ian maybury
09-26-2014, 6:35 AM
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
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