Customer Reviews

DELTA 37-070 6-Inch Variable Speed Bench Jointer

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I purchased this jointer for a shop with limited space. It is definitely easily portable and easy to set up. The fence is a bit tough to get square, but once you get it there it will stay. The biggest problem with this jointer is the size. If you have the space, buy a floor model with a longer bed. This one is good for small boards only, especially if you are edge jointing. Anything over about 2ft runs off the outfeed table and can introduce a subtle bowl shape to your edge. Eventhough I would have no place to put it, I wish I had bought a bigger machine.

I bought this jointer and have used it for over a year. Bottom line is it is just to small. When you start taking woodworking more seriously, you will shop for a larger model, like I am now. The infeed/outfeed tables are too small, and unless you know you will never be jointing anything longer than 2 feet, I would spend a little more...and you can get a decent sized model. Other than the size, I don't have any specific complaints except that the dust collection hook up is not included, hard to find, and a bit expensive, but that is another story.

I've used this jointer every weekend for approximately 8 months now. My opinion of this tool is that it works well, if the operator uses it to do what it's designed for. This is not a large project tool. If you do a lot of smaller projects and don't need a stationary jointer, this is a good value. I've been using it in conjunction with one of Delta's benchtop planers and have been able to square rough stock pretty easily. Just remember, this is not the best choice of tools for larger boards. Buy a BIGGER JOINTER with a LONGER BED if you use LARGE BOARDS. If you try to feed long boards over a small bed, you're just asking to be frustrated and will wind up wasting stock.

Out of the box, I had no problem in setting up the machine and getting the fence square to the table. It has stayed put since the initial setup. This little machine has plenty of power for it's size and has served me well.

I would say that it's drawbacks are that it is quite noisy if used on the higher rpm settings and the dust collection chute is inadequate. Otherwise, I would have happily rated it higher. Overall, I'm very happy with this tool and would recommend it.

I am a weekend woodworker. This is a great jointer. It leaves a great edge. I plane boards as long as 8 feet with no problems. The tables are a little short but for the price it can't be beat!

I have been extremely happy with this jointer/planer since I got it about a month ago. The edge joined joints I have made since adding this tool to my collection are the most beautiful I have ever made. Delta loses one star for not including the dust collection hood, however. Out of the box, the knives were properly adjusted, but the fence needed a few minutes of work. Not a big deal at all.

The size and and portability of this jointer is exactly what I needed but the quality is in the toilet.

The Pro's:
1. Cutter set correctly from the factory
2. Cutter protective cover
3. Cutter lock for changing blade
4. Variable speed
5. 2 Push blocks
6. A descent manual
7. A "hole" supplied for dust control
8. It joints

The Cons:
1. The infeed and outfeed beds are made out of a thin metal which appears to be like tin (not sure, but close). Operationally this does not appear to be a problem, but I would have preferred a bit more substantial base.

2. You can still see the burr marks on the edges of the beds after they were cut to size. One corner of the infeed bed was sloppily cut.

3. The fence wiggles about 1/8" inch side to side no matter how tigthly screwed. The design has a slot in the fence bracket which one uses to move the move the fence across the beds if desired. This design always introduces a pivot point and in this case it shows up as this little nag.

4. There are adjustable stops one can use to manually set 45 and 90 degree stops using another reference. The little wing on the fence brace containing the hex nut which one adjusts to set the 90 degree stop snapped right off during initial assembly, and I had not applied any real pressure. It seems the fence brace, at least the one containing the stops, is not made out of metal after all, but a real good imitation.

5. Depth guage not zeroed

6. Extremely noisy. Like a jet plane screaming overhead inches above your head.

7. Nonstandard dust chute (I mean hole). Delta supplies an accessory but its way overpriced...an all too obvious gouge. They very easily could have made it integral to the design. I refuse to purchase it.

Summary

5 stars because it joints
-2 stars for the fence
-1 star for the noise
-1 star for the dust "hole"
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1 star overall and the proverbial finger to Delta for the gouge on the dust chute.

If I had the space I'd go for the Jet 6" model, until then I will have to suffer the indignity.

Like probably a lot of its buyers, the low price and compactness of this jointer attracted me. For boards less than 3 feet long, it does a good job once you get it aligned. But the short bed makes it almost impossible to joint stock longer than that. Definitely don't attempt what I tried to do and make a pair of French doors with it! I perfected snipe to a fine art.

Replacing the knives was considerable aggravation. There are probably a few tricks to make the job quicker but my first effort took two hours.

That said, it's a pretty cool little machine, like a toy locomotive. Fit and finish is good and it's pretty beefy for its size (except for the fence). But all it did was whet my appetite for a larger pedestal jointer, which is my advice. Unless you make strictly toys and jewel boxes, if you need a jointer you probably don't need this one.

If the price caught your eye before anything else (like it did mine) ..... think twice. I bought mine about two and a half years or so ago at Lowe's. By the time I walked out of there we can call it ($). Not bad for a name brand jointer that I had high hopes for. With a 12X20 shop, I just knew this one was made specificly for me. Also, I noticed at the time this was the jointer that Norm put in the new yankee workshop garage workshop (no wonder he never actually used it in that project though .... score one for the delta marketing crew). Now, performance is fair with this machine, for what its intended for .... this is not an 8" industrial jointer .... and its not intended to be. I cant complain overall as far as fit and finish of the tool itself go. One glaring problem arose the first time I went to change knives however. The cutterhead is aluminum, the screws were impossible to remove. Calling Delta was a total waste of time. Every call ended in frustration to say the least. For fear of stripping the screws or damaging the tool,eventually I took it to a delta repair center for a simple blade change. they couldnt get the screws out either. Eventually they had to drill the screws out as they had electricly welded themselves to the aluminum cutterhead. It took two months for delta to get them replacemet screws. Final cost for the first simple blade change ..... ($) and two months without a jointer. When the knives went dull again, I ran into the same situation with the screws being welded into the cutterhead. at that point I had about ($) invested in this tool, with the prospect of making that $500 just to have it operational again, I opted to buy a real jointer. And Delta being Delta anymore.... I bought a Jet. Had I have been smarter when I purchased this tool, and looking for the same comparative price I definately would have bought a Grizzly 6" floor model. Or even spent a little more for the Delta or Jet. To me at least it figures up like this ...... This jointers price doesnt work out to be any kind of bargain after very much use at all. Spend very little more and get a real life jointer that will serve you well for years ... or buy this one and spend a couple of hundred dollars and a lot of down time every year just to have it useable.
PS; If you are still interested in this model and you dont mind one thats been sitting unused under a workbench for quite awhile ..... I'll sell ya mine really cheap!

This one man's experience is that the tool works fine. It joints and planes small boards, square. I could blame it for not being more massive, just as I could blame it for not being a hammer or a television. It took 1/2 hour to get up and running, including setting the fence to exactly 90 degrees. It's fairly lightweight and can easily be stored on a shelf in my garage. I check the fence each time I use it but I've never had to adjust it again since day one. I have made several pieces of fine furniture with this jointer, a bench-top Makita saw in a Rousseau table, a bench-top Delta planer, a bench-top Bench Dog router table, a simple Dewalt miter saw and a bench-top drill press, along with hand tools. Any deficiency in my creations must be blamed on my lack of skill and creativity, as these tools do their job correctly. Will it joint long boards or chill your beer: No.

All I see about this jointer are bad reviews. Granted, problems with table flatness and ease of setup are inexcusable. This machine is made for SMALL work. If you intend to run three or four foot boards through it, GET A BIGGER JOINTER!'Nuff said.