DELTA 14-651 Professional 1/2HP Bench Mortising Machine
by Delta
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List Price: Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of DELTA 14-651 Professional 1/2HP Bench Mortising Machine
Customer Review: Very Good Mortiser
Summary: 4 Stars
Received my Delta 14-651 Mortiser on Saturday, 4-17....ordered it on 4-11-09. Not to bad for free delivery. Box was missing a banding strap and had a couple of perforation to the box. But the machine inside was fine. After reading the instructions, ( which i usually don,t do) I had it put togeter in about 1/2 hr. I took other peoples advice n took the time to bolt it to my work bench. It is firmly attached and had no trouble mortising a 2 inch stock...cut from both side to elimnate tear-out. A inch on each side, I must say, it took more leverage than i thought, but worked fine.
I did take the time to sharpen the 3/8" mortiser before use. Got a cone sharpener from Rockler. It came with a handle for the cones, but after awhile, I chucked it in the drill. Finished the outside of the mortise with a 800 grit wet stone. Took care on the milling marks, but not quite the mirror finish that a 5000 grit stone does. But, your not gonna see the inside of the mortise.
I pleased the way the Delta cut the holes, beat a hand chisel in my estimation. Got 20 more holes to do in this project alone. Having a sore thumb, I used a quick clamp to hold the work tight to the fence, the Delta hold down worked for retracting the drill n mortise chisel...with a lil tug. Glad I sharpened them up.
I can see where I might be using the extension....was wondering; if after its installed, can I just leave it on all the time. Not sure, as im kinda new at doing mortise with a machine.
Being used on my bench table, I,ll have to wrestle it to a storage spot, try making a table on wheels for it. Just a thought.
So, im glad I bought the Delta Mortiser, seems up to the job. Free shipping helped too. Shipping and use of the mortiser has been a smooth deal so far....
Customer Review: Professional?....Not even close
Summary: 1 Stars
This is an example where pretty good engineering is erased by lousy quality control. The machine work is extremely rough and the table and fence took hours of grinding and filing to get them half way smooth. Once the parts are smooth enough to be assembled, you realize that the fence isn't square to the table. That takes more grinding and filing to correct. Now you get to actually use the machine - only to find that the chisel and bit don't line up with each other and neither is square to the fence. Shimming the column square to the table and then shimming the motor to get the chisel and bit in alignment finally yield a useable machine.
This wouldn't be a bad machine if there was some quality control in the machining and assembly processes but unfortunately there isn't. My mortiser finally works OK but I really wish I'd bought a General or Powermatic.
Customer Review: Poor Packaging
Summary: 5 Stars
I too was one of the lucky ones that received this mortising machine "undamaged". Haven't had a chance to use it yet, but it appears to be a very high quality machine. Heavy duty (and I mean heavy, weighs almost 80 lbs.) Mostly cast iron and solid steel. It probably took me longer than most to assemble it (2 hours) because I spent a great deal of time cleaning it up during assembly and removing all the cosmoline that Delta had put on it. The only real complaint I have with Delta is that it seems they make a great product, but then they short on the packaging. It was a miracle that my mortiser survived the shipment at all. When I opened the box, the styrofoam was pretty much all disintegrated into little BB's. Something this heavy should probably be packaged using another method. I could never hold Amazon or the freight service responsible for this. No matter what freight service is used, the possibility of damage is high due to the method of packaging.Customer Review: Problem tool
Summary: 1 Stars
The first unit I received was litterally broken in half: The main shaft had a crack all the way through.
Delivery damage (was delivered by UPS) can happen, I guess, although it's hard to believe that steel almost 1 inch thick could shatter like that.
So I ordered a replacement unit and received it 4 days later (Amazon, at least, does it's part of the deal).
The 2nd unit I got was not broken (thanks UPS), but the fence would no go all the way back. There was only a 1 inch play back and forth, as if something in the crank was causing the fence to block. I called Delta and spend an hour trying to fix it up. At the end, the delta rep had me dismantle the whole thing and use a flat file to flatten the square edge of the crank screw. Despite all of our best efforts, nothing worked.
So I send it back, asking for my money back this time. I'll buy another brand.
It just makes you wonder: Is there anyone over there that take a quick look at the end product before they box it in?
I wish I could tell you how it run, but I never had a chance to get that far...
DL
Customer Review: WoodWorkers Beware!
Summary: 2 Stars
I learned a lot from this mortising machine. Like, how to uninstall the chisel and bit to remove the wood chips jammed in them. Of course, removing the chisel and bit ruins all your squaring efforts and you have to square everything again. And I learned to put a gorilla twist on the chuck in order to keep the bit from falling out of the chuck whilst you mortise away. I learned how to swing on a handle in order to get enough force to cut into the wood (Oh, yes, the chisels are honed and very sharp). I learned to cut my fingers when changing out the chisels or having to bang on the top of the drill auger bit to get it out of the chisel when it jams with wood chips, or more often wood CHIP.
I don't have any problem with the actual quality of this albatross. It is heavy, roughly finished, and everything squares...again and again. But I now use a router or more often a drill press and a hand chisel.