Customer Reviews
Delta saw mostly pleases 
2006-08-30
Getting the saw delivered was a great hassle; because I live in a rural area, the shipping company selected by Amazon "handed off" the delivery to a local company. After one week of fighting with them, the saw was delivered.
Setting up the saw wasn't so difficult, but it did not run as smoothly as I'd like, and it's not obvious where the vibration is coming from. The table, unlike in some reviews, appears flat.
There are some obvious quality assurance issues with this Chinese-made saw. The motor assembly bucks viciously when first turned on, then smooths out, despite setting the bumper arm as per directions.
All-in-all, though, the saw does what I want it to do.
Good Band Saw at a Great Price 2006-08-29
When compared to other band saws in this price range, the lower cost and high quality of this saw make it a clear winner for even serious hobbyist.
The box arrived in pretty good condition. The packing is very good and all parts of the saw were in perfect condition. The instructions were pretty clear and the assembly went very straightforward with one exception. Note, when it comes time to lift the band saw onto the assembled stand, it would be a good idea to get a helper. The exception came when bolting the saw onto the stand. I managed to twist the head off one of the bolts much too easily. All the hardware is the standard soft Chinese steel. Knowing these four bolts keep the saw on the stand, I replaced the supplied hardware with higher grade bolts. It took me about 4 hours to assemble and adjust the saw.
The instructions are clear on how to get everything adjusted and properly set up. After the set up, it was time to get cutting. I fired up the saw and was a little dissapointed in the amount of vibration. I certainly wouldn't say excessive but more than what I had hoped for. However, when using the saw, I have never been botherd by the vibration. The on and off switches have to be pushed quite hard to engage. This is probably good for the "ON" switch but a little disconcerning for the "OFF". I like my equipment to be very easily shut off in case of an accident. I purchased the riser attachment and mobile base for this saw. Both are good purchases but the mobile base is fantastic. Unless you have a place in your shop where the saw is going to sit, you really should consider the mobile base. It's worth every penny for moving this heavy and somewhat awkward machine around.
I am very satisfied with the machine and can't imagine that any other saw in this class would work any better. Even with the vibration, I would have given this five stars had it not been for the sub-grade bolts. The best recommendation I can give is that, knowing what I now know, I would purchase this saw again.
OK for the money 
2006-06-23
I am not going to reiterate the things I see in the other reviews here; I will add a couple of things which you should know.
1. You should not attempt to use this saw without checking it top to bottom (not just the checklist in the documentation). For example, when I turned mine on for the first time it vibrated so bad that the door not only came open, the hinge broke and the corner of the door cut into the tire on the bottom wheel. The hinge *appeared* to be very sturdy. I know this sounds a little hard to believe, but it is the truth. I might add, that I have never seen or heard of such a thing in almost 20 years of woodworking.
2. I could not align the belt to my satisfaction until I reversed the pulley on the motor. Judging only from the picture in the manual it appeared to be mounted backwards; at any rate reversal is easy and that solved the problem.
3. The quick release band tension lever would hang about every other time. Sometimes it would hang only for a few seconds and then pop and release. I took it apart, checked for burrs etc, wiped it down and put it back together; so far so good for this problem.
4. It is impossible on my saw to resaw hardwood boards anywhere near the thickness the saw can accommodate. Softwoods (or thin hardwood) do alright. I tried 3 different blades; only the 3/4 inch blade resaws acceptably on mine.
5. The trunions broke on the table when I dropped the end of a 2x4 on it. I normally don't resaw 8 foot boards, but this time I had a reason. I don't treat my equipment roughly and typically use each device I purchase for 4 or 5 years.
6. The guides are pretty bad, but I have always found this to be the case on new bandsaws (anybody who ships one with a good set of guides will probably sell me my next bandsaw).
I am giving 2 stars for quality materials; that seems generous. I have in my shop the following Delta equipment: Table saw, jointer, drill press and several other items which have performed much better. I will still buy Delta machinery because I get more for my money. However, I have to say that I had to work much too hard to make this bandsaw usable.
I am still experimenting with balancing methods and have no intention of involving the factory. After all, I don't think I could possibly make it any worse.
Not bad, but should be better 
2006-05-09
I've had this band saw for a little over a year and I have to say that I was hoping for more from Delta. It's certainly powerful enough for me and I like the table, the guides, and the ease of taking tension on and off. What I don't like is the vibration - it's pretty bad.
After buying and reading the Band Saw Book (Taunton Press) I found out that the bottom wheel was badly out of ballance. I called Delta and with a little run-around they shipped me a new wheel under warranty. The new wheel is much worse than the original. I was disapointed in the machining quality of the new wheel it was not ballanced well at all, not to mention the fit is too tight. Pretty crummy warranty replacement all togehter. I expected more from this saw and from Delta. There is no way a nickel is going to stay standing on end - I don't think two nickels glued together would stay standing.
There also seems to be no way to get the pulleys lined up between the motor and lower wheel shaft. I've worked for hours shimming this and that to get it better, but it's not great.
On a final note, there seems no way to get the two wheels co-planer under any circumstances and that seems to be hard on the tires. For example, with a 1/4 blade, the top wheel has to be pitched so far out that when I take the tension off, the wheel binds against the back of the upper cabinet.
To do it over again, I would have saved up and bought a better saw - maybe from somebody other than Delta. Don't get fooled that Delta makes the end-all, be-all 14" band saw that has been written about for years; maybe they used to, but not anymore. And that's coming from a guy with a lot of Delta stuff.
Works Great - No Problems 
2006-04-11
I purchased this bandsaw a little over a year ago from Amazon.com (Tool Crib)and had no problems with assembly or performance. I was a little hesitant in purchasing this model after reading some of the reviews but decided to anyway hoping not to get a lemon. Assembly went well without any problems. I upgraded the blade guides with the bearing type. No problems there either. Balanced a nickel right off the bat. The machine works great. I'm glad I bought it when I did. I got $25.00 off and free shipping. I see now that shipping is $99.00. No complaints here.
New To Woodwoeking 2007-11-10
I decided to wait for a year before posting my review. I use Newwoodworking.com for advise and use of all my machines. After following advise from this site, (timberwolf blades and the resaw attachment) I find that it has met all my needs and customer service was excellent. I will continue to buy Delta products. I'm only in my second year of this hobby and have been quite satified with their products. I think all tools will not be everything to everyone. This is one solid performer. Thanks Delta.
GREAT SAW FOR THE MONEY 2007-04-02
I have had this saw for about a month now. Assembly was a snap, less than an hour. There are a couple of issues tho.. The stand is not the most stable stand. It is not perfectly level and is a little spongy on the top. I am thinking about a solid plate on the underside of the saw mounts to stiffen the top of the stand. The saw had a bad vibration when assembled. It ended up being 2 problems.
The motor pulley had about 0.030 run out, that along with a balance problem with the motor itself (maybe a loose segment in the rotor) was the cause. I contacted Delta. No problem, I described the problem, the rep asked me to check another item. I did that and called back, told them the pulley was bad and the motor still vibrated when placed on the bench without the pulley. Three (3) days later I had both delivered. Problem solved. It is great when a company actually solves a problem with out a lot of Bull****. I am confident that whatever problem that comes up with a Delta product, they will work to solve it.
OK but could be better 2007-01-12
Overall this is a decent saw for the money. It's build quality and design are both decent, not fancy or high-end but functional. I do have a big complaint however: the thing wobbles. When running, the top of the saw moves around by 1/4 to 1/2 inch, enough that the table is moving around while you are pushing the work through. I'm not sure if the problem is a poorly balanced wheel or if it's all in the base. A modest push on the saw gets it wobbling way more than it should. It's so sensitive that I'm not surprised it wobbles when it's on. I tried pushing on one in the store and it was worse! I also tried pushing on a Jet and it was solid. After owning the Delta and looking at the Jet (non-deluxe model) in the store, I must say I like the Delta better. The lower guides are closer to the table and it has a quick release lever.
I haven't contacted Delta yet regarding the wobble but I plan to. I also have an idea how to stiffen the base by adding feet if they don't have a good solution. So the jury is out at this point. I'll update my review when I have news.
UPDATE - Problem resolved
I started spinning things without the blade and without the motor belt on and found the problem. It was the lousy V-belt supplied with the saw! The belt isn't true (would have a gap under part of it when lying on a flat surface), it had a kink. I could see the motor jumping around when it was running and this caused the whole saw to wobble.
I replaced the belt with a link belt ($45!!!) and the wobble is gone. Well almost gone. It's acceptable now but won't win any awards for smoothness. It passes the nickel test, barely. The nickel has to be placed a few times to find a spot it won't fall over. Anyway it's fully usable now. I also noticed the rather significant motor jump on start-up is completely gone with the link belt.
I suggest everyone just replace the belt even if you don't have such a severe problem. It will likely make a noticeable improvement.
I'd be happier if the stand was more stable. My floor isn't 100% flat and I had reduced the wobble by putting some shims under the stand so it seems to be hyper-sensitive to this. I think it would benefit by being bolted to the floor.
Where are the VIBS? 2007-01-07
I recently recieved this saw. My wife and I put it together in about an hour(we are both 60). When all was put together we easily aligned the belt with a straight edge tightened the motor mount bolts and guess what? No VIbrations. As far as being made in China that is the way of the world now. In our day everything was made in Japan. Even they are outsourceing to China. I know i recently purchased a Toto toilet (Japanese Co)and it was made in China. Back to the subject at hand. This is a good quiet non vibrating saw.
Band saw review 2007-01-04
Standard workhorse bandsaw for medium duty cutting, good performance for the money.
