with the mortiser set up in place and setting up is a process.

TY for pointing that out. Good point. But, isn't that a "shaper" bit in the 4th and 5th pictures at the bottom of the page??