# Did I shoot myself in the foot?



## Ashus (Mar 8, 2015)

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.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Not a steal, but not too bad either.. clean the table up, give it some wax, make sure the knives are set properly and everything is adjusted properly - then start making some sawdust.

Cheers,
Brad

Edit: Just re-read your post… warped fence? As long as it's perpendicular to the table, should be good, but how is it 'warped'?


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

I think it's a great deal and very usable if you don't put too much pressure on the fence. You may be able to buy a heavier extrusion.

Edit: if the outfeed table is cast into the base, that's kind of a big negative, but still ok.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Maybe we should just call you Toeless Joe!


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## Ashus (Mar 8, 2015)

Brad, when I get it square to the table over the cutter head, the infeed side of the fence is about 2º left (at the top) of perpendicular. On the outfeed side, it's about 4º right.

I'm thinking it's been used as a shelf at some point in the past.

Edit: Whoa! Lots of replies and edits in a short time! TheFridge - I'm pretty sure the outfeed table is cast as part of the base. I hear that makes for some difficult knife adjustments, but I'm more comfortable with spending my time than I am with spending my money.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

You can try to find a replacement extrusion like TheFridge mentioned, or just put a face on the fence and shim it to be perpendicular… and if you are going to be doing face jointing, it doesn't even really matter. You might also be able to take it off and tweak it back into alignment, which is sort of common with cast iron ones, but I'm not sure about aluminium.

A fixed outfeed table is NOT a big deal, and really has no bearing on setting knives. I've had both, adjustable and fixed outfeed tables (and my current Makita 2030 has a fixed outfeed table), and setting the knives is the same for both types.

Cheers,
Brad


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

I hear your you. It helps having an outfeed adjustment but you still have to set the knives parallel to table on all jointers. Sucks that the fence sucks.


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## Ashus (Mar 8, 2015)

Thanks guys, once again your insights have been invaluable. I don't feel any sort of remorse anymore, I'm confident I'll be able to turn this into a useable tool.

I think I'll try to tweak the fence a little bit first, and see how that goes.

Then I'll probably try putting a face on the fence next, since I've got some scrap lying around that I think will work pretty well, and the cost of it is "free". I'm not opposed to spending money where money needs to be spent, but part of my joy is kludging solutions - so long as they work!

I plan on doing both edge and face jointing, and some of my projects are edge-glued plank creations from thinner width stock, so making sure they're all true gets to be very important (or so I've been told) so as not to multiply small errors over multiple repeated cuts.

As Brad's signature says… I'm in the young and stupid phase, hoping to pass quickly through that stupid part.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Face it with a piece of hardwood/shim where needed.
Sounds like it matches your needs.
For longer boards you can always make some table extensions.


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## Picklehead (Feb 12, 2013)

It certainly passes the "can I resell it for what I paid for it?" test. Clean it up, enjoy it, find a bigger, better one on CL in the future (easy since you're not in a hurry now), and sell this one (in better, cleaner shape than when you bought it) to the next person in your situation. Congrats.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Even though I already have a joiner I probably would buy it for that.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Have to admit, if I saw that for $50, even though I've got a perfect running Jet, I would probably have bought it, cleaned it up, sharpened the blades, set it up, and made a decision as to whether it stayed in my shop as a small secondary, or sell it for at least twice to three times what I paid for it. 
I think you did OK…


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## Ashus (Mar 8, 2015)

Thanks guys!

Here's what it looks like in the light, after some time with a wire wheel and WD-40.










Those rust rings are pretty stubborn, and there's some pin head sized pitting, and it looked like someone had done some welding on it at one point, but those splatters buffed right off.

Now it's time to buff off the oil and throw on some wax!


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

A dilute solution of phosphoric acid, alcohol and water should get rid of most of the staining (similar to what is in bar keepers friend and some other store bought stuff). Used with a scotch-brite pad, it works wonders. Put the pad under a vibrating sander to make it even easier!

Cheers,
Brad


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## Ashus (Mar 8, 2015)

Brad, that worked a treat! This thing sparkles!

On a side note, does anyone know how much it weighs? I moved it into my basement workshop today, and it was really damn hefty.


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## tomd (Jan 29, 2008)

It's a steal at $50.


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## Oughtsix (Mar 9, 2015)

You did great for $50. It might not be the highest end 6" jointer ever made but jointers are not that complex and don't need to be uber fancy to get the job done. I have done a LOT of jointing on a similar 6" jointer before I inherited my fathers 8" jointer. Your jointer beats the heck out of the little 4" jointer I started with!


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## dmiller226 (Oct 12, 2015)

OK guy I recently picked up the same jointer for a decent price. I got around to testing it out this past weekend and the tables are out. Well at least one is sloping. From looking around I'm not seeing a way to shim the out feed table to be parallel with the in feed table. Am I out of luck on this one?

Any direction / guidance would be a big help.

Thank in advance.


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## monster1971 (Sep 3, 2015)

You cleaned it up nice. I would be all over it for $50 if I saw it on CL. Excellent purchase.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I've spent more and gotten less. Fixing the fence as mentioned with some kind of extrusion should be top priority. Based on what you've stated the majority of your work entails, it should work out fine for you. I would clean up the top a little to keep it from getting any crud on your in-progress work, beyond that the best way to keep the table cleaned up is to use it frequently.


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## bonesbr549 (Jan 1, 2010)

Well if you get it workin, and it will do it for you then yea, it was a good deal. I bought one new, and that fence is a piece of crap. I tried to make it work for years and it never did cut right. I finally gave it to my brother, for free and he worked with it for a while, but it's really limited. Good luck maybe you can restore it and make a buck on it.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

What someone said - put a piece of nice straight hardwood against that fence and just use it. A Harbor Freight stand is 30 bucks or so, so you got the jointer for 20.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

> OK guy I recently picked up the same jointer for a decent price. I got around to testing it out this past weekend and the tables are out. Well at least one is sloping. From looking around I m not seeing a way to shim the out feed table to be parallel with the in feed table. Am I out of luck on this one?
> 
> Any direction / guidance would be a big help.
> 
> ...


You're gonna have to shim the infeed


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

I have that jointer. It works okay, though is tricky to set the knives. The fence is a little tricky to adjust, but once it's set I don't move it unless serious adjustment is needed.


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## roderick (Jul 16, 2013)

How much do you dilute the phosphoric acid? Or is there a dilute version of Naval Jelly? I'm 87 and still learning.


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## DalyArcher (May 3, 2015)

look at this way, you have one more jointer than I have. For small cabinet doors, boxes, etc it should work great. 50 bucks isn't a hefty bill and I think for what you got there, money well spent. Enjoy!


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## SandyM (May 29, 2018)

I bought this same model jointer about five years ago, as part of a package deal from someone who was getting rid of all of his tools. I'd agree with much of what has been said - fence is substandard, non adjustable outfeed table isn't a big problem. 
But having used it a bunch since then, I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it. It makes boards straight and square; I've had no trouble face planing cherry planks that are five inches or so wide. So, for $50, I'd say you got a good deal. 
I'm getting ready to sell mine, since my situation has changed and I'll be reunited with my Powermatic. I'll definitely be asking more than $50 when I do sell it.


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## DBDesigns (May 29, 2018)

The bent fence shouldn't be a big deal until you try to joint a bevel. I would consider adding a removable fence face for bevels. (as long as it's perpendicular to the table it will still function.) It might be possible to flatten the fence in a machine shop with a surface grinder but I think that is probably overkill. Also, a jointer is not the first tool I would use for bevels anyway. I would use a tablesaw, bandsaw, router table, shaper, or even hand tools first.

I have been getting by with a 6" Jet JJ6 for years and it still works fine. I can straighten 90% of the lumber I need to with it. It makes a ton of shavings and has a satisfying hum…Awesome!

Good luck with the new machine. you can buy other stuff with the money you saved.


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