Need opinions on Delta Sharpening Center

[Kevin Gregoire]

i have a chance to pick up a Delta Sharpening Center 23-710
and i wanted to see what opinions are from those that are
familiar with it?
is it a good system? of course there are better ones but im
curious if this works good, great, or is junk?

thanks

[Gary Muto]

I've had one for a long time. It works well but it is a pain to get the tool rests (it may only come with one) aligned to the wheels. Delta had sent me a replacement and it was no better. once they are lined up they don't move though. I thought the wheels werre expensive but they don't cost as much as the 10" slow speed wheels (jet and Tormek).
If you want to sharpen long knives this system probably works better than most.

[Myk Rian]

Never used or saw one, but if your survey had a "no opinion" choice, I could see the results for my own info.

[John Shuk]

Hit the view poll results link under the choices and you can see them without voting.

[Dave Zellers]

If it's for sharpening long knives, I'd get the Makita.

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-9820-2-Horizontal-Wheel-Sharpener/dp/B0000223JC/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1284554815&sr=1-1

I've had it for over 10 years and get get superb results on my 12" planer blades. I'll be sharpening the blades for my new (used) 15" planer soon.

[Callan Campbell]

My single biggest complaint was very uneven wear of the wet wheel. I bought the Jet clone of the Tormek to replace the Delta, wanted a Tormek but couldn't swing the price at the time. I find these styles of wet grinders much more useful overall. Also, the water drip on the delta stays very localized in wetting the wet wheel. With the "bath" style of the Jet or Tormek, you get a very clean and even wet suface to work with.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

I have had a Delta Sharpening Center 23-710 since they first came out. I am mostly disappointed with it. I can get better results using other methods. I don't recommend trying to sharpen jointer or planner knives, it's just not accurate enough.

[Gary Pennington]

I bought a used 23-710 'cause the price was so good for a nearly new machine I couldn't resist. The learning curve was so steep, I worked with it it for a month then sold it. Back to the tried and true (for me) surface plate, Veritas guide and wet or dry paper. Less headaches, consistent results.

Gary

[Phil Harding]

I had one a few years ago. I was never able to consistently get the wheel and tool rests parallel to each other. The results where always uneven and led to non-square blades. I dumped it on eBay.

-- Phil

[Kevin Gregoire]

you all have made up my mind and i will pass and stick with glass and sandpaper.

thanks

[paul dyar]

I have had one for 12+ years. When I bought it the horizontal wheel wobbled. I took the wheel back, and they exchanged it. It still wobbled a little, and got worse with time. I worked with it off and on for several years, finally got it to quit wobbling. Now it is wobbling again. I would not recommend this machine to anyone.
Paul

[Kevin Gregoire]

thank you all for your opinions, im glad i didnt go with the delta.
but its surprising as i was reading some wood mag yesterday (several years old) and
the delta had A+ marks all the way across and was a top choice over all the machines tested.