Customer Reviews

DELTA 43-455 Heavy Duty 1-1/4-Inch Solid Spindle 5-Horsepower Shaper with Micro Adjust Fence, 230-Volt 1 Phase

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

 

 

I purchased this tool at a special price during a sale. There was also a rebate on it at the time. So I bought...

The shaper is good quality and I've had no problems with it. Delta offers accessory spindles from .5 in. to 1.25" as well as a spindle to allow use of 1/2" router bits. They are overpriced...

The fence system is good quality but I don't care for the design. It looks cool... Delta has incorporated a system of hold-downs into the fence that look pretty but aren't terribly functional. I would prefer the simpler wood fence with the spring hold-downs. The micro-adjustment is nice.

Overall, 3 stars... The shaper works well and is a nice tool. The fence is not a good as it looks. In my opinion, there are better values to be had from other manufacturers.

I have owned this unit for about 2 years now. It has done everything that I have asked it to do, and I am a pretty demanding customer. I run a millwork shop and have used this thing for cutting door stiles and mouldings. My only gripe would be the lack of more speed adjustments. 7000 rpm is pretty fast when you swinging a 4inch corrugated head from it. Overall, I am pleased. If you say that Delta doesn't supply great customer support, your crazy. In 15 years I have been in contact with them at least once a year and they are always very polite and knowledgable. I have even had them warranty something that was out of warranty just to be nice. I didn't even have to fuss. This unit has run side by side with the industrial shapers in the shop and has never failed. It is heavy duty, but not industrial. Would be great for a cabinet shop or for a small millwork shop.

I purchased the unit 4 days ago and now I'm retuning it due to the lack of customer service and poor quality control. The first problem was with the table top which angles up on one side and not perpendicular on the edge where the wing extension attaches which causes it to angle down. The second more pronounced problem is with the spindle housing which is badly tilted towards the front of the table. I have tried for two days to get a hold of Delta's customer support with no luck. They have not returned my emails and their answering machine says the voicemail is full and cannot take my message with no alternative to speak to a live person. I was able to get a hold of a local Delta repair station where they told me there was no way for me to "true-up" the unit and it would have to be brought in to, "see what they could do with it." For the amount of money I was spending I expected more.

I looked at other machines for quite some time before purchasing this one. I know It's not as high quality as some of the premium Industrial machines, but It has more power, a better fence assembly, and ease of use than any other machine near this price range or even a little more (I gave myself a three thousand dollar budget at the time and ended up with enough left to add a stock feeder). Overall, I feel great about this machine.

Looked at shapers for months and compared eveything there was to compare and I have to say this one came out on top every time,If you look good and hard you'll find a seller on amazon selling this for 1775 which I could not believe when I saw some of the other prices for this machine.. I bought this for a big door job I had in the works but it fell through and now I'm just dying to use it..It perrs like a kitten when on, so can't wait to see it in action.I also bought the router bit attachment but shapers just dont spin fast enough for them not to mention attachment was not straight on which led to bit wobble,also make sure your ready to wire this kitten and buy all the nesassary materials to do so , about 100 doll worth, so saving in the price was awesome..only gripe so far was I wish the fence would have been made out of wood, to make one for this asembly is not going to be easy either, but when I get some free time I will.. it drives me nuts to spend good,hard earned money on a machine you have to reinvent, but finding out that its all about money in this great land of opportunity of ours, wish I could make some of that cash on this machine now,ha ha ha .. so untill the jobs come, I'll keep listening to it perrrrrrr and waxing it so it shines bright enough to safe money on the lights in my shop... I love my machines.....