Delta DJ-20 for $850?

[Silas Smith]

I have a couple of questions for those who own this machine.

1. Is it worth $850? It appears to be in good shape and the owner says he didn't use it that much.

What has been your experience with this machine? I was saving up for a powermatic 6", but for the same price I could get this machine.

2. How can I sneak this into the garage without my wife realizing it?

OK, you probably can't help me with this one, but any suggestions, serious or not are welcome.

[Roger Fitzsimonds]

Hi Silas,

This is the jointer most aspire for. I have a 6" jet that I could not pass up the deal for. Check the archives for dj-20 and you should have more than enough info.

Roger

[Maurice Ungaro]

2. How can I sneak this into the garage without my wife realizing it?


Take the guard & fence off of it, slap some boards on top of it, and tell your wife that it's your new workbench.
With above parts removed, brazenly tell her that it's your new lapping plate, with stand.
Get a sailor suit, paint CVN ## (make up a number, the CVN stands for Aircraft Carrier, Nuclear), and tell her (proudly) that it's your new toy, and the flagship of your navy.
Get a giddy, happy look about you and gush as you sqeall..."HONEY! Look how much money I SAVED!!!"
Have fun with it!

Maurice

[Silas Smith]

Take the guard & fence off of it, slap some boards on top of it, and tell your wife that it's your new workbench.
With above parts removed, brazenly tell her that it's your new lapping plate, with stand.
Get a sailor suit, paint CVN ## (make up a number, the CVN stands for Aircraft Carrier, Nuclear), and tell her (proudly) that it's your new toy, and the flagship of your navy.
Get a giddy, happy look about you and gush as you sqeall..."HONEY! Look how much money I SAVED!!!"
Have fun with it!

Maurice
That would probably work, except my wife has a thing for Army guys. I guess I am not questioning if it is a good joiner, just if the price is something I should jump on or try and get it for cheaper as the auction ends. The starting price is $500 with buy-it-now at $850. It is local pick up only so that is to my advantage.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Silas......look at yourself. You're ACTUALLY asking this group whether or not you should spend money on a dream machine, and best of all the price is a steal.

Maurice

[Bruce Gray]

The DJ-20 is head and shoulders above the little Powermatic. IMO the next step above the DJ-20 would be the new Powermatic 8" parallelogram jointer that they designed as a "DJ-20 killer".

You can buy this machine, and take the $600 you save off from a new version, and then go spend that on some other tool. You win twice.

[Jim Barrett]

Silas,

DJ20...nice jointer had one before and was happy with it. Good thing is they are "easily" adjustable. Before you purchase edge joint 2 boards and see how they fit together, this will tell you how "in tune" the machine is. I would bring a good straight edge with you as well and verify the tables. Check this url for some excellent info on tuning parallelogram jointers: http://home.earthlink.net/~mgoodall/happywoodworking/DJ20adjustments.html

Jim

[Ted Shrader]

SILAS -

I DON'T BELIEVE YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT IT YET! (Yes, that was all caps!) Good find!

Ted

[John Miliunas]

Great jointer and, if it's in good shape, great price! Go for it and post the gloat!:D :cool:

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Well if it were me, I would not spend another $350 for the buy it now price. With only local pickup, I doubt that too many people will be bidding on it. Finally, don't bid until the last 2-4 minutes of the auction.

Take all of the above with a grain of salt because I am a big cheap @**

[Frank Pellow]

Buy it!

I am just about to pay quite a lot more than $850 (us) for a new Delta DJ-20 jointer.

[John Weber]

If it's local ask to come check it out, you can use straight edges, but take a couple boards to joint. If they aren't perfect, then further check the machine with a straight edge, it's likely just out of adjustment. At $850 that is still a good deal. A new one is $1400 on Amazon. The seller should be glad you are interested and happy to have you inspect the machine before bidding since you are local. If it looks good, $850 is fair, if it's a little rough you can see if you can get it for $500.

Good Luck - John

P.S. They are sweet machines and you'll be glad you bought it over any other 6" or 8" machine...

[John Shuk]

If you buy it now you probably won't have any regrets. Why go through the mental gymnastics if you see that as a fair price. Remember with Ebay that it isn't uncommon to have a person get a friend to make a phantom bid if they aren't happy with the price they are getting. If you like the price and can spend the bucks Go for it. Onward ye son..........BUY!

[Steve Roxberg]

In good shape that's a very good price. Go and check it out and give him $850.

[Jim Fancher]

Write him/her and ask if you can drop by to check it out. If you like it, offer to pay for it then if he closes the auction.

I'm in Houston and would be happy to help you load and unload it.

[Mark Singer]

It is a great joiner! I have it for about 4 years and I am very pleased....6" models can't compare to this!!!!

[Jim Dunn]

Put a dress on it and claim it's an old girl friend. Works every time for me:)
Also,I'm no expert,but from what little I know that is a steal on the machine. I've got machine envy and I don't even know what it is.

[Jim Young]

Not sure if I would wait till the end of the auction, someone might just nab it (not me, I already have one). If the motor runs fine I would go ahead and get it.

[Dave Malen]

you won't regret it. No comparison to a six inch jointer. Actually, go check it out. If it's in good condition buy it on the spot.

Dave

[Joe Mioux]

Buy it!!!!!! It doesn't get any better than the deal have going!!!

[Ed Moehlenpah]

This looks very similar to the condition of the one I just worked for. I traded work for a jointer that had sat for 6+ years. There is no comparison between this jointer and the Jet 6" jointer that I had. If you have the money, I would buy it.
Ed

[larry merlau]

i agree that its a great deal and that you should get it, its definatly on my wish list. but i do have a very good solution for you. take and pay the 850 for it, and the 600 your saving go and get your wife somethng nice and then you both will be happy. she wont even look at the tool just the gift with her name on it, sittin on top :D