Anybody tried the Delta Sharpening system?

[Circa Bellum]

specifically looking at the DELTA 23-710 SHARPENING CENTER. This thing looks pretty cool to me, but then I'm a newbie. Any input would be gratefully absorbed...

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[Terry Bigelow]

Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Setup time is way too long. You end up with un-square edges unless you spend gobs of time fiddling with it. Not saying it won't work, but it's not worth the hassle. A bit messy too. Mine has been sitting in a cabinet for 3+ years now. I actually bought it because I was too cheap(poor;)) to buy the Tormek. There's a good reason for the price difference. If you are truly a "newbie" I would suggest getting some good stones a guide. Not the fastest method(at first), but not that complicated either. There's a wealth of info both here and in books to get you started. This is a nice guide:http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1
I would reccomend it (as will others), but if you want something a little cheaper these do quite fine and are as straight foward as can be:http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=33003&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1 I used one for years with great results. I have since bought the Jet wet wheel sharpener and would reccomend it as well altough it is not necessary. I'm sure others can help you as well.

[Barry Vabeach]

Like Terry says, it has some real issues. I bought the Delta 23-710 it a long time ago. The white wheel is good for general hollow grinding ( freehanded ) and it works fine for turning tools. I could never get the horizontal wheel to grind a straight edge on a plane iron and ended up with a cambered edge that was pretty severe, though that may be due to operator error. It is a little messy with the water. I converted it to use the LV discs and it worked much quicker, though I still had a camber issue. I recently added an extension to the grinder rest and now get perfect edges. At that price point, it has some pretty good features, in my opinion it is not that good out of the box and needs some mods or add ons if you want it to get true edges on plane irons. The white vertical wheel is nice, but it is a lot of money if you are only using it as a bench grinder Barry

[Brian J. Williams]

FWIW, my experience with the Delta system has been a little different. I've used it primarily with the big white wheel to get an initial bevel on chisels and irons that were seriously nicked. I've always checked the iron guide to make sure it was square to the holder, and yes. it did take some time to get an initial bevel, but it worked well for me. I understand the tapered bevel issue- I just took small bites at a time and kept checking the iron for square- which it always gave me. I've also used it to give me a radiused bevel, like on one of my #5's- it gives me a good starting point, and I can get pretty much any radius I want.

Brian

[David DeCristoforo]

Well I'm with the others but only "half way". It's not the machine itself that bites, it's the guides and holders. I tossed those in the trash. I use the horizontal wheel "freehand" for plane blades, chisels and lathe tools. I just cobble up whatever i need for the "white wheel" when I need it. Mine is set up on a bench with a "water well" and a small fountain pump and a copper tube "dripper" to keep the wheel wet. I use it a lot but I'm sure there are systems with much better guides than the Delta ones. What were they thinking?

YM

[Bruce Branson]

I had to send two back that I purchased from Amazon.Both vibrated so badly that they shook my whole bench.They both had bits of metal under the stone.I bought a Makita and have had no trouble in two years.The last Delta product I will ever buy.