delta 14-651 mortise arrived snapped in 1/2 :(

[craig lapiana]

i just got in the replacment machine from amazon after the first unit i got (last week) had the base snapped off from the main column :( somebody must have been tossing this unit around not to happy with the HEAVY weight of this little baby.

a quick peek and the new unit looks good and i am really impressed with amazon's self help reorder page. it was such a breeze.

will a xy slider vise work with this unit without much effort?

craig

[Jeremy Gibson]

Craig,

Been there, done that! I order mine about a month ago and the head cast iron dovetail mount was snapped apart. I too used the Amazon self-help return and a replacement was sent FedEx the next day. My second also arrived without damage and now looks great on my bench.

I made a test mortise in a piece of scrap just to show SWMBO (and me) that it worked. I really like the machine and am just waiting for some free time to start a bedroom furniture project. I've been working full time (not woodworking :() and going to night school to finally get my Bachelor's degree. Only six weeks left and then I can get my weekends back!!

I'm glad to hear another happy (second shipment) Amazon customer with that mortiser.

[Kelly Anderson]

I reciently took mine off the base and mounted it to a cabinet (I used the height attachment and 2 layers of 3/4 plywood to get it to about the same hight as with the table) and mounted the x/y vise in front of it. I haven't had a chance to use it yet but I thank it will work great.

[craig lapiana]

kelly is the only option to remove the base? i was hoping someway to be able to still use that big chunk of cast iron :( but i think the xy vise in the long run will justify removing the base. what a shame...

[Jeremy Gibson]

I saw a post here or somewhere else (sorry that's soooo very specific) that demonstrated the X-Y vice in front of the mortiser. You'll notice you can unbolt the post from the base and remount it backwards. This is to allow for mortising long pieces. You could also install the riser block at this time. Then mount the X-Y vice in front with the moritiser head facing forward and the base facing backward. Use ply or MDF as a base to raise the head so it works with the vice. Now the cast iron base in the back is used for weight or a flat place to store things.

I'm sure a Google for X-Y vice mortiser will find the article.

[Kelly Anderson]

The vise is pretty tall so give about the same room under the mortiser I removed the base and mounted the mortiser on the riser block and plywood. I wanted to keep the wieght of the base too but I had the cabinet to mount it to and screwed that to the wall so I thank that it should be secure.

[Sandy Johnson]

Your post reminded me of my recent experience with ordering the Delta 14-651 mortiser through Amazon. Box arrived in good condition but the cast dovetail way had broken off from the head. They must ship the unit with the head attached to the support column. Needless to say I was disappointed as I had ordered it when Amazon had the clearance sale for $177.12 w/free shipping. When I called the Amazon rep about the damage, she told me that they wouldn't be carrying the unit anymore so I could return it for a refund. I told her this was the best price I had seen and asked if there was any way to get a raincheck--no luck. Thinking a bit more, I asked how much would they give me towards getting the unit repaired. She replied that the best she could do was give me 20% towards the cost of repairs. I told her I would call back--I immediately called the Delta service number and shared my story about ordering the mortiser and receiving it damaged. Not sure if this is standard procedure, but the Delta Rep took the model, serial number and said that since this was new she would send me a replacement part free of charge--great! I called Amazon and asked for the 20% credit so they applied $40 (mortiser price was $202 before the special) to my credit card and put a $5 credit on my account towards my next purchase. Received the part from delta within 2 days and I ended up with a mortiser for $132. A fairly decent ending to this story.