Bigger planer

[tvrgeek]

Last tool on my list is my planer. Currently the standard old Delta lunchbox. Every time I talk myself into a 735 with Lux head, I go back to the posts of " love them , on my third" suggesting durability, or the issue that they are a 25A machine on a 15A plug and they DO pop breakers. But, it is not that often I run 10 or 12 inch boards. Typically 6 or 8, so load would be lower. ( no one has posted current on smaller boards) . Then I think about a Griz or Jet. Jet 15 inch, 3 HP, seems quite popular. Griz has several , but the recent thread over on LJ about a Shop Fox drum sander with a stripped gear motor NA for a NEW MACHINE STILL IN PRODUCTION, is totally inexcusable and I won't buy a machine from a company like that. And I thought Delta was bad for dropping support of all their older good machines. $900 vs $2600. Yesterday, leaning to the Jet. Today, back to the DeWalt. Still, not found any objective testing on numbers of cutters and performance. At least two common sizes, and from 48 to 106 cutters in a head, 4 or 5 rows. I have not heard anyone hate their DeWalt, or their Jet.

 

[golfdad]

once again I have never popped a breaker with my 735....going on 10 yrs

 

[NOTW]

Only had my 735x for about 18 months but have had 0 issues with it, huge upgrade over my Delta lunchbox (22-580). But if you think you are going to need bigger or even want bigger in the future might as well buy once and cry once.

 

[junquecol]

Once again, the Delta of today isn't the Delta of pre B&D. B&D murderd the Delta line, in order to promote their DeWalt lines. Then they sold the NAME ONLY off to raise cash. Buyer only bought THE NAME (Delta), non of the liabilities.

 

[tvrgeek]

We all know new Delta is crap. Shame as the design of the new Unisaw and new drill press are super, but terrible quality and worse support. Made in S.C. so all those Chinese bashers need to take a deep breath. Of course Bruce, your history and my experience are some of the reasons I am not fond of DeWalt, but the 735 does seem to be the go-to product even if they are lying out their ass on power requirements. How CSA and UL let them get away with it I do not know.

Leaning back to the 735 again. I can't remember running anything over about 8 inches. If I need wide all at once, there is the service at the Hardwood Store to use their sander.

I did consider a 20 inch. Bigger and heavier iron is always good, but just can't see the need.

 

[rcarmac]

Only had my 735x for about 18 months but have had 0 issues with it, huge upgrade over my Delta lunchbox (22-580). But if you think you are going to need bigger or even want bigger in the future might as well buy once and cry once.

this is my story as well. Except my Delta was 22-560

 

[tvrgeek]

Once again, the Delta of today isn't the Delta of pre B&D. B&D murderd the Delta line, in order to promote their DeWalt lines. Then they sold the NAME ONLY off to raise cash. Buyer only bought THE NAME (Delta), non of the liabilities.

FWIW, my drill press is a real Delta, made in Taiwan long before the sell-out. It's quality was crap. Motor sheave drilled off center. Chinese interpretation of belt sixzs that were actually wrong, chuck was junk. A few mods and it is OK, but I keep thinking about a new one.

 

[tvrgeek]

Mine is a 22-540. Modified with slip rings on the post to keep the head from rocking, DIY dust port, 1/2 aluminum plate for a bed. Does OK, except it seems about every other time I use it a knot or something trashes a blade. If I ran prefect wood, I would not be upgrading. I don't live in Perfect.

Another despicable support story. Guy with a current in-production Shop Fox drum sander. Crap-cheap design ( it is inexpensive) caused gear motor to strip. NA on their WEB. Won't sell you a part for a current production tool. But IS available through factory authorized dealers. Does not say so on their WEB. Woodstock is as despicable a company as their is IMHO. A few years ago bought a few Porter Cable tools. Thought they were a step up. Step down. Got rid of the ones that were still working. I will buy Chicago first. Half my DeWalt tools had defects. Still happy with Bosch, Makita, and Milwaukee. I keep hearing "we are moving to a service economy" Well, some of these companies need to learn what "service" means.

 

[Hmerkle]

We all know new Delta is crap. Shame as the design of the new Unisaw and new drill press are super, but terrible quality and worse support. Made in S.C. so all those Chinese bashers need to take a deep breath.

Not sure where you got that, but Delta is NOT made in SC nor any of the TTI products, Ryobi, Milwaukee, Homelite, Hart etc. All made in China...

 

[wooduser]

I’ve had mt DW735 planner for maybe 12 years. I upgraded to the Shelix head about five years ago and that made a good planner much better. I’ve only tried boards over 8” or so very little but I always take a light cut. The breakers didn’t trip and I don’t have a way to measure the current draw under load. I like this planner but might consider adding a wider sander in the future if I could find a good used one.
if you upgrade the 735 to a Shelix head, be sure to get the OEM diameter one. It takes a bit longer to install but worth the effort versus the undersize model that you don’t have to remove the 40 or so cutting tips.
Lecil

 

[Keye]

Hank, you and I swapped PM's about this a few weeks ago. I had been given a number in Spartanburg, SC to order Delta parts. When I called the number they answered saying "Delta". We figured it was just an admin. type location. By the way, they were useless about the part I needed.

Someone may have seen the word Delta with a Spartanburg phone number and thought Delta is made in SC.

 

[Keye]

Scott, do you ever sleep?

 

[Hmerkle]

Hank, you and I swapped PM's about this a few weeks ago. I had been given a number in Spartanburg, SC to order Delta parts. When I called the number they answered saying "Delta". We figured it was just an admin. type location. By the way, they were useless about the part I needed.

Someone may have seen the word Delta with a Spartanburg phone number and thought Delta is made in SC.

and the funny part about that is TTI is in Anderson, but now that I think of it - they may not service the Delta brands andy more... there was a company that was going to do it ( buy the parts in China and assemble here in SC, but I think they went belly-up a LONG time ago... learning for the most part people what CHEAP tools and then complain why they don't work like ones costing triple the money!!

 

[Hmerkle]

Well, I ahve to appologise to Scott and Keye,
I JUST found an article from 2016 on the relocation of the corporate headquarters relocation to Spartanburg: Delta Power Equipment bringing HQ, 50 jobs to Spartanburg County

If am am reading between the lines correctly... "The company said it will bring all of its warehousing, product development, customer services, marketing and corporate functions to the facility..."
That implies to me a non-manufacturing company, warehousing and maybe some light assembly, corporate offices....

"Faurecia closed the plants, which produced vehicle exhaust systems, in 2014. The company sold it to 2651 New Cut LLC, a subsidiary of Reger Holdings LLC, in October for $3.5 million."
"The company is a subsidiary of ChangType Industrial Co. and said its brand dates back to 1919. Its products include the UniSaw table saw, Beismeyer rip fence and other tools for the woodworking industry."

"In a statement, Delta did not provide details about whether it will hire new employees for the facility or relocate workers from Anderson."

"Delta moved to the Upstate from Tennessee in 2011."
...And I think I visited the facility back in 2011 / 2012 out in Anderson, and probably why I was confused and mistaken that they were part of the TTI conglomeration...

 

[tvrgeek]

Scott, do you ever sleep?

I still wake up 4:30 to 5:00 from all the years I had to beat the traffic in DC. Clock just does not reset.

 

[Hmerkle]

Working from home for a year has destroyed my internal clock!
Feeling sleepy at the wrong times, morning, middle of the day etc. and WIDE awake in the middle of the night...

 

[tvrgeek]

If you read the Delta WEB, they suggest it is all made here. Do a Google street view, and quite a big facility. But no doube, all the cast iron has to come from China.
Wherever it is made, their quality stinks and their service is non-existent. They don't even answer pre-sales inquiries.

From WIKI
Chang Type is moving Delta's production tooling from a Stanley Black & Decker owned facility in Jackson, Tennessee to a facility in Anderson County, South Carolina.[3] Most recently, Delta has purchased an improved facility in Spartanburg, SC and has moved all operations to this location.

but "40 new jobs" sounds like admin and automated warehouse.

Curious, Chang Type Industrial, a Taiwan based company, talks about it's OEM customers, Craftsman, Ryobi, B&D, DeWalt etc, but no mention of Delta.

This page suggests, it is on it's own, but 100% owned by CTI, and manufacturing in S.C. From 2011. So what has happened in 10 years? It is suggested most manufacturing in still in Tn., but moving to S.C.

Had all the horror stories about quality and support not been as bad, I woudl have bought the Unisaw and DP. It does really kill me, as I was a manufacturing quality engineer as one of my earlier professions. I know how to make things, and make then for lower TCI. Good business is, well good business.

 

[Rushton]

FWIW, we went back and forth on our decision of what to do about a planer upgrade for our community workshop. We've been using a 17 year old DeWalt 735 very satisfactorily. It's never popped a breaker, never had a problem with overheating, still using straight blades. We considered getting a good quality combination planer-jointer, or one of the heavy iron dedicated planers, either for several thousands of dollars. In the end, we've opted to get another DeWalt 735, add a Shelix cutter head, and place the current DeWalt 735 onto the "reserved as a backup" shelf. Cost wasn't the issue, we had the budget. We just saw no reason to move away from this small footprint machine that was meeting all of our members' needs.

Note: we typically don't run large boards, mostly not wider than 8".

 

[JimD]

I use an old Ryobi AP-10 which is only 10 inches wide. I like the fact that I can sharpen the knives rather than replace them. The 10 inch width is hardly ever a limitation. But sometimes I dream of a wider and newer and helical head planner. One thing I look at is Rikon or Jet portables with a helical head already installed. Might be something else to consider.

 

[Hmerkle]

If you read the Delta WEB, they suggest it is all made here. Do a Google street view, and quite a big facility. But no doube, all the cast iron has to come from China.
Wherever it is made, their quality stinks and their service is non-existent. They don't even answer pre-sales inquiries.

I can only hope they are trying to make them here... but I am still doubtful... and I agree, nearly all tool manufacturer's quality stinks and service everywhere (not only for woodworking) is non-existent! (I think that is why we are so shocked and surprised when we get good customer service...)

I am pretty sure the Spartanburg facility is a warehouse... I am hopeful to see who it out there and if I can get more first-hand information...)

You mentioned Chang Type: CHANG TYPE Industrial Co., Ltd.
And in the Chairman's statement:
" Through our OEM/ODM brands, such as Ryobi (the fastest growing brand globally), Craftsman (exclusive brand in Sears ), Black & Decker (Global No. 1 power tools manufacturer) and Dewalt (Top tier of Black & Decker power tools), the products are sold in the major retailing channels, such as Sears, Home Depot and Lowe"

But when you go to the TTI website: Cordless Power Tools Leader - Techtronic Industries TTI
you see that their brands are Ryobi, Milwaukee, Hart, Homelite etc. (concentrating on the woodworking brands)

So I can't help but come to the conclusion that there is more connection between the Delta group and TTI through ChangType...

Funny thing, recently the Milwaukee brand has been lauded and its origins seem to be from this same group, so I will hold out hope for the Delta brand to be reborn and their quality along with it!

Finally you said "This page suggests, it is on it's own, but 100% owned by CTI, and manufacturing in S.C. From 2011. So what has happened in 10 years? It is suggested most manufacturing in still in Tn., but moving to S.C."

But, in the 2016 article it states " Delta moved to the Upstate from Tennessee in 2011." Which is what I remember. It would be interesting to understand the reasoning behind the move from Anderson to Spartanburg...

Regardless, the decline of the products made a lot of us lose faith in the brand and it will take an awful lot of marketing and testimonials of trusted people using their products to bring people back to the line...

The big part that is unfortunate is people (newbies) "know" the brand and think they are buying something good at a reasonable price. (lower price than some of the revered brands) and when the (new) Delta products turn out to be crap, the newbie woodworker thinks it is him or her and get frustrated... to me that is criminal!