Customer Reviews

DELTA 28-984 Height Attachment for 14-Inch DELTA Bandsaws

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many regard this kit as a "must have" for resawing (making thin boards out of thick ones), and they're right. Additionally, there are other cases where the additional height is needed. Recently, I've been making bandsaw boxes for gifts, and the added height can come in handy when making a deep box (where the box must be stood on its back and cut from front-to-back). Whatever you're cutting, my point is... that at some time in the future, you'll use the extra clearance that this unit provides, even if you don't anticipate doing a lot of resawing.

This kit is more than just the riser block (as the picture shows). You get a new backside blade guard and all the other little pieces made necessary by the saws new reach.

All this stuff is typical Delta quality... Heavier built than any of the Delta [look a like].

Get some help when assembling this unit, however... lifting the upper part of your saw is tricky and frightening: especially if you drop it!!!

While this may seem like a lot to pay for a riser unit, it really changes the class of your saw... turning it into an effective resaw unit that holds its own with more [costly] and larger saws.

Recommended!!!

If you are like me, you bought one of the 14" Delta saws with the feeling that 6" was plenty of height. This is most often because we first see a bandsaw as a useful tool for cutting up and cutting out. Evenually, the idea of resawing a costly piece of lumber occurs to us, and suddenly we are in a vertical world where 6" is a big limitation. I still had many qualms when I first considered this extension, mostly out of fear of instability and vibration.

What I finally did was first improve the blade guides with roller bearings and balance out the wheels. And finally, with my eye on some very nice pieces of redwood burl, I bought this extension. My first reaction on opening the box was that the kit was of better quality than the original parts and a few incidents bore this out.

There is a lot to this kit, since both the height pillar and the blade guide arm must be extended. The task though is simple (on paper, at least). Unbolt the pillar and insert the extension. You may discover that unbolting is more of a chore than you expected since the bolt is huge, and there is little space to get at it. Again, the head is unwieldy and I suggest you have a buddy or two to help lift it while you put in the extension and get it tightened up. Once you are past this point everything is a matter of following directions. It takes about two hours.

In the middle of this I discovered that the hinge for my upper wheel was cracked and lost a few days getting it replaced. But that wasn't the kit's fault, just a combination of poor quality casting of an original part and me forgetting to back off the tension correctly when starting out. Be warned that tension is more critical when working at 12".

Once I did get everything working and adjusted, performance has been excellent. I found no noticable difference in vibration or smoothness of cut, which is all one can ask for. In retrospect, this is an excellent investment for anyone who doesn't want the bulk of a full size 18" band saw eating up shop space. One last note - I didn't experience the cord length problem one of the other reviewers noted. But my bandsaw is a recent version which has a built in break in the switch cord. Check to make sure you have enough slack on older saws.

Like all Delta tools and accessories, this height attachment for Delta 14" bandsaw is well made of heavy materials (cast iron extension and heavy steel bolt), very sturdy. It is really a two-person job to install this. If you have to do it yourself, lay the bandsaw on its side would save yourself a hernia trying to lift the top wheel assembly onto the extension. Also like most Delta tools and accessories, there was a part missing in the shipment - a small L-bracket in this case to attach a blade guard above the guides. Installation took me about 2 hours by myself and the now taller saw (with 105" blades) is terrific for re-sawing. I have not noticed any deterioration of power and torque. Well worth the cost, if you need to re-saw.

Install was easy and pretty much works as advertised. After installing however the cord for the switch doesn't reach the motor. The instructions suggest removing a strap that holds the cord to the arm, but that doesn't help, still about 1.5 " short. Perhaps if you did't have the dust chute installed it would reach, but that seems like a bad idea. I had to drill two new holes in the arm to mount the switch lower.

This item is a must when purchasing the delta 14" band saw. Delta should consider packaging it with there saws. If you are buying a band saw and considering this riser just remember, the blades will have to be a different size when using the riser. It is more cost effective to buy the riser with the saw rather than purchasing it down the road after you have started accumulating blades.

I wouldn't have had to give away so many 93 1/2" blades if I would have bought this with the saw. I bought this at the same time as a Carter Quick Release. The release required that I dismantle the entire upper half of the saw so I figured it would make installation of the riser easier. It did. All I had to remove is the one piece of cast iron. No blade cover, wheel, blade guard etc.

Two tips if installing this by yourself. The new blade guard that comes with this kit wedges nicely between the miter slot and the bend in the upper cast iron column. This allows you to start the washer and nut holding the two halves together without being a contortionist. Also, I had to put the longer bolt on the upper column before installing it on the riser. Not enough clearance on my saw to install the bolt with the column in place. Hope this helps.

Having a very old Rockwell-Delta 14" bandsaw, I was unsure if the kit would work. It mostly does. The round guide post replaces original hex post just fine, but since kit DOES NOT include pictured star-wheel for clamping guide post I had to machine my own. My original thumb-screw was incompatible with new post. New blade guard extension for guide post does not fit inside upper wheel housing like on modern saws. They do include a little bracket extension to mount it outside (flimsy). Everything else went just fine. Conclusion: if you need up to 12" resaw capacity for you Delta, BUY THIS KIT, you can make it fit.

Just finished installing the Delta 14" bandsaw height kit...thoughts:
1. Apparently the nut on the 3/4" bolt is 31mm. Couldn't find a 31mm wrench anywhere in town. Settled on a 1-1/4" end wrench from a local pawn/tool store - cost me $4.00 - it worked fine, just a slight bit of 'slop'. Bottom line: if you're going to install this option, have a 31mm (if you can find one) or an 1-1/4" end wrench.
2. I was concerned about the weight & 'top-heaviness' of the unit once the big bolt was freed. For me (I'm a big boy) it wasn't any problem at all to lift the upper unit off and back on again. Securing the whole thing was very easy.
3. The 6" cast 'riser block' as found in my kit was painted black. I found some gray spray paint that closely matched the Delta paint. Simply an aesthetic thing..
4. Installing the guide blocks and blade guard extension wasn't difficult either.
5. Performed a blade and guide alignment and also blew out the interior of the saw to clean up some years-old sawdust.
If I hadn't had to run around and find the wrench, the entire modification would have taken less than two hours.
Bottom line: very worthwhile addition to my band saw - wish I would have installed it years ago. Highly recommend it if you need increased capacity.
Upon completion of the height modification, I also installed the Kreg bandsaw fence and will write a review of that item in the Kreg area.

Short and sweet...it does the job. But wasn't an out of the box solution. The two alignment pins that came with the piece fit just fine, but the two existing alignment pins that came with the saw were a slight bit larger than the extensions holes for them. Required some a bit of fileing to get them to fit, and it was fine after that.

I installed the ht. extension on 2 Delta bandsaws (@ work & home) and highly recommend it. That extra 6" sure does make a difference! The large bolt is indeed a metric size (31mm). Not wanting to go out and buy a wrench or socket that I probably would never use again, I made up my own bolt out of a length of 3/4" all-thread and a couple of nuts. Just a suggestion.