Delta Drill Press Safety Switch

Hi Folks,

Ever seen a Delta safety switch locked into the "on" position? Well, this one is. I'd drilled 3/16" x 1/2" holes into 60 3x5" pieces of pine and when I tried to turn the drill press off the switch wouldn't budge, I had to unplug the machine to turn it off. The switch is one of those red safety kinds that can be locked by pulling the end off. Even unplugged the switch could not be moved. Now what do I do? Bigger hammer?

Thanks, Josie

Reply to
firstjois
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Maybe irrelevant, but I recently bought a Delta 10" benchtop DP. The instructions say you can turn it off with the little red tab removed, but you can't turn it back on again. I tested it, and it seemed to be working as advertised.

Maybe yours got packed full of sawdust?

I got a can of compressed air at MicroCenter for cleaning out computers. It might work. It has a little red tube (like the one on a can of WD40) for directing the air. I think you can get them at any good computer store.

(If you have an air compressor, I'd try that first.)

Reply to
John Santos

Reply to
items4sale

Thank you, John, I'll try the blast of compressed air and see how that goes, unplygging the little red plug didn't do a thing.

Frank, can you tell me how you got the stuck switch out? It seems like it should be a plastic insert over the "real" off and on switch and pop off with a screw driver.

Thanks, Josie

snipped-for-privacy@bellsouth-ANTISPAM-.net wrote:

Reply to
firstjois

Had a Delta deluxe jointer with a similar problmem. Same red safety switch. Went to turn it off one day and it didn't stop. Switch flipped back and forth just fine but with no resistance and the blades never stopped. Had to unplug it. Tried different red safety inserts and nothing worked. Never did anything about it b/c I sold it, and let the new owner know all about the switch.

Reply to
Ron

[snip]

Yikes! to the $25 but I think that is going to be it. I know as much about electrical stuff as a house cat but a brass-looking bar has crud on it that may have been glue and the glue failed so the brass-looking bar was unattached and had gotten jammed in the switch. Nice and dangerous, I think.

Thanks!

Jois

Reply to
firstjois

If it is a consistent problem, I am a little surprised that Delta hasn't had some kind of safety recall. The way you report it failing sounds a little dangerous.

Dave

Reply to
Dave

You're right they should. We know of two instances out of 20,000,000 tools. That justifies replacing them all. Shame you are in Canada, Ralph Nader is running for president and you can't vote for him.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I had a problem posting... Hope this goes though

I th> Thank you, John, I'll try the blast of compressed air and see how that

Reply to
items4sale

Reply to
items4sale

Thanks, I got the original out without breaking anything (!) and plan to check prices for a new one on-line tonite.

Josie

snipped-for-privacy@bellsouth-ANTISPAM-.net wrote:

Reply to
firstjois

Josie -

I had the same problem a few years ago (maybe two?). I called Delta to order/pay for a replacement switch, and they sent me a new one for FREE. You might try calling them before ordering one from someplace else....

Tom Kearney

Reply to
Tom Kearney

Oh, good thought, Tom, I'll call them first.

Josie

Tom Kearney wrote:

Reply to
firstjois

Well, with the recently added post we know of three cases among the tiny minority of Delta owners who send messages on this bulletin board. Therefore I would argue the issue may be much larger than you imply. Also the fact that delta is providing a replacement switch for free is interesting. Their statistics may be much more revealing, though I doubt they would be interested in sharing.

Your political conclusion that I believe a recall is warranted is going a little over the top. However with the legal climate in the US it might be financially safer for a company to limit potential legal damages to the future.

Canadians are much less inclined to call their lawyer when problems happen (and usually less successful when they do).

Dave

Reply to
Dave

ace hardware site has them for 10 dollars and change plus shipping. all in all around 16.50 ish.

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take the cover off with the switch inside. the switch is held in the cover by plastic tabs. depress the tabs to remove it. snap the new one in and reassemble. just did this to a chisel mortiser i picked up cheep. [drive by] lol...

Reply to
skeezics

BTW frank where bouts in raliegh are ya? im outside youngsville a couple miles.

skeez

Reply to
skeezics

By Tue, 31 Aug 2004 22:50:22 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" decided to post "Re: Delta Drill Press Safety Switch" to rec.woodworking:

Current thinking in the current party is that, more and more, manufacturers shouldn't have to announce safety related issues to consumers. In fact, legislation to this effect is being debated or has recently passed. What I don't understand is why this can be thought to ultimately benefit consumers? Certainly it reduces costs for manufacturers which then _could_ reduce retail prices. But should this be at the cost of fostering unsafe products -- such as tires, motors, drugs, foods, machinery and equipment? Fostering unsafe services such as medical care?

Reducing product safety reporting requirements and liability for dangerous products really seems like an attempt at shifting social policy rather than purely economic policy. The effect is to reduce people's health and longevity. Perhaps the thinking is that there are too many plates on the table, in general?

So: reduce requirements that products are safe. Reduce requirements that manufacturers of unsafe products report such issues, and fix or recall unsafe products and otherwise bear responsibility for their mistakes.

Sounds stupid.

Sounds antisocial.

BTW, why would Delta use an unsafe switch? (Cheaper? Bad planning? Poor engineering? Cost-benefit? -- fingers vs. profit?)

In a "market economy", market forces alone _can_ be responsible for perfecting the market _only_ with perfect communication and universal knowledge. (But that doesn't happen in the real world.) You should know _all_ benefits and hazards and other factors of competitive offerings; otherwise, unlike in a theoretically "pure market", you're generally screwed with most decisions. WAIT, that seems like reality as I know it. Few, if any, players in any market use any form of altruism, or benefit provided beyond that required, as a competitive tool unless a force outside the market (regulation, public policy) shapes that market. So, best practices will include 2 in 1,000 unsafe parts if there is no external pressure to prevent this.

Really, you should read "Unsafe at Any Speed", then "Wheels" by Alex Haley, and follow up with "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. Maybe "Lord of the Flies" might shed a little light too!

HTH,

/ts

Reply to
/..

And for a rather broader grasp of the mentalities involved, you might consider reading "Fountainhead", and "Atlas Shrugged".

[Embedded here is the clearest rationale I've ever found for the 55 MPH speed limit]
Reply to
Morris Dovey

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