Bob Borzelleri
12-06-2009, 10:33 AM
I've been cross cutting a lot of stuff lately and that got me to thinking about sliding tables. I had already decided that my Delta contractor's saw with Uniguard, Unifence, HTC mobile base, Forrest blade, linked belt and Exacta/Freud router lift are performing at such a high level that they will be around for the much foreseeable future.
So I started looking at sliding tables. While pretty much all the various options looked appealing in similar and different ways, I kept coming back to not wanting to lose the floor space that would come with the larger versions that needed their own legs and such. In addition, while my logical mind tells me that you can add accouterments to a product that are not necessarily made by the manufacturer of that product, there is an appealing symmetry that comes with using "approved" :)parts.
So I checked out the Delta sliding table. It was about the right size, it came in the right color and, while I read a few reviews from people who had trouble installing it, I figured that I typically have less trouble putting together things with a lot of parts than many so the next step was price.
Prices ranged from $299 with $50 shipping the $399 with various shipping rates. I quickly discovered that Grizzly had what appeared to be the same slider at $299 plus shipping but I wanted to keep my colors coordinated.
Suddenly, Google presented me with one of those options that caught my eye; a "refurbished" Delta sliding table for $199 and free shipping. Now, I have few hard and fast rules anymore. But, one that I have hung on to is "don't buy anything that is used, reconditioned or refurbished unless you can feel it first". The last time I violated that rule, I ended up with a "virtually new" golf driver that had had a replacement shaft that was junk.
Still, the thought of a savings approaching 50% was too much to resist so I made the call. The fellow at CPO Delta told me that they usually get 8-10 of these tables from Delta spread out over a year but they had 10 in stock and that they were all fully functional and some looked like new.
Mine arrived in 4 days and was very well packed with double boxes over a base of 3/4" plywood and wooden stringers to protect everything. If I hadn't know that this thing was refurbished, I would have not guessed it by the appearance.
Installation was a snap with only one issue that caused me pause. I really like my Unifence. In addition to the ease of use and measuring precision, the extruded aluminum rail is a thing of beauty to me. Apparently, the guy who designed the Delta sliding table had a different aesthetic sense because he wanted me to take a hacksaw and cut 8" off the left end of the Unifence rail. To add further insult to impending injury, I had to also remove the left cast iron wing that had been an important part of my saw for nearly 10 years.
I called a local machine shop and asked if they would do the amputation thinking that they were more likely to get a straight and true cut than I was. The guy said, "Sure, I think I have a new hacksaw blade around here somewhere".
So I taped off the edge of the cut an got out my own new hacksaw blade and cut away. Wanting to make the experience a bit less traumatic, I used a bit of thread cutting oil. I don't know if that made it better for the rail, but I felt better.
It took about an hour and a half, but by the time I was finished, all the parts were accounted for and the table rolled along the rails quite nicely. I guess I was lucky because, when I did the final leveling and adjustments, everything was right on the money. It only took a few test cuts to realize that this was a good product that would serve me well. I guess "refurbished" sometimes ends up being simply a concept.
So I started looking at sliding tables. While pretty much all the various options looked appealing in similar and different ways, I kept coming back to not wanting to lose the floor space that would come with the larger versions that needed their own legs and such. In addition, while my logical mind tells me that you can add accouterments to a product that are not necessarily made by the manufacturer of that product, there is an appealing symmetry that comes with using "approved" :)parts.
So I checked out the Delta sliding table. It was about the right size, it came in the right color and, while I read a few reviews from people who had trouble installing it, I figured that I typically have less trouble putting together things with a lot of parts than many so the next step was price.
Prices ranged from $299 with $50 shipping the $399 with various shipping rates. I quickly discovered that Grizzly had what appeared to be the same slider at $299 plus shipping but I wanted to keep my colors coordinated.
Suddenly, Google presented me with one of those options that caught my eye; a "refurbished" Delta sliding table for $199 and free shipping. Now, I have few hard and fast rules anymore. But, one that I have hung on to is "don't buy anything that is used, reconditioned or refurbished unless you can feel it first". The last time I violated that rule, I ended up with a "virtually new" golf driver that had had a replacement shaft that was junk.
Still, the thought of a savings approaching 50% was too much to resist so I made the call. The fellow at CPO Delta told me that they usually get 8-10 of these tables from Delta spread out over a year but they had 10 in stock and that they were all fully functional and some looked like new.
Mine arrived in 4 days and was very well packed with double boxes over a base of 3/4" plywood and wooden stringers to protect everything. If I hadn't know that this thing was refurbished, I would have not guessed it by the appearance.
Installation was a snap with only one issue that caused me pause. I really like my Unifence. In addition to the ease of use and measuring precision, the extruded aluminum rail is a thing of beauty to me. Apparently, the guy who designed the Delta sliding table had a different aesthetic sense because he wanted me to take a hacksaw and cut 8" off the left end of the Unifence rail. To add further insult to impending injury, I had to also remove the left cast iron wing that had been an important part of my saw for nearly 10 years.
I called a local machine shop and asked if they would do the amputation thinking that they were more likely to get a straight and true cut than I was. The guy said, "Sure, I think I have a new hacksaw blade around here somewhere".
So I taped off the edge of the cut an got out my own new hacksaw blade and cut away. Wanting to make the experience a bit less traumatic, I used a bit of thread cutting oil. I don't know if that made it better for the rail, but I felt better.
It took about an hour and a half, but by the time I was finished, all the parts were accounted for and the table rolled along the rails quite nicely. I guess I was lucky because, when I did the final leveling and adjustments, everything was right on the money. It only took a few test cuts to realize that this was a good product that would serve me well. I guess "refurbished" sometimes ends up being simply a concept.