Customer Reviews

DELTA 23-710 1/5-Horsepower Wet/Dry Sharpening Center with 8-Inch Horizontal Wet Wheel and 5-Inch Vertical Dry Wheel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

The Delta 23-710 sharpening center would probably sharpen tools OK if the parts were made as designed. The wet grinding wheel was out of balance on the unit I received (causing the entire tool to shake) and the tool rest could not be placed at 90° to the axis of the small grinding wheel as shown in the instructions. I contacted Delta service about this and they said they would send me a new wheel and tool rest. Over 2 months later, I received the tool rest but still no wheel. I sent the product back for total replacement, but the same problems were present in the replacement. Finally, I sent it back as well. If you need steady, smooth operation in a sharpening tool with precise settings on the tool rest, don't buy the Delta 23-710 sharpening center.

I purchased both the 23-710 sharpening center and the 23-715 planer knife attachment (knife holder and rest.) I have the planer knife rest on the large wheel and the original tool rest (which you see pictured on the large wheel) on the small wheel, the original tool rest for the small wheel is not used. I had to make another mounting pin to attach both tool rests at the same time (or could have bought one from Delta.)

The 23-715 planer knife rest is very easy to adjust (unlike the standard knife holder) and wide enough to allow you to sharpen with the full width of the stone (which makes the stone last longer.) I use both knife "holders" depending on the cutting width of the tool being sharpened. As you slide the knife holder back and forth along the planer knife rest, you simply adjust the height adjustment knob until the full surface of the blade contacts the stone. If I am in a hurry that's it, otherwise I finish with the "scarey sharp" system (a sheet of glass and emery cloth.) To set the desired angle, I started with an adjustable protractor and cut a few blocks for quick setup.

I use the small wheel only infrequently. It's purpose is less for sharpening than shaping - as in removing large nicks or chips. If you use the original tool rest on the small wheel as I have, you should vary the contact point to avoid grooving the wheel.

I've had this machine for about 2 years,and disagree with some of the other reviewers. For the cost of this machine I think it does a very good job. But keep in mind that the wet wheel is only a round wet stone tunring for you and as with ALL wet stones you must LAP this stone flat before first use and then between uses. The machine comes with a surfacing stone to get it close to flat and true, then you need to remove the stone and LAP it. You would do the same with any new sharpening stone before you put a good chisel or plane iron to it. After this setup time it will prefom very well. If this is to much maintenance for you there are other machine on the market starting at about $300. But your thinking about this one so you don't have to spend the $300. The tool holders are not graduated in any way, but a simple angle gauge is all you need. Also you need to keep holders and stone square and level.

For $150 bucks you can't beat this for sharpening chisels and plane irons. The alternative is a $300 sharpener with a lot of expensive attachments. A number of people have given this product a poor review, complaining about the quality of the manual and finish of the product. I found both to be decent and on a par with other Delta and Jet tool imports.

Setup was easy and after reviewing the sharpening procedure outlined in the manual I attacked one of my old chisels. It took 2 or 3 attempts at using the small coarse sharpening wheel before I got the hang of it and was able to achieve a flat initial grind. The large fine grit wet wheel is considerably easier to use and did a good job of finishing off the edge. If you want a really sharp edge that you can see yourself in you need to complete the job by hand using a 4000 grit wet paper, emery cloth or leather strap. I, however, am lazy and was completely satisfied with the finish achieved using the 23-710 sharpener alone.

I used the coarse small stone on my really nicked up chisels and simply touched up my sorta sharp chisels and plane irons on the larger wet stone. I now have a shop full of sharp chisels and if I do nick one it's a quick fix.

If BMW hired the three stooges to build their new 7 series sedan, it might end up alot like the Delta 23-710. Great engineering, poor construction. It is an amazing product for the price. I got mine, with the optional planer knife jig, for less than $200 from Amazon.com. When all was said and done, I was able to perfectly grind and hone my 6" jointer knives in very little time. However, alot was said and done to get to that point.

As it comes in the box, the Sharpening Center was non-functional. The grooves in all the tool jig rods were
misaligned with the set screws, making it imposssible to line up a blade with the grinding wheels. The jig rods must be set up so their grooves DO NOT align with the set screws so that the jig will align properly with the grinder. Also, my planer knife jig would not hold planer knives. I had to re-drill the locating holes on the clamp plate to get it to work correctly. While functional, the jig now looks like a Rube Goldberg contraption.

After reading other reviews, I think most people will find they have alot of work ( and thinking on their feet ) to do before they can get this thing to sharpen a blade. So how can I give it three stars? First of all, it is a whole lot cheaper than your only two real alternatives for sharpening planer/jointer knives - the Makita 9820-2, or the Tormek. Secondly, it really is well engineered, and once you get it's problems fixed, it does a very nice job.

So, if you're the kind of person who sees "challenges" and "learning oppertunities" not "problems" and "cheap labor issues", then this is the sharpener for you. If not, send your blades out for sharpening, because I'm sure the Tormek and Makita have their issues also.

I own a number of Delta tools that I really like, including a
table saw, a belt sander and biscut joiner. This tool must
have been designed and built by another company.

On mine, both grinding wheels were seriously out of balance.
Even after bolting it to a bench the tool shakes enough that
it could be marketed as a paint mixer. If you could find a
heavy enough bench, you might overcome this problem.

But there's no getting around the fact that it's impossible to
adjust the tool guide so that you can get a standard 25 degree
bevel on a chisel - the guide doesn't have enough travel to
lower the tool rest into the correct position.

After adjusting and puzzling over this thing for a few days I
did a lot of web reading and discovered there are much better
options. For the same cost you can get a decent 6" or 8"
bench grinder, add a aluminum oxide wheel (to keep the blade
cool) and add a Veritas tool rest/guide to get a repeatable
angle. That takes care of the grinding part.

For final honing, get some plate glass, spray adhesive and
varying grades of sandpaper (800 grit down to 6000) and you
can put an edge on a chisel or plane blade that you can
shave with. (This is usually described on the web as the
ScarySharp method, and it works.)

Whatever you do, don't buy this product.

Delta should discontinue production of this item. For sharpening, you can't get away with having sub-par tolerances. I spent hours trying to adjust this sharpener with no luck. The wheels were out of true and the tool supports were poorly designed. I eventually removed the horizontal wheel and added a buffing wheel, basically leaving me with an expensive bench grinder. I finally robbed a bank and bought a Tormek. There is absolutely no comparison. Either sharpen by hand or buy a Tormek.

I purchased this item thinking that I could get it to do what others could not...believe me, it is not worth the money, and it is not worth the time to try to make it work. I got the machine, set it up, and turned it on. The wet wheel was grossly inaccurate, with a wobble that would turn a square plane iron into a dull angled iron. I thought that there was something I could do to adjust it, so I called the manufacturer, who claimed a "certain amount of wobble was expected"...actually Delta said "1/8 inch was within tollerence". Have you ever tried sharpening a tool with an uneven stone? Delta suggested that I send it in for repairs under their warranty. The only problem is that there is an 8 week backlog or warranty repairs...any idea why such a there is an 8 week backlog to fix this? This is junk, its not defective, it is poor design...don't waste your time.

It is difficult to set this machine up such that you get acceptable sharpening results. The guides/supports do not offer much help in ensuring that the item being sharpened aligns with the horizontal stone. Also, you cannot set the guide low enough to match the grinding angle on short tools. And finally, the holder portion of the guide has an alignment bar that is on the wrong side of the holder since the beveled edge of a chisel will not engage with it.

I own a significant number of Delta tools so I am not biased against Delta. I give this tool a strong "DO NOT BUY" recommendation!

My sharpening needs are primarily chissels and hand plane irons. This product meets my requirements completely after a half hour of shimming to true up the horizontal grinding wheel. The tool rest could be a bit easier to adjust but is adequate. In about 15 minutes I was able to true up an old 1" wide chissel and sharpen it to an edge that could be dressed on a 6000 stone and stropped making it super sharp. I should have bought this product years ago.

John