Delta 31 120 12 Inch 1/2 Horsepower Benchtop Disc Sander, 120 Volt 1 Phase

Customer Reviews

Very good for the price

2005-01-05
I am pleased with this sander. While I would like it to be a bit more powerful (will do whatever I want as long as I take my time and don't push it) it gets the job done for a very low price.

Also, the "positive" stops at 90 and 45 degrees could be better designed and more accurate, but again, if I take my time and set it up carefully each time they work well.

The castings are not perfect, but the table is very flat and I have little runnout...so the casting defects are cosmetic. Again, for the price a nice machine.

Good Value for a disk sander

2004-12-30
While it's not going to win any awards for fit and finish, Delta put the money where it counts. Disk is smooth, table is nice, and dust collection is decent. I think the Delta is a best buy, as the Harbor Freight units have poor build quality, and the Jet unit is $100 more.

12" Delta disk sander

2004-02-11
This is a dream machine. Smooth,quite and well made. Everything fits fine. This is a great machine for the Money. If someone writes a bad review on this product it is because they got a lemon or they are looking for a $2,000 dollar product for $169.

Great tool, not outstanding

2004-01-04
This is basically a good sander but there are some issues that I discovered. The wheel has axial runout of 0.020 inch at the rim which surprised me, I expected something more like 0.002 inch. Changing the sanding disks is time-consuming. The stock disk is 60 grit, too coarse for my work. It took me an hour to change it. This is because the stock disk leaves all its glue residue on the platter, which is very hard to clean off. I used acetone and steel wool. The platter is smaller than standard so I had to trim the new disk so it would work at all. The angle gauge is very cheesy, it is fixed at 2 points and bows off its mounting surface in between. Despite these problems, I was able to get my job done nicely with this tool. It runs real quiet, is very powerful, and basically user-friendly. The precision table and large size are nice. The 45 degree position stop is not very "crisp" but may improve with use. The tool is greatly enhanced with the Delta 34-779 mitre gauge, available separately. No mitre gauge was included. All in all, it's a good tool but obviously a tool made in China to meet a price target.

Junk

2002-11-28
This sander, as a lot of Delta equipment is cheap (junk) .. a little bit load and the switch starts smoking and lead wires are burning through.. Just try to disassemble this piece of junk..I can't..
I just ordered a Jet and will trash this Delta.. I will NEVER buy any Delta equipement anymore ( and I bought a lot from them .. this is it..) They went cheap and just rely on their name... another rip off ...

Delta 31-120 12-inch Benchtop Disc Sander

2007-05-07
Excellent tool, superfast shipping. This tool came setup runs true, smooth and powerful. I especially like the dust collection system.

Foreign parts

2007-01-30
Works well until one needs parts. Delta no longer supports this item even though it works well. Had the centrifical starting switch fail and there is no suitable substitute. If the motor was made in America instead of some obscure province in Communist China, maybe I could get the part I need.

A great machine!

2007-01-18
This lives up to the Delta name with it's cast iron construction and quality craftsmanship. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that it didn't include a mitre guage, when it's built to accept one. Otherwise, a good sturdy machine.

good product for the money

2006-11-19
I bought the Delta 31 / 12 inches Benchtop Disc Sander on discount sale from Amazon.com .When opening the package I was not happy because it is made in China.But the first time using it I like the way it runs.The Sander frame is solid by cast iron and the rotor running smoothly and not so noisy compare to other brand.For $169.00 dollars a piece it's not bad at all.

Bad Chinese Machining!

2006-07-10
The disk on this sander had a total runout of .025 and after Delta sent me 2 more disks I got one down to about .005. One of the tricks is to remove the disk and clean the paint off of the disk were it butts up onto bearing. This should have been done during assembly. The table slot also had a machined tapered from .770 on the left to .790 on the right. I received new one from Delta with a .760 striaght slot. All replacement parts from Delta were delivered within 5 days after I called in my problems. You can expect these problems on their Chinese made machines, but I ask, why can't they have better quality conrol?