Fortunately for me, I decided to purchase the 28-206 based on some actual use, otherwise some of the negative reviews here would have put me off. After all, a band saw is one of the most important tools one the powered side of the workshop, and a poor performing band saw is a disaster. Surprisingly, none of the flaws mentioned here have surfaces, although I have seen problems with the 206's lighter brother, the 28-276. Out of the box and assembled, even before tuning it, the 206 ran smoothly, with no unexpected vibration.
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br /One of the reasons I bought the saw was the closeness of the lower bearing set to the work surface. This, coupled with and aftermarket ball bearing set (not the Carter set) means the blade runs vertically, under use, with almost no deflection - perfect for resawing and making veneer. Even when I am attempting resawing with a stock 1/4" blade. When I give in and put in the 6" extension (another good reason to buy this saw), I will probably switch to the carter bearings. But I'm very happy with what I have now.
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br /Adjustment is quite easy, and necessary as well. Never expect to be able to put on a blade and not have to reset everything. The setting controls are easy to get to and very straightforward, so there is no excuse to have a blade out of adjustment. Which brings on safety lecture number one - a band saw is probably the most dangerous stationary tool in the shop. One where your hands spend a lot of time very close to a powerful, high-speed cutting edge. Most of the time the only thing between that blade and your fingers is your brain - keep it engaged.
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br /The heavier version of this saw is the X5, which is about $300 more, and manufactured in the US. It is a better saw, although I wouldn't say it was 70% better. If you really are a perfectionist you may want to look at it. For me though, some compromises are necessary, and the 28-206 suits all of my needs.

I bought this Delta bandsaw 5 months ago, and have not cut a piece of wood yet! The machine vibrated so bad that I was scared to use it. pI spent $$ on aftermarket parts to cut down on vibration. I hired a local machinist to make the stand more sturdy. I phoned Customer Service 5 times. They were friendly and sent me several new parts. The local Delta Serviceman has the saw now. After 6 weeks of work, he just called to tell me he cannot fix the vibration and has given up trying.pI do not recommend this saw.

I've had this band saw for a little over a year and I have to say that I was hoping for more from Delta. It's certainly powerful enough for me and I like the table, the guides, and the ease of taking tension on and off. What I don't like is the vibration - it's pretty bad.
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br /After buying and reading the Band Saw Book (Taunton Press) I found out that the bottom wheel was badly out of ballance. I called Delta and with a little run-around they shipped me a new wheel under warranty. The new wheel is much worse than the original. I was disapointed in the machining quality of the new wheel it was not ballanced well at all, not to mention the fit is too tight. Pretty crummy warranty replacement all togehter. I expected more from this saw and from Delta. There is no way a nickel is going to stay standing on end - I don't think two nickels glued together would stay standing.
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br /There also seems to be no way to get the pulleys lined up between the motor and lower wheel shaft. I've worked for hours shimming this and that to get it better, but it's not great.
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br /On a final note, there seems no way to get the two wheels co-planer under any circumstances and that seems to be hard on the tires. For example, with a 1/4 blade, the top wheel has to be pitched so far out that when I take the tension off, the wheel binds against the back of the upper cabinet.
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br /To do it over again, I would have saved up and bought a better saw - maybe from somebody other than Delta. Don't get fooled that Delta makes the end-all, be-all 14" band saw that has been written about for years; maybe they used to, but not anymore. And that's coming from a guy with a lot of Delta stuff.

I purchased this tool in February and have been happy with my choice. I have added the usual items I see suggested in the online reviews and elsewhere (riser, Kreg fence, Woodslicer blade). I also replaced the stock drive belt with the link belt. I was pleased with what it did for my aging Craftsman table saw and had to have it on this tool as well.
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br /I have not used a band saw for 30 years and when I made my first cut on the saw it worked perfectly and my cuts come out better than they should have.
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br /I was able to take advantage of the Amazon free shipping and am very pleased. It arrived on time and in great condition. I tracked it online, received a call from the freight forwarder to confirm a delivery time and date and all went well. I live 20 miles up in the Sierra Nevada foothills and it made no difference to the delivery driver and there was no extra charge.
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br /Assembly of the saw went well, no missing parts, instructions easy to follow and I was able to put it together by myself (not easy but I was able to do it) but I suggest a helper in the final stages. You will need a litle kerosene to clean off some protective packing grease on a couple of items.
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br /The only minor problem I had was the upper drive belt pully housing was not completely painted. I called Delta and had a new housing in a few days, no questions asked and no charges.
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br /When you start up the saw you might notice a vibration from the drive belt/pully housing on the body of the saw. I placed a rubber washer between the housing and the saw which solved the problem.
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I purchased this saw vs other saws because I thought this saw was the best value for the money. I could not justify the additional $300-$400 for the X5 version. I knew this saw had some issues, but I figured if I was patient, I would have a great saw for a good price.
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br /Out of the box my saw had several problems:
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br /The table was not flat. I was able to slide a .035" feeler gauge under the worst spot. The table was so un-flat that the work piece would rock. No problem, though. I called Delta and they sent me a new table. Problem solved.
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br /The lower wheel had a lot of wobble. This caused the blade to move forward and back when cutting. This made it difficult to stop the cut where you want it. No wobble was visible on the upper wheel, just the lower one. Once again, I called Delta and they sent me a new lower wheel. Problem solved.
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br /The lower blade guide was very loose and sloppy. I thought about shimming it somehow, but then realized you can shorten the wedges that slide on the guide bar. Don't grind off too much material or you will have to stretch the spring that spreads the two wedges. Now the lower blade guide is rock solid. Problem solved.
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br /I thought the saw had a lot of vibration. After all, it failed the nickel test. The nickel test is a simple test you can conduct to evaluate vibration. Simply place a nickel on its edge on the table while the machine is running. If it falls over, it fails the nickel test. Also, the upper blade guide seemed to shake a lot relative to the table. To be fair, I must point out that I have the saw mounted on the Delta mobile base. Mobile bases are not known for their stability. Also, I have the 6" height attachment installed. This makes the unit more top heavy than without it. After some investigating, I came up with several possible contributors to the vibration problem. First of all, I noticed the table sometimes vibrated against the table angle adjustment bolt. The table angle adjustment bolt had raised lettering on it. I decided to grind this lettering off so the table would make better contact with the table angle adjustment bolt. This eliminated the table rattle. Next, I realized the entire saw would sway forward and back on the stand due to the thin cabinet. I read another reviewers suggestion to add some angle iron to reinforce to top of the stand. I bolted on two pieces of 2"x2" angle iron. I can't believe how much of a difference this has made. Also, I noticed the saw rocked on the mobile base. I decided to bolt the stand to the mobile base. This made the whole unit more stable. Finally, I noticed the motor sometimes made contact with the top portion of the cabinet on the door lip. I solved this problem by installing a link belt. I made the link belt a bit larger, and now the motor clears the top portion of the stand. After all of this, the saw passes the nickel test easily. I am very pleased how smoothly the saw runs. I am glad I spent the time to make it right.
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br /With these problems resolved, I am very pleased with this saw. I really like the 16" x 16" table. I have used older versions of this saw with the 14" x 14" table. Two inches makes a big difference. I also like the blade guide setup. I did replace the steel blocks with some cool blocks. The blade is held very securely with no side to side motion. When I change the height of the blade guide, the guides do not require additional adjustment. The quick release blade tensioner is a nice feature as well. You will appreciate this if you have ever had to turn the little tiny knob on the top of older model saws until your wrist cramps up. I must also give credit to Delta's customer service. They were very friendly and helpful. I hope this review helps.
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Bought the 28-206 from a local retailer and found out that I was given the wrong model (3/4hp). The store then gave me the correct model that they had just built up so I cannot comment on the contruction or instructions. The vibration was minimal but unacceptable to me so I changed the belt with a PowerTwist Plus A20-60 V-Belts. Great investment! Eliminated all vibration. I also bought a mobile base and height attachment (highly recommend before buying too many 93 1/2" blades). Wanted to get a fence but found out that since the table is 16" vice 14", all the Delta fences don't work. After buying the accessories and doing the math, I wish I would have bought the Delta L.E. 28-299. In the end, you get an extra 1/2hp for about twenty dollars. You don't need the extra power on almost all cuts, but it's nice to have. Would have been 5 stars if Delta would have done their homework with the accessories. Eventually will upgrade the guides with Carters.

I am returning this item today (thanks Amazon). When I started to unpack the saw I noticed several problems with the finish. Most of the cuts and scratches went through to the metal and needed to be covered. Someone tried to spray over one of the finish blemishes and the paint had dripped. I called Delta and they sent a can of spray touchup paint and had promised to send a replacement part where the dripped paint is, but did not.
br /Also, this saw vibrated so badly that I could set a piece of wood on the table and it would walk off the edge. I tried everything I could to dampen the vibration but could not. I called Delta and they scheduled a local repair group to come out. I was told that they would call me but I never heard from them. Probably just as well, even if they had come out and fixed the vibration, I may not have kept the saw anyway. Many of the parts for the stand are impossible to square up so the doors can open and close without binding. I felt like for the money they could have done a little better. I'm really hoping that for some reason I got a lemon and that Delta is not really building tools with such poor quality. I'm ordering the Jet band saw and hoping for a little better quality.

I am not going to reiterate the things I see in the other reviews here; I will add a couple of things which you should know.
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br /1. You should not attempt to use this saw without checking it top to bottom (not just the checklist in the documentation). For example, when I turned mine on for the first time it vibrated so bad that the door not only came open, the hinge broke and the corner of the door cut into the tire on the bottom wheel. The hinge *appeared* to be very sturdy. I know this sounds a little hard to believe, but it is the truth. I might add, that I have never seen or heard of such a thing in almost 20 years of woodworking.
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br /2. I could not align the belt to my satisfaction until I reversed the pulley on the motor. Judging only from the picture in the manual it appeared to be mounted backwards; at any rate reversal is easy and that solved the problem.
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br /3. The quick release band tension lever would hang about every other time. Sometimes it would hang only for a few seconds and then pop and release. I took it apart, checked for burrs etc, wiped it down and put it back together; so far so good for this problem.
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br /4. It is impossible on my saw to resaw hardwood boards anywhere near the thickness the saw can accommodate. Softwoods (or thin hardwood) do alright. I tried 3 different blades; only the 3/4 inch blade resaws acceptably on mine.
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br /5. The trunions broke on the table when I dropped the end of a 2x4 on it. I normally don't resaw 8 foot boards, but this time I had a reason. I don't treat my equipment roughly and typically use each device I purchase for 4 or 5 years.
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br /6. The guides are pretty bad, but I have always found this to be the case on new bandsaws (anybody who ships one with a good set of guides will probably sell me my next bandsaw).
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br /I am giving 2 stars for quality materials; that seems generous. I have in my shop the following Delta equipment: Table saw, jointer, drill press and several other items which have performed much better. I will still buy Delta machinery because I get more for my money. However, I have to say that I had to work much too hard to make this bandsaw usable.
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br /I am still experimenting with balancing methods and have no intention of involving the factory. After all, I don't think I could possibly make it any worse.

I ordered this saw and mobile base after quite a bit of reading and research. Felt like I took somewhat of a chance because this delta band saw is a newer Taiwanese version of the more tried-and-true American made models which have been extensively tested and reviewed. I was attracted by the 9-spoke wheels, larger table, heavier bearings, 4" dust port, and tension release lever. To me, overall quality seemed slightly better than Jet with less backlash on adjustments and other subtleties. I am very happy with the saw and it has met expectations. Straight-forward assembly, coplaner wheels and ready, true tracking. Upper blade guide does not freely drop on this model. There was some resistance with turning the upper wheel that loosening the nut solved. Now the wheel spins freely and there is minimal vibration (saw passed the nickel test). I am very impatient (like a kid waiting for xmas) after ordering something and it came before projected date. No need for dust connector as standard 4" tubing connects. The recommended mobile base and fence in amazon.comdescription are the incorrect models and do not fit this saw (I verified with Delta). I have notified amazon.com so this may change. The saw comes with a 1/4" (not 3/4") blade. You will likely want a better blade anyway. Reading Lonnie Byrd's booked helped me.

I have had this machine (28-206) for over a year. I have to say it is adequate for most tasks but I suspect there are better bargains out there. The level of vibration on the machine I got is greater than I would expect, even compared to the Ridgid bandsaw that I also use. Still, it cut reasonably well with a 3/4 inch blade. In re-sawing stock more than an inch or two thick, however, I noticed that I had trouble getting a square cut. I then discovered that the table is not flat at all. It basically undulates with a peak on the left side of the blade and a trough (low channel) on the right side of the blade. I put a machinist's straightedge across it and could see gaps about 1/32 inch. For general curve cutting of thinner stock, the saw works fine but the table makes re-sawing or cutting thicker stock rather problematical. Anyone who purchases this saw would do well to check the table and contact Delta if it is not sufficiently flat for the intended use.

Ordered this saw as a replacement for a smaller bandsaw. Easy to assemble but you'll need a second person for safety. The quick tensioner is a nice touch and the fit and finish are adequate. The only negative is that the two wheels were not co-planer as delivered but the addition of a 5/8" shim washer took care of that issue. I always test my power tools by removing the blades and checking the runout and no load vibration. This tool is adequate but not outstanding. I replace the drive belt with a "link" belt but that didn't help much. I purchased the Delta because I always buy "made in USA" if possible. Guess what: made in China. If I had known that I would have purchased the Jet 14 bandsaw. Overall the Delta is a good solid bandsaw. When I finally find a permanent spot for it I will bolt it to the shop floor.

Ordered this off Amazon, delivered off the back of a FE truck that had a lift gate. Very positive experience. pAssembly was fine, I also have a Delta Contractor saw and it was similiar. Everything pretty much lined up and things were straight and aligned right out of the box. I put it together myself and installed a mobile base at the same time. pI've done some resawing with this and need to get the riser block, but couldnt wait. It's got great power and it cut some 4" walnut like butter. Even with the standard blade, which will be replaced soon. All in all, a great saw with nice power, great fit and finish and an average blade.

When compared to other band saws in this price range, the lower cost and high quality of this saw make it a clear winner for even serious hobbyist.
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br /The box arrived in pretty good condition. The packing is very good and all parts of the saw were in perfect condition. The instructions were pretty clear and the assembly went very straightforward with one exception. Note, when it comes time to lift the band saw onto the assembled stand, it would be a good idea to get a helper. The exception came when bolting the saw onto the stand. I managed to twist the head off one of the bolts much too easily. All the hardware is the standard soft Chinese steel. Knowing these four bolts keep the saw on the stand, I replaced the supplied hardware with higher grade bolts. It took me about 4 hours to assemble and adjust the saw.
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br /The instructions are clear on how to get everything adjusted and properly set up. After the set up, it was time to get cutting. I fired up the saw and was a little dissapointed in the amount of vibration. I certainly wouldn't say excessive but more than what I had hoped for. However, when using the saw, I have never been botherd by the vibration. The on and off switches have to be pushed quite hard to engage. This is probably good for the "ON" switch but a little disconcerning for the "OFF". I like my equipment to be very easily shut off in case of an accident. I purchased the riser attachment and mobile base for this saw. Both are good purchases but the mobile base is fantastic. Unless you have a place in your shop where the saw is going to sit, you really should consider the mobile base. It's worth every penny for moving this heavy and somewhat awkward machine around.
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br /I am very satisfied with the machine and can't imagine that any other saw in this class would work any better. Even with the vibration, I would have given this five stars had it not been for the sub-grade bolts. The best recommendation I can give is that, knowing what I now know, I would purchase this saw again.

Overall this is a decent saw for the money. It's build quality and design are both decent, not fancy or high-end but functional. I do have a big complaint however: the thing wobbles. When running, the top of the saw moves around by 1/4 to 1/2 inch, enough that the table is moving around while you are pushing the work through. I'm not sure if the problem is a poorly balanced wheel or if it's all in the base. A modest push on the saw gets it wobbling way more than it should. It's so sensitive that I'm not surprised it wobbles when it's on. I tried pushing on one in the store and it was worse! I also tried pushing on a Jet and it was solid. After owning the Delta and looking at the Jet (non-deluxe model) in the store, I must say I like the Delta better. The lower guides are closer to the table and it has a quick release lever.
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br /I haven't contacted Delta yet regarding the wobble but I plan to. I also have an idea how to stiffen the base by adding feet if they don't have a good solution. So the jury is out at this point. I'll update my review when I have news.
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br /UPDATE - Problem resolved
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br /I started spinning things without the blade and without the motor belt on and found the problem. It was the lousy V-belt supplied with the saw! The belt isn't true (would have a gap under part of it when lying on a flat surface), it had a kink. I could see the motor jumping around when it was running and this caused the whole saw to wobble.
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br /I replaced the belt with a link belt ($45!!!) and the wobble is gone. Well almost gone. It's acceptable now but won't win any awards for smoothness. It passes the nickel test, barely. The nickel has to be placed a few times to find a spot it won't fall over. Anyway it's fully usable now. I also noticed the rather significant motor jump on start-up is completely gone with the link belt.
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br /I suggest everyone just replace the belt even if you don't have such a severe problem. It will likely make a noticeable improvement.
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br /I'd be happier if the stand was more stable. My floor isn't 100% flat and I had reduced the wobble by putting some shims under the stand so it seems to be hyper-sensitive to this. I think it would benefit by being bolted to the floor.
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I purchased this bandsaw a little over a year ago from Amazon.com (Tool Crib)and had no problems with assembly or performance. I was a little hesitant in purchasing this model after reading some of the reviews but decided to anyway hoping not to get a lemon. Assembly went well without any problems. I upgraded the blade guides with the bearing type. No problems there either. Balanced a nickel right off the bat. The machine works great. I'm glad I bought it when I did. I got $25.00 off and free shipping. I see now that shipping is $99.00. No complaints here.

I recently recieved this saw. My wife and I put it together in about an hour(we are both 60). When all was put together we easily aligned the belt with a straight edge tightened the motor mount bolts and guess what? No VIbrations. As far as being made in China that is the way of the world now. In our day everything was made in Japan. Even they are outsourceing to China. I know i recently purchased a Toto toilet (Japanese Co)and it was made in China. Back to the subject at hand. This is a good quiet non vibrating saw.

Well, I haven't got a chance to use the saw alot yet. It seems to run great, but the assembly was challenging. The pulleys would not align. I called customer service. A tech called back about an hour later. He said to reverse one of the pulleys. This would certainly solve the alignment problem. It didn't. I had to drill out the holes in the base to form slots. I could then slide the saw over far enough for better alignment. RD might want to provide these slots. It might have prevented two hours of cutting up a brand new saw base.

Getting the saw delivered was a great hassle; because I live in a rural area, the shipping company selected by Amazon "handed off" the delivery to a local company. After one week of fighting with them, the saw was delivered.
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br /Setting up the saw wasn't so difficult, but it did not run as smoothly as I'd like, and it's not obvious where the vibration is coming from. The table, unlike in some reviews, appears flat.
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br /There are some obvious quality assurance issues with this Chinese-made saw. The motor assembly bucks viciously when first turned on, then smooths out, despite setting the bumper arm as per directions.
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br /All-in-all, though, the saw does what I want it to do.
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I purchased this saw and tried to assemble it for the last couple of weeks. Turns out it came with a bad motor. Delta customer service send an upgrade immediately (a 1.5-2 HP motor that goes with their premium band saws). While the original motor is a 1 HP, it spins at 1725 RPM. The new motor spinning twice as fast required some thinking as the blade speed should not exceed 3300 SFPM. I figured I needed a 1.75", 5/8 arbor motor pulley, given the larger of the upper pulley is 7" in diameter (for a 1/4 gear ratio). Remarkably, they do make small pulleys like this and I bought one for $9.25 as an aftermarket accessory.
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br /Next was more trouble with the assembly: The motor is slightly bigger so it touches the lower edge of the top cabinet. Moreover, the belt was terrible as it caused the saw to act like an old washing machine. I must mention that I had installed a riser block and the saw was sitting on a mobile base. So, I went and bought a link belt ($25.99 retail), those patented belts that are used to cut on excess vibration. The belt can be customized to any length so I made it slightly longer than the original belt so the motor does not touch the cabinet.
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br /All in all, the belt solved the vibration problem and the saw passed the nickel test last night. If it was not for the good night sleep that was awaiting me, I was going to try the machine to slice some veneer with the new Timberwolf blade, but that has two wait for a few days.
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br /So please be prepared to spend a little bit more, but if you do not mind that you will get a solid performer.
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I have had this saw for about a month now. Assembly was a snap, less than an hour. There are a couple of issues tho.. The stand is not the most stable stand. It is not perfectly level and is a little spongy on the top. I am thinking about a solid plate on the underside of the saw mounts to stiffen the top of the stand. The saw had a bad vibration when assembled. It ended up being 2 problems.
br /The motor pulley had about 0.030 run out, that along with a balance problem with the motor itself (maybe a loose segment in the rotor) was the cause. I contacted Delta. No problem, I described the problem, the rep asked me to check another item. I did that and called back, told them the pulley was bad and the motor still vibrated when placed on the bench without the pulley. Three (3) days later I had both delivered. Problem solved. It is great when a company actually solves a problem with out a lot of Bull****. I am confident that whatever problem that comes up with a Delta product, they will work to solve it.
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Standard workhorse bandsaw for medium duty cutting, good performance for the money.

A pretty good saw, but I've had several issues. With the height extension the upper and lower castings were no longer alligned. Delta sent me a whole new upper casting, but I found out through great pain that the two mating surfaces were not machined parallel - I had to shim them. The upper guide bracket which holds the bearing and guide blocks cracked, it's due to a round post in a hex shaped hole. The design is bad and needs to be fixed. I'm still waiting for parts (3 weeks now from Delta) for replacement. The blade guard is poor, I don't think much work was put into this design. Not what I consider typical "old school" Delta, but it's not! Off-shore all the way - I guess that's why it has a relatively good price. No shame to Amazon, they still provide great deals on Delta tools.

I decided to wait for a year before posting my review. I use Newwoodworking.com for advise and use of all my machines. After following advise from this site, (timberwolf blades and the resaw attachment) I find that it has met all my needs and customer service was excellent. I will continue to buy Delta products. I'm only in my second year of this hobby and have been quite satified with their products. I think all tools will not be everything to everyone. This is one solid performer. Thanks Delta.

This Band Saw is doing everything they said it would do,write out of the box. Hardly any fine tuning.Well put togather. Alittle trouble with Shipping,But Amazon made up for that. Very happy. Thank you.