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13K views 27 replies 18 participants last post by  Sawdustonmyshoulder 
#1 ·
My Table Saw is Finally Alive

I'm just getting started in woodworking, so I bought a table saw. I purchased a Delta 10" Contractor's Saw. When I finally got it (4 weeks after the order went to Delta), it was missing a bunch of hardware. I tried to remedy this through Delta, but I was told the "parts" wouldn't be available until late May. (I originally ordered my saw in early February.) After getting that horrible response, followed by a real lack of concern on Delta's (or the tool store's part), I gave up, went to the big box store nearby, and bought accpetable (I hope) replacement parts on my own.

Just this week I finished the assembly. The cast iron top needed lots of grease cleaned off and a good coat of wax applied. Today I checked the alignment of the arbor (3/100" out of square) and the fence (2/100" out of square) with my buddy's alignment tool. I hope they're are square enough for amateur work. Comments on this would be appreciated.

I just noticed that I put some gouges in the table top today. I didn't notice them before now. This drives me crazy. What can I do to remedy this? I guess I should expect this type of thing to happen as the saw gets older. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyways, I've turned the saw on a couple of times, but haven't had the time (or a good reason) to cut anything (hopefully not my fingers) yet.

Here's my new baby. (Actually, I have a baby on the way. Hopefully I can use this saw and a few more tools that I still want to buy to build a nice small dresser for her.)
 
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#2 ·
JS, If I were you I'd be writting a letter to Delta Corp. and talk with customer service. All companies today know the importance of good customer service, and complain. I'd be willing to bet you'll get something for your troubles. They don't want bad press. they have a reputation to uphold. Sometimes its a matter of finding the right person. Just a suggestion, maybe you could get a discount or at least your money refunded on parts you bought. Good looking saw though. jockmike
 
#3 ·
Good lookin saw… You will love the fence. Get the right parts… and I would suggest a new tool store. It is unacceptable that you are missing parts. I have purchased used tools where the store I use comes to me to help get them set up etc. Made a good friend out of the owner due to his service.

Drew
 
#5 ·
He must have a TEXAS Sized belt buckle to gouge the surface while leaning over and hugging his new machine.

I'm with Dennis, make it look used soon, so nothing except dropping a 2×12 on top of the sawblade while trying to manhandle it to get reddy for cutting , will phase you too much.

Congratulations on some of the early steps into woodworking.
 
#6 ·
I recently purchased the two speed 13" Delta Planer and it arrived missing the parts bag that had the knife changing tool, the screws to hold the two handles on, and the wrench to do whatever needs to be "wrenched" on the planer. The handles stayed on of their own accord, so I wasn't going to worry about trying to send it back (I purchased it online from one of Amazon.com's toolstores). I knew that the retailer wasn't going to be of any assistance, so when I had a chance, I called Delta's customer service. The conversation was short, I told her what had been missing from the package (I had already registered it as well), and she started taking my address and said that the parts would be at my home shortly. About a week later, I received two new handles, two of the wrenches, two of the knife changing tools, the two screws that were missing, and an extra knife to boot. You may just have gotten the bad apple in the Customer service department that day, as my experience was totally different.

I would call back and try to get some real help. I wonder if registering the Table Saw online might help as well.
 
#7 ·
Nice… If the prices are close on large tools Rockler vs. Amazon… I will go with buying at local Rockler as they will help with setup and missing parts or returns. I also like to spread the buying because it is great to have a local woodworking store. I know this is not possible for everyone.

JS.. I don't know what your experience with these saw's is but I recommend reading as much about safety as possible. Watch a video and even better take a class. Better to develop good habits at the start. I know if I haden't taken a good class I would be chicken-pecking this response to you.

Enjoy your saw.

Also: I want to get me one of thouse caliper-alignmetn thingies. My saw needs TLC.
 
#8 ·
JS, I too had a Delta quality control issue with my saw. I have a 10" Hybrid and the left wing just did not match up. The mounting holes were not tapped right. I took mine back to the dealer where I purchased it and asked for a new wing. The broke the case of another saw and gave me one, no questions asked.

Point being that if in your area there is a retailer that is an "Authorized Delta Service Center" I would talk with those fellas and develop a relationship. Giz is right too. The folks at Rockler (at least here in MN) are a great bunch and are very helpful. Look for a place that sells a lot to contractors and that ilk (where time is money). They understand how useless tools are if they aren't able to be tuned or you can't even put them together due to missing essentials.

I'm curious. Where did you buy your saw? It sounds like you didn't get it from a big box.
 
#9 ·
I bought my saw from a local tool shop. It wasn't a bog box store. The local shop kind of tried to help out by ordering another saw and just giving me the parts out of it, but Delta told them that the saw was on backorder. After that, the store basically gave up. I think I'll keep using this store, just assuming their hands were tied by Delta. So, the store gave it at least a little bit of effort, but I was a little annoyed with how quickly they gave up.

The only local Rockler dealer is actually an independent authorized retailer. It's the place I bought my saw. I guess they don't offer the setup services that official Rockler stores do.

I took another look at the "gouges" this afternoon. Maybe I was in a "glass is half empty" mood last night. Today they look quite a bit more superficial than I let on in my original post. When I run my finger over them, they are noticeable. I hope this doesn't have much effect on feeding wood into the blade smoothly. I guess I'll just have to keep it well waxed.

Well, I'm heading back outside to clean up the shop. Thanks for the replies.
 
#10 ·
I'm glad they at least tried to help you out. I guessing my situation must have been dictated by how much stock they had on hand in their warehouse or maybe the Delta rep was coming through soon. Who knows?

I'm glad the gouges seem more superficial. I'm sure the saw will function fine. I mistakenly dropped the corner of a plane on my table once and dinged mine a little. I just 'buffed' it out with one of those green 3M heavy duty abrasive pads and a mesh screen (same process used to clean cast iron grills in restaurants sometimes). The wax is a good idea.
 
#12 ·
I feel obligated to give an update concerning my table saw. I previously posted that Delta customer service was giving me the run around. While that is true, I've made some great progress. I registered my saw online today (which may have helped) and CALLED the national customer service number. I had tried working with the local service rep. I had also tried emailing the national customer service department. Neither of these attempts helped much. My call with the customer service rep was very fruitful. Delta is sending me the parts that were missing (even though I've already assembled my saw with substitute parts) and a zero clearance insert. They offered me a blade. I asked for something else, since Delta blades aren't as good as the Freud I already own. Eventually, the rep found that she could offer me a zero clearance insert. According to Amazon.com, a Delta brand zero clearance insert for my Delta is worth $53 (even though other brands sell for less than $20). So, Delta did what they could to keep a customer happy. Thanks for the advice folks.
 
#14 ·
Nice to hear a more happy ending to the story JS.

I would do something like Dennis suggested and find a way to buff out the gouges. Maybe some fine sand paper, a honing stone, or even steel wool. Of course it might make a shinny spot on your table top, and cause you to do the entire top. But, you will probably like the results.
 
#15 ·
Garage Cabinets Inspired by Norm

I'm putting together some garage cabinets based on the ones Norm built in the "Garage Workshop" episode from quite a while back. This is the first time I've ever done anything involving a carcase. It's also the first time I've done a project involving dadoes and rabbets on the table saw. So far I think it's going well. To go along with those firsts, it's the first time I've been able to put my new air compressor and brad nailer to work. (I bought the PC 3 nailer combo pack from Home Depot earlier this week.) I obviously haven't completed the cabinet yet, but I think I'm making good progress.

 
#19 ·
My new tool: Kreg Master System

I just got home from my visit to the ER followed by a stay in a hospital bed. That was not very enjoyable. Neither were to two days leading up to the decision to go to the ER at 9:30 Tuesday night.

However, when I got home today, I found that Amazon had delivered my new Kreg Master System. I can't wait to put it to work. (I'll have to wait a while since I'm not back to 100% quite yet.)

Once I get some good use with this tool, I'll try to remember to post a review with my beginner's opinion.
 
#25 ·
Garage cabinets are almost done

I've almost finished the garage cabinets. My parents were in town last weekend to witness my daughter's baptism. So, we took the opportunity to spend some time together in the garage.

We were able to build the remaining three drawers in just a couple of hours. I decided to use pocket hole joinery for these drawers for two reasons. One: I just got a new Kreg Master System, so I wanted to give it a try. Two: I knew pocket hole joinery would be faster than setting up the dado stack on my table saw to do notched corners like I did on the one drawer I had already finished. Three: this is a garage cabinet, so seeing pocket holes is not a problem aesthetically. The jig was great. If you want to do some simple joinery that holds strong, I highly recommend it.

When I installed the first drawer on full-extension slides, I just made sure everything was straight and level, but never really paid attention to the directions. When we did the last two drawers, we decided to follow the directions exactly. I couldn't believe it. They were actually well written and took a lot of thinking out of the process. Those last two drawers were installed perfectly.

Tonight I cut the facings for the drawers, which is the last thing I have to install. Once that's done, I will post some photos. I'm also in the process of building a router table. The top is coming along very well. I hope to have some photos of that as well.
 
#27 ·
Router Table and Workbench

As I previously mentioned, I've made good progress on a garage workbench. I still need to put the facings (or whatever you call them) on the drawers. The facings are already cut out, but I'm waiting to decide on drawer pulls before I put them on. I've considered making some drawer pulls from rope to give the whole thing a different look than standard cabinet drawers. The back edge of the benchtop has some scrap MDF pieces laying on it to keep anything from rolling back behind the bench. Those will be replaced with a long piece of pine or maybe just some quarter round trim. I also hope to install a vise under the long overhang that I designed into the right end of the bench.



I've also made some really good progress on a basic router table. The top is a layer of 3/4" melamine laying on top of a layer of 3/4" MDF. I put some lengths of T-track in that I will use to attach the fence, which is the one thing left to complete. I built the stand using some 2×4s I had on hand. It's currently sitting on some scrap 2.4 chunks just to keep the garage floor moisture from soaking up into the legs. I plan to install some casters to make it mobile in my small garage shop.

 
#28 ·
They are called Drawer Fronts.

American Woodworker had a great design for shop made drawer pulls. They have dovetailed slots for writing what is in the drawer. It was in the January 2005 issue number 112.

Here's a photo of mine I made:



I made about 30 of these pulls. Hope this helps.
 
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