Accessories

Great jointer
I found this jointer to be reasonably easy to assemble, adjust, and use.

It would have been easier for me to assemble by myself if it were not as heavy, but now I'm glad it's heavy. It came partly adjusted. The knives were parallel to, but considerably below the outfeed table. However, it was no problem at all to adjust the outfeed table height to precisely the height of the knives. The fence was slightly off of perpendicular to the table, but again, easy to adjust. The parts bag had exactly the number of bolts and screws required for assembly which is sometimes a problem for me. If I drop a small part during assembly, the shop floor is sort of a black hole, and the part is never seen again. It wouldn't hurt for Delta to pack an extra bolt and screw of each size, just in case. I had a few lock washers left over when I was finished with assembly. I went back through the assembly instructions looking for the location where I was supposed to have used them. I never found where they went.

The jointer works great, and is very accurate. The length of the table is a plus, but the tool does not seem to take up too much room in the shop. I noticed that the knife guard also seems to act as kickback resistance. Maybe all modern jointers are this way, but my old jointer (circa 1950) did not have this feature. The only feature which seems to be missing is a cup holder.

The only problem I had was a broken cover plate on the side of the motor. The jointer was not packed well, the styrofoam packing blocks in the carton were considerably damaged when I got it. The motor was able to move in the box which is probably how the cover plate got broken. After contacting Amazon, Delta shipped a new motor. I swapped the cover plates, and returned the motor, all at their expense. I was very pleased with the way it was handled by both Amazon and Delta.

Completely pleased
I read quite a few reviews before finally purchasing this jointer. The high rating and big savings combined to make it a very attractive offer. I received the unit yesterday morning and immediately opened the package spreading its contents across my work bench. The one thing that stood out most in my mind from reading the reviews was "Read the instructions" Sound advice. This is a serious piece of equipment. It took me about 2 hours to assmeble the unit alone having wrangled one of my teenage sons into helping me place the table assembly on the work bench. Don not try to handle anything more than sub assemblies alone. Its simply too heavy. Once on the floor of my workshop I grabbed a chair and went about cleaning and adjusting everything. The table and fence, in fact most surfaces are covered in protective grease. Its easily removed from the table and fence with a paint scraper and a cloth. Mineral spirits work well wiping off all the hand prints and remaining grease. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. This is a real piece of machinery so familiarizing yourself with everything about it is essential. The out feed table adjusted easily and i found the cutter dead on right out of the package. A very pleasant surprise.
As to performance, I found this jointer to be exceptional. Its vibration free, probably due to the weight and it hums along very nicely when running. Cuts are smooth and clean. The only time I noticed any snipping was when I rushed a board through the cutters in my excitement or ran the board through backwards against the grain. Even then a second pass was all that was needed to clean the edge back off. I spent most of the morning running boards through it for a cabinet project im working on. The joints were perfect and glued up seamlessly. I couldnt have been happier.
I would recommend getting the mobil base unless your certain its going to be sitting in one place a long time. Also, unless you have a centralized dust collection system with a 4 inch hose get the adapter. You'll then be able to hook your shop vac up to the dischage outlet.

Cheap - that's what IT IS
Problems started right from the beginning during the assembly.
The stand is not square so when attaching the main unit to the base using 3 provided screws I was able to put only 2. For the third one the holes don't align. There's no way to square this thing. After "assembling" I tried to align the outfeed table to the blades. Surprise! I can turn the adjusting wheel back and forth but table doesn't move. It is about 1/8" higher than the blades. I don't know what other surprises awaiting me when I will wrestle with the fence - but not tonight. I'm too tired and frustrated. I hope Delta have some kind of service. I bought this jointer today brand new at Lowe's and it is on warranty.

Best Value for the buck
I am very pleased with the ease of operation and the level of performance from this machine. There is none of the kit or lower quality shakiness in any of the aspects of the machine. Just no nonsense high quality efficiency. There are few frills, but it has what is needed with no corners cut to do a clean, job.

Solid, but not without challenges
The Good:
-Quiet operation
-Nice cuts, my joints are tight and I've received compliments from others on the finished product.
-Cosmetically - good condition upon receipt
-Very solid, heavy, but works with a mobile base well
-Easy to set up...I did it myself. Having a buddy would help - and I'd recommend it, but it can be done solo.

The Bad:
-As noted by others, the dust collection system is mediocre
-The motor wouldn't fire up out of the box. I had to have it replaced and it took 8 weeks to come to resolution on this. Delta replaced for free, but it was difficult to contact them and get status. They did not stick to the dates - kept getting pushed out with little communication. I had to go to an authorized Delta dealer to reach anyone.
-After 4-6 months operating properly, the switch no longer works...so when it's plugged in, it's powered on and running. You have to unplug it to turn it off. I still need to call to have this fixed. I assume I have a defective switch, but this is annoying especially after having a bad motor to start with. This is the 2nd Delta product I've purchased with motor problems. The other was a variable speed router - I can't recall the model number, but click on my review if you want to see it.

Overall:
It's a solid machine. I think I just got a lemon and when it works the way it's supposed to, it's a very good machine.