Delta 37-380 8" Jointer

by John H

Bought the Delta 8" "Professional" jointer this weekend from my local Post Tool. Everyone seems to have raised their price recently on this to $1099, but Post gave it to me for the old price of $999. It never hurts to ask.

Base and jointer are boxed separately, which makes sense, given that the base is made in the U.S. and the jointer in China. I was surprised to see the jointer standing on end in their warehouse area, though this didn't seem to have any effect on the unit once it was unboxed.

Jointer box had some minimal damage, but contents were fine. Jointer was well protected and supported by steel I-beams molded into thick styrofoam, and surrounded by cardboard. Unpacking was easy and cosmoline coating was minimal and easily cleaned off. All parts were present with the exception of a 5/16" bolt and nut to attach the switch to the upright pole. Easily replaced and not a problem. All of the connecting bolts are hardened steel with allen heads. All bolt holes mated perfectly and were well tapped. Small infeed table locking bolt was bent. I'll be calling Delta for a replacement

Fence is a whopping 5" tall and very long. Rack and pinion adjustment works smooth as silk. Both fence and jointer bed were dead flat. After assembly, I ran a few test cuts and discovered the infeed table was slightly canted down toward the cutterhead. The instructions don't explain the gib adjustments very well, but once you loosen the screws they indicate, it's pretty intuitive. Problem was fixed and jointer makes perfectly flat and smooth faces and edges.

Lots of power and smoothness. Faced jointed 7" wide maple with no problem. Knives were installed at the factory and very sharp. Unit has jackscrew knife adjustments. Got my first taste of the infamous Delta "bang on startup". It happens every other time or so, and is pretty violent. I'll have to open up the back and maybe loosen the belt to see if it helps. I worry that over time, this bang may effect the cutterhead bearings. Motor and pulleys are easy to adjust and align, resulting in almost no vibration when machine is running. 13 amp motor provides plenty of power.

Stuck it on an HTC mobile base which works just fine.

Overall, I'm very pleased with it and so far, it seems to be a good buy. The castings were very clean with only one sharp edge on the whole unit. Paint job was very good with no overspray. Based on my limited use so far, I highly recommend it.