DELTA 28-682 18-Inch 2-Horsepower Woodworking Band Saw with Ball Bearing Guides, 230-Volt 1 Phase

Comment: Got a great deal at Amazon for about half off. Not really in the market for another bandsaw at the time but couldn't resist at $649.00. This appears to be made in Taiwan which is fine with me. In my experience Taiwanese equipment is better quality than Chinese and even American (lackluster experience with Powermatic Model 72 Shaper). I had a problem with broken motor mounts that required replacement parts. A call to the number in the manual got me in touch with a very nice lady that got the parts sent out pronto. She had a grandmotherly southern accent so I know I wasn't connected to an overseas call center.

I have been quite satisfied with the performance and can't think of anything else I would ask of this saw. I read the reviews here and was a little concerned about the guides. I can say that after some good use that the guides are fine. I took a look at the Carter site for aftermarket guides and they don't carry any. That tells me that there is either not enough of these out there for Carter to make the R&D investment or there simply is not a need for aftermarket guides because the stockers are fine.

I would have given this 5 stars if not for the broken elastomeric motor mounts delivered with the new saw.

Comment: I've had this bandsaw (delta 18", 2hp industrial) for years now. And I love it.

Mostly, I use 1/2" woodslicer blades (thin kerf) -- with excellent results. I've also resawn 200 year old chestnut beams, using a 1" blade.

The guide, which some reviewers have complained about, is better than some custom ones i've ordered and returned.

Disclosure: I don't work for Delta, nor own stock in the company or have any financial interest. Nor am I affiliated with any competitor of Delta. I am offering this disclosure because sometimes competitors use reviews for marketing purposes.

Comment: I've owned this band saw for a little over three years. If I had 20/20 hindsight it would still be sitting in the tool showroom. I was going to purchase an 18 inch Jet but Jet was having trouble with their new 18 inch model at the time so the dealer didn't want to sell it until Jet had the problems in check. So it was between this Delta or the Rikon. I do a lot of wood turning and I require something that would help me shape the rather large bowl blanks so I didn't have to turn so much wood off. I had been using a 14 inch Sears professional but that couldn't take the size or the types of woods that I was cutting nor did it enough power.
I bought the Delta and the very first problem I had was it wouldn't cut any wood of any size. After scratching my head for a while it turned out to be the rubber isolators used to mount the motor. Several of these rubber mounts had pulled apart during shipping and when I put tension on the belt these rubber mounts would separate and the only weight on the belt was that of the motor. The dealer swapped several of these for me off of another saw so that corrected the first problem.
Secondly I went to buy some 1 1/4 blades for resawing and they were not to be found except by special order on the internet. I think Delta has one blade for this machine and it's the one that comes with it. Then comes the fun of trying to get a 1 1/4 inch blade on this machine. At least Rikno does it right and has the table cut so that the blade comes out of the front. Try bending a 1 1/4 blade inside the blade knockout and getting it in on the wheels. Wear a good pair of leather gloves or you won't have a pair of hands left. It's almost impossible.
Then comes Deltas pride in it's blade guide design. It may be great to have two ball bearing guides to run a blade between but it sure doesn't help if the upper guide is so poorly made that there is no way to line up the blade between the two bearings and not have it either hit one of the front or rear bearings. The cheap cast iron blade guide that holds the bearings cannot be adjusted to have the blade run parallel between them or at least a blade of the size I am using. I won't even go into adjusting the lower guide. Delta should make a replacement whole upper guide assembly, go through their records and send everyone who owns one of these saws a replacement.
This saw has kept me from buying anything else with a Delta name on it no matter what the rating someone has given it. Your loss Delta. The only thing this saw has in its favor is I haven't stalled the 2 hp motor yet, but then again either has my friend on his 18 inch Jet with a smaller motor on it.

Comment: I purchased this saw after reading reviews on several different 18" saws. From the reviews all the saws had some negative points to them, so in the end I decided to go with the delta due to past experiences with there tools.
First off the saw came and did not have a flaw anywhere that I could see, fit and finish were very good and assembly went very quick. Upon starting to make final adjustments, I did find that the blade guides took some time to get them set, but after getting them adjusted right the saw performed beautifully.
I read the other reviews on this saw and I don't Know why some people gave the saw such a low ratting. If you are in the market for a good saw that can handle what ever you throw at it this is it.

Comment: I came to this site to order a Delta 28-262. My main reason is that I own lots of Delta equipment and have always been pleased. After reading the reviews I have changed my mind. I guess I'll go to Grizzly. If I'm going to buy overseas products there is no sense paying top dollar for it.