Customer Reviews

DELTA 34-928 Deluxe Table Saw Miter Gauge

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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I just received this Delta Deluxe Miter Gauge #34-928. You wouldn't believe me if I told you how long ago I ordered it. I guess a fresh batch is in so order it quick. Now on to the item. When they say that it is accurate, the first thing I did, when I took it out of the box, was break out the Bosch Digital Protractor. It measures angles with a digital readout in tenths of a degree. (Equal to 3600 dots in a circle, no matter how small the circle) I put the miter gauge to the test. I clamped an aluminum level onto the face to extend the surface, and guess what? I got perfect readings after trying the detent stops, and even got the same results when I eyeballed a setting just using the pointer. It wasn't even off by a tenth of a degree.
At first I was confused, because some of the stops weren't right on the number, then I realized that they have stops at the popular detents, and some of those are in tenths of a degree.
Point number two is that I was impressed that the miter gauge bar that rides in your miter slot has little Allen bolts imbedded in it, so you can adjust it perfectly, to eliminate any play. When I put it in my Powermatic 66, it fit so perfectly, without any play, that I don't even need to fiddle with it. It is so snug that you would have to measure the play in thousandths of an inch, as in non-existent, yet it slides along the track like it was on greased wheels. It fit my Bench Dog miter track on their Router table extension for table saws the same way. The Might T track miter track guides had a little slop in it, but that is obviously the track and not the gauge. I guess you can tell where I will be using it. (Although the play is adjustable for any 3/4 x 3/8 track)
Point three is that the bottom of the gauge is polished so smooth that it will not scratch your saw tabletop. The front face of the gauge where you rest your work, looks like it was fine ground-polished with something like a 1000 grit wheel. You can see ultra-ultra fine lines going in a circle from where it was fine machined.
I strongly recommend that you also get Delta's clamp attachment that works with this gauge. The one that I bought is the 34-568 clamp assy, and it fits and works perfectly. Delta and Amazon feature the Delta cheapy miter gauge with the clamp as a combo package for about the same money as buying this Deluxe gauge and the 34-568 clamp assy as separate pieces. So for about the same money you are getting Delta's best, and in this example it is worthy of that title.
The gauge and clamp combo perfectly resolves the problem of when you are trying to cope the ends of your rails in a raised panel bit set. You know the problem, you have to hold that two-inch wide board and run the bit over the tip. Trying to get the bit to not move the board, by either pushing it a little away from the fence, or run into the second fence face causing a stop is a major accomplishment. Many use sleds with clamps on them, but then you are raising the work piece off of the table to make up for the sled base plate. With a router, that is a major consideration, because that oftentimes leads to having to raise the bit higher up out of the collar, causing more vibration and potentially a dangerous bit flying condition. This gauge and clamp combo locks it in just the same, but keeps the work piece flat against the tabletop. The other advantage to that is if you are running some larger pieces at the same time, you can do it by removing the gauge, and not have to change a bit setting. Wow! I'm getting off on this, I don't know about you. :-)
Another point is that the picture doesn't do it any justice. The fit, the finish, the accuracy of the deluxe gauge is better than any other miter gauge I have seen, even the one that came with the Powermatic saw. I can't recommend this high enough. Is it because it is a waxed Ferrari sitting in the garage? No, it is because it is as accurate and fine as a miter gauge can get. Buy one, you won't be sorry. Hope this helps.

I have been using this gauge for about 4 months and am very happy with it. It is fast to set up with very easy to make adjustments IF needed. Right out of the box mine was set to a perfect 90 and 45. The guage has a bigger head than all of my older guages which makes for Excellent support for any cut. The VERY minor things I have had to tweak are the slippery face of the head which was very easy to fix by adding shelf stick sand paper and putting a small amount of thread locker on one of the miter slot adjustment screws to keep it from backing out and allowing the guage to wiggle in the table slot. You can adjust this guage to fit worn table slots to a Perfect no slop slide which we all know makes for the best cut. This guage dose not like the sudden stop from a dive off the top of my saw but what ones do? If you have or get one that wants to test gravity check the settings before you make a cut that really counts! I think the small screws that hold the adjustment plate in place under the head are not rated for the 3 foot drop test, putting the guage back to square is simple enough though. If Delta made a add-on fence this guage would be right up there with the other Best guages.

This purchase was intended to simply replace a broken unit. It is, however, a substantial upgrade from the stock unit that Delta supplied with my saw. Adjustment to all frequently used settings is both very fast and very accurate, and the working gage surface is nicely machined and large enough to provide adequate support (and control) for any of my typical workpieces. Good unit!

I purchased this miter gauge to replace my original which came with my Unisaw in 1987. When I opened the box, I noticed the washer that goes between the handle and the miter gauge head was missing. No big deal, you can get them at the hardware store. However, the next thing I found was that there are no holes in the face of the gauge to put screws through to fasten a wood fence extension. If you look at the picture on Amazon, and on the box the gauge shipped in, you can see there are two holes for a fence extension. Also, Delta has changed the handle from the one pictured on Amazon. Other than that, the Delta gauge would have been just fine. The miter bar and gauge head are nicely cast and machined. The angle detent stops are really nice. But I don't think I should have to be drilling my own holes and replacing a missing part for a $64.95 accessory. So, I sent the Delta gauge back and purchased the General International 50-EB3 Osborne Excalibur Miter Gauge.

The mitre gage supplied from the DeWalt parts depot for the DW745 saw was a total waste of money. Don't even consider it, as it is flimsy, falls out of the track, cannot be clinched down, and is mostly plastic.

In looking at the many other gages on the market, I settled on the Delta 34-928 as likely being the best balance between value and price. This is a solid, top quality mitre gage, with metal and steel parts, 6 adjustments to zero in all the angles, and a large locking handle to firmly tighten down the head and provide a solid hand grip.

Be aware, and it is not clear in the product information, that this gage is designed for a t-track, and as such, in addition to the three adjustments to lock in the gage into the track, there is a mounted washer under the very front of the track. If your saw does not have the t-track for the mitre way, you will have to remove this washer. On mine, it was attached with a screw, but I suspect that was locked into the washer with permanent LocTite, as there was no was I was able to loosen the screw, and my attempts ended with a stripped head. In the end, I ground off the sides of the washer, and it has functioned perfectly since. This is not a major effort, just a few minutes with a Dremel.

Over all this is a great mitre at a good price. I would certainly purchase this again.

I bought this miter to replace the one that came with my Delta 10" contractors saw. It's a much nicer made, more adjustable miter, which should be standard issue on all Delta saws. The fit and finish is good and the stops were properly set out of the box, no adjustments necessary. Adjusting the bar for the slop in the miter track was simple and easily done.

My only real gripe is that they're still using the same pointer that they've used for decades. The problem with that is that it's relatively easy to bump that pointer and knock it out of proper alignment, plus it can be difficult to see precisely where it's located on the scale. I'd much prefer a more robust, easier to see pointer like are found on the Incra and Kreg miter gauges.

I purchased the Delta 34-568 Miter Gauge Clamp to go with the Deluxe miter gauge. It installed easily and is a nice accessory for smaller stock.

Delta makes a fine product. I am mostly happy with it. The needle pointing to the degree mark is removed from the scale by about 1/8 to 1/4 inch, so the reading is hard to see precisely. My older Delta gauge, which wore out after about 16 years of use, had a better pointer and scale so that it was easier to get an accurate reading. The pointer was right on the scale.

The miter tracks in my old saw were worn to the point where my miter gauge no longer stayed true. The Delta miter gauge uses simple allen adjusters that compensate for the wear. After milling the saw table tracks so they were true, but slightly oversized is no longer a problem. I adjusted the miter gauge screws for a snug fit and I'm back in business. The gauge is beefy and has a "good feel". It's doesn't have laser cut stops or any high-tech features. I always double check my angles with a protractor, no matter what gauge I'm using. This is a good, simple, well-made, easy to set-up and use basic gauge. It does exactly what it's designed to do.

I read the revue and thought this is the replacement for me as I had broken the pivot screw in my very old delta miter with a mishap on the band saw. I have had it a while and really thought it was great until 1/22/ 06 when I used the hold down feature and realized the gauge was lifting off the pivot. The old pivot was a special tapered screw which held it together. Maybe it is just me But when using the miter on a router table the work needs to be secure. So I will not use this one as a hold down. Other than that it is very accurate.
I wonder why R Fesser did not have this problem

Nitre guage was to replace the OEM unit. It it well made easy to align and hold alignment.