Delta 18-900L pedestal drill - owner feedback & Euro source(s)?

[ian maybury]

Hi all. The Delta 18-900L http://tiny.cc/nwgsmx seems from this distance a very nice tool and to offer some fairly unique woodworking oriented features at a decent price point - and I need to upgrade my drilling capability from a cheapo Eastern made machine. We don't get much by way of the high quality 'old iron' you guys have in the US, and what there is in the UK has become very expensive for anything decent. (Fobco, Meddings etc)

Against that there's been occasional mention of some quality issues to whatever incidence with the 900L - rough castings, possible runout etc. There's lots of Eastern made stuff, but the low end is rubbish, and better quality machines tend to be more engineering oriented.

What's been the experience of owners, and can consistent quality be assumed in current production? I'd appreciate hearing some views on the following or similar topics.

Is it the solid, reliable and nicely engineered machine it looks to be? Is speed changing a tool-less task? Is it convenient to use? Does it run smoothly at high speed? Does it have close to zero runout at the chuck? Is the chuck a decent one that actually works properly unlike so many about now? Does the spindle retain its accuracy/rigidity when extended? Is the table flat, easy to adjust, and does it hold its squareness and other settings? Is the depth stop system accurate and reliable? Can it handle occasional metal drilling jobs in good order? (some cheap drills run into vibration issues and the like on even small stuff like 1/2in holes) Any other issues?

Are spares readily available, and is that situation likely to be stable?

Can the motor be wired to run on 230V single phase? It's not obvious from the literature, but a web search heading seemed to suggest the possibility which is necessary for use here.

A long shot (the machine isn't officially distributed over here) - but might anybody have any idea whether it's perhaps unoffically imported anywhere and hence available in Europe?

Thanks

[Mike Heidrick]

Can you buy a Rong Fu 30 milldrill or clone there? The R8 collet system would serve you amazingly well for tooling needs. It works amazing for woodworking tasks. RF30 is round column. If you want a DT column look for a RF45. Sorry for bringing up another tool but you might find one local and they are really nice.

[Matt Meiser]

I had one before I moved and sold my shop off. It was a nice drill press but I would think REAL hard about buy ANYTHING from the current incarnation of Delta. Parts availability has widely been reported as horrible and Delta has been less-than-honest about what's going on with that. As well, when I bought mine they were running rebates and it took threatening to contact the Attorney General to get mine paid weeks after it was due. I just have a hard time trusting them.

[ian maybury]

A Rong Fu mill drill is definitely an option for serious consideration Mike, and they are available from Holland. There's lots that swear by them on the forums. I got a quote for a 45 about a year ago - a bit over $1,000 but now they are heading for $2,000. There are cheaper models. Milling and even manual X,Y and Z positioning capability would be fantastic - especially for accurately spaced holes. They seem to get expensive once the work envelope (table travel, height under spindle etc) gets larger though. Against that maybe getting a large work envelope is not such an issue - larger flat/lower pieces could be accommodated.

PS Found this RF 31 just now in the US which is a lot cheaper, it looks very attractive: http://www.penntoolco.com/catalog/products/products.cfm?categoryID=4943 Not much sign of Rong Fu coming up in the UK, but this seems similar: http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-engineer-series-zx30m-mill-drill I guess one loss with mill/drills would be inability to tilt the table as on a drill press - big gains are solidity, basic milling capability and the R8 spindle system...

Do you have any idea what sort of approach people take in speccing and using them, and what the pros/cons/considerations typically are?

Thanks for the steer Mike. There were some vibes about, but I was hoping the situation might have settled down. That doesn't sound like the sort of machine to ship across the Atlantic and out of reach of warranty cover….

[Mike Heidrick]

I own a 1987 RF-30 clone. There seem to be clones with smaller footprints available that cost about teh same so payattention to it. Also these machines are VERY heavy for their size so be careful if you are planning a basement install of any kind. They may call them benchtopbut ther are very much floor machines on their base. I think a common mod is a DRO. This gets rid of teh backlash compensation required for measurement for the table. Some come with them or you can install your own. Even some iGaging scales are an improvement if installed correctly. I have scales for mine but have yet to install them as I built a cnc knee mill for anytihing that needs more than my manual precision. Some of the clones are made in tiawan which may be more desirable than the china ones to you. I use chinese tooling on mine so not sure it makes a difference to me for my use. You will probably invest in a good vise very quickly and stock up on tooling so keep those costs in mind. You may be buying it for wood now but you will quickly do a TON of work on it in all materials. I made a sub table out of wood and clamp it in my vise. I love that quick change over.

[ian maybury]

Ta Mike. A quick look suggests that the same or similar machines pop up under different importer brand names. I guess the basic is whether there's any variety that is good/bad/rubbish beyond what the spec sheets say.