So I was perusing CL today, as I'm wont to do from time to time as I look to expand my shop's capabilities, and I ran across an ad for a Delta 6" 37-280 for $50. I did check what some other people were auctioning/selling this model for beforehand, and they all seemed to hover in the $200-250 range.
The price seemed awfully low, so I actually skipped over it, thinking it had to be in terrible condition or missing some vital components (like a motor). It kept nagging at me, though, so I went back to look at the post and check out the pictures. It all seemed to be in relatively decent condition, so I emailed the guy and went to take a look.
There's a bit of rust on the tables, but my wire brush was taking almost all of it off. The whole thing is coplanar and flat - no sagging or pitting. The blades look good. Aside from some dust (not sawdust), it was in remarkably good visual condition. After plugging it in, it just purred quietly. I asked why he was selling something that was in pretty good shape for so low; he told me he had inherited it from his grandfather, but had no interest in anything woodworking and it'd just been sitting in his garage collecting dust and some rust. So I bought it, he helped me throw it in the van, and now it's sitting in my garage.
A more thorough inspection revealed just the tiniest bit of surface rust on one corner where it meets the stand, but opening up the back and pulling the fence off, etc… this thing is really clean. It almost looks brand new, aside from the fact that it's probably going on about 20 years old now, and where he left some wet cans on the table.
After making my decision purely on impulse (I don't have a jointer. I need a jointer. This is cheap.) I did some research on the actual jointer - getting the general feeling that people hate the fence and it's really only reliable for the under 4' boards.
Sorry for the terrible lighting in this picture - it's in my really dark garage, and my cell camera isn't that wonderful.
Anywho, enough story time, onto my questions:
Did I buy a hunk of scrap that'll be impossible or cost-prohibitive to refurbish?
Almost all of my work is done in the 6-18" board length range, with widths of 1-1/2" to about 5"... this should be good enough for small work?
If this is worth being cleaned up and made into a decent tool, what potential solutions are there to the warped fence?
Did I shoot myself in the foot with this?
I don't know yet if I'm feeling buyers remorse over it. $50 isn't much, but it's a date night with the wife. I feel like I could have potentially gotten it for a steal, but as this is my first jointer I don't have any sort of comparisons to make. I certainly don't expect it to be reviewed as highly as a Shop Fox 8".
Thanks LJs, I appreciate your feedback.
The price seemed awfully low, so I actually skipped over it, thinking it had to be in terrible condition or missing some vital components (like a motor). It kept nagging at me, though, so I went back to look at the post and check out the pictures. It all seemed to be in relatively decent condition, so I emailed the guy and went to take a look.
There's a bit of rust on the tables, but my wire brush was taking almost all of it off. The whole thing is coplanar and flat - no sagging or pitting. The blades look good. Aside from some dust (not sawdust), it was in remarkably good visual condition. After plugging it in, it just purred quietly. I asked why he was selling something that was in pretty good shape for so low; he told me he had inherited it from his grandfather, but had no interest in anything woodworking and it'd just been sitting in his garage collecting dust and some rust. So I bought it, he helped me throw it in the van, and now it's sitting in my garage.
A more thorough inspection revealed just the tiniest bit of surface rust on one corner where it meets the stand, but opening up the back and pulling the fence off, etc… this thing is really clean. It almost looks brand new, aside from the fact that it's probably going on about 20 years old now, and where he left some wet cans on the table.
After making my decision purely on impulse (I don't have a jointer. I need a jointer. This is cheap.) I did some research on the actual jointer - getting the general feeling that people hate the fence and it's really only reliable for the under 4' boards.
Sorry for the terrible lighting in this picture - it's in my really dark garage, and my cell camera isn't that wonderful.
Anywho, enough story time, onto my questions:
Did I buy a hunk of scrap that'll be impossible or cost-prohibitive to refurbish?
Almost all of my work is done in the 6-18" board length range, with widths of 1-1/2" to about 5"... this should be good enough for small work?
If this is worth being cleaned up and made into a decent tool, what potential solutions are there to the warped fence?
Did I shoot myself in the foot with this?
I don't know yet if I'm feeling buyers remorse over it. $50 isn't much, but it's a date night with the wife. I feel like I could have potentially gotten it for a steal, but as this is my first jointer I don't have any sort of comparisons to make. I certainly don't expect it to be reviewed as highly as a Shop Fox 8".
Thanks LJs, I appreciate your feedback.