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Insane, I tell you.-Why in hell Delta engineers make the fence go all the way to 95+ degree. I am considering shipping one of the 20 or so test piece I cut to the vatican, hoping it would be classified as a miracle.-This tool has one thing to do and only one: make damn sure the fence is square to the table surface. The ugly: -The fence is hollowed in the center, by at least 1/16 inche. Makes you feel you bought something sturdy. There is absolutely no engineering rationale for this. And how do Delta engineers take care of this critical task: they make you use this riciculous set screw to fix the 90 degree angle.
My table saw does not even have that much deviation over 3-4 feet.-Like another reviewer wrote, this thing just wont get to square. And get this: I know it might sound impossible, but I swear to God, I set the fence at a 92 degree angle and get a 88 degree cut. I took it out and lock the whole fence with the twist of a plastic lock handle, that eventually broke. So I use tweezer until I receive the replacement plart).Overall, I came to 3 conclusions:1) Delta hires engineers that probably have never touched wood in their lives. This tool could use a "real" 90 degree stop, so you don't have to rely on the lock handle only (yeah, screw the screw. The good: Lot's of heavy steel. And that's over a 3-4 inche width.
And my blade is dead square. (just am impression, though).The bad: There are so many moving parts, machined holes, lock handles, set screws, hidden screws (.). But the screw sits on a painted surface, not on stainless steel, so the screw sort of "chews off" some the the paint and the metal upon using it, and you end up with a couple degrees of play just because the entire fence weight is supported by a flimsy screw that digs itself a tunnel in buttery metal. and what not that it makes you wonder: how many engineers does it take to secure a piece of wood at a 90 degree angle. (I tried to figure that one out for a full afternoon, but it's still a mystery). Or got their degrees at "My Bob discount school of engineers".2) After many problems with Delta, like a hollow chisel mortiser (broken twice), a thickness planer lock handle that gets stock, a table saw that wears through trunnions a little too fast for the cost and this unholy tenoning device that overlook the single most important thing, that is set a solid 90 degree angle, I am done with Delta3) Blue tools are for idiots. Any deviation will results in uneven thickness of the tenon, especially if they are 1" or more in length.
I've just been informed by an ebay lister that this model Delta 34-183 is not a universal jig:"Delta type saws where the blade axis is 4 1/4" to 4 3/8" from the inside of the left miter slot. Hope this helps someone out there. If your saw varies (like a Powermatic 66) significantly from this, you should consider another jig or that this one would have to be modified at your expense. This is not a One-Size-Fits all type of Jig."Considering the number of reviews I've read through the past couple days, no one mentioned this little factoid and a couple reviewers had the same brand saw as mine.
I build one piece of furniture at a time and purchased the jig for only mortise and tenon joints. When you get it clean it up with paint thinner and add a wood backer board and you'll be in business. The jig was easy to set up, took only a small amount of tuning and works well.
Surfaces are flat within reason, it's well built. This is still the older style fixture which Delta has sold for years. Used jigs from Ebay bid for nearly as much as new ones. Great price from Amazon. Excellent product fo the money. The handles appear sturdy even though they are hollow plastic. No complaints. The fine adjustment knob works well - I can tell you that this is an important feature for fine tuning tenons.
The cast iron face is a little smoother than a typical blanchard ground face and the bottom of the unit (the part that contacts the table) is flat and smooth. I don't know. I bought this exact unit 20 years ago for $59.00 because I couldn't afford the big cast iron model Delta used to sell for $350.00 both were made in the United States back then and the finish was carefully done. I guess the Chinese and Delta have pulled another one over on all of us. I like this jig.
My crank handle was a bit wobbly at first but I unscrewed the hex screw and cut off about 1/16" and filed it smooth and now it cranks like a much more expensive tool. I can cut tenon shoulders all day with this thing. My older unit get's 4 stars, the new unit. I wouldn't buy one made in china or Taiwan. It adjusts smoothly and squarely and all the edged are eased so I didn't have to go around with a file and de-burr the corners.
What makes my unit so smooth and sturdy. I've seen the quality and it doesn't exist. The parts were thicker and the components fit together with tighter tolerances.
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