Customer Reviews

DELTA 22-451 DC-580 20-Inch 5 Horsepower Planer, 220-Volt 1 phase

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

 

 

I have owned this planer for about 4 years now. I have modified the machine to include a Byrd Tool Shelix cutterhead which has made life much easier. I haven't had to even rotate a single four sided carbide cutter insert after over a year. The planer is quite particular when it comes to precesion adjustment of the infeed roller, chip bars, pressure bar and outfeed roller. I have purchased a micrometer "Z-axis" setting tool (commonly sold to setup CNC routers) to make these precise adjustments with very good results. In addition, the bed rollers are quite difficult to adjust precisely, and the use of the micrometer feed/beed roller adjustment gauge is a blessing. The bed rollers would be far easier to adjust if the had used a fine thread adjustment bolt (like is used on all the rollers above). I guess my next modification will be to find a way to enable an easier, more precise bed roller adjustment. If you want to get a 20" planer that doesn't require all this attention, be prepared to spend to spend several thousand more $$. The only manufacturing flaw I have found was that one side of the outfeed pressure bar was tight in it's sliding fitting which caused it to stick sometimes. That resulted it occasional feeding problems when the pressure bar was stuck. I had to disassemble it and polish the mating surfaces to get a good sliding fit: problem solved. In comparison to the generic 4 column powermatic/general/grizzly/etc Taiwanese (hobby) planer, this thing is easily worth the extra $$. My brother has the 20" generic Powermatic (with a solid infeed roller) and he would like to turn it into a boat anchor. He said it is "IMPOSSIBLE" to accurately set the bed rollers, which renders it useless for precision work, and for preventing snipe.

I purchased this item with the hope that I would be able to plane larger panels, especially after glue up. Un-crating and installing the machine on a HTC heavy duty rolling stand was quite a challenge as was removing the greasy stuff that was smeared everywhere. If you purchase this product be extremely careful when removing the grease as you cannot see all of the places where its hiding and if you send your hand or forearm near the cutter you may be injured. The grease is also packed around the cutter blades! After numerous attempts to adjust the segmented in-freed roller it continues to leave indentations on the stock. Delta customer service was of no help in offering advice to fix this problem so if you purchase this machine, you'll be on your own. I believe (but have not confirmed) that the individual segments of the in-feed roller are of different diameter. I was stunned that there is not a safety interlock that prevents the machine from being operated with the top cover open. In my opinion, this is not the machine for near finish work.

I bought one of these planners used and it does the job. My only complaint so far is that it was built with a metric ruler. So I had to finely get metric tools to work on it. Metric bolts, motor shafts etc.

I've had my DC-580 (1 ph/5hp) for a couple of years and am very pleased with the planer. I replaced my 12" Makita with this as I needed extra width capacity for glued up panels. I actually have my Delta mounted on a mobile base and park it out of the way when not needed. At 800+ lbs it does take a good push to move into position. Night and day difference for wood removal, what used to take 5 - 10 passes to get to standard thickness for rough lumber can be done in 2 or 3 passes. Chip & dust removal is great, especially as I'm using the recommended 3 hp DC with 6" lines. My old Makita would wake up the neighbors when I used it but this machine just makes a low pitch rumble. One unexpected plus with this machine is that it has a very small footprint. I doesn't take up much more room (depth) than my 12" planer that had short outfeed and infeed beds. This machine doesn't have or need any external beds although I usually use a roller to catch boards over 8' in length. One tip I got from a Delta service rep was that when I wired my shop I included a dedicated 220v 50 amp circuit (6 ga wire)for this planer. Perhaps an overkill but when I start it up it doesn't dim the lights at all. I am very satisfied and recommend this planer for the woodworker or cabinet shop that needs a reliable machine for daily use.