Don't they to take more that 1/64 at a time and conventional mill rather than climb. This will give you a clean machine quality edge. Clean off the side of the slot tapping the straight edge over as neededfor clean up. Clamp a straight edge parallel with the slot to suit the router offset from the burr OD to the router baseplate OD. Round up a 3/8 style 'SA' double cut cylindrical carbide carbude burr on 1/4 shank from your welding supply house. You can do a lot to clean up the sides of the slots with a standard 1/4 shank router so your T-nuts fit. The ANSI standard for machine T-slots is clear and provides data for as cast dimensions. You are correct in thinking that Delta screwed up.

Raggedy T-slots? Don't modify the T-nuts. I've bought a lot of Delta machines in the past but will think more about other brands the next time because of this decline in Delta's quality. Someone in Delta should realize that the inability to use the T-slots constitutes a safety hazard. I did not complain to either rep about my jobbers drill bits slipping in the chuck that came with the drill press - slipping even though I tighten down as hard as I can with the key.Īre poorly machined T-slots a common occurrence? Is it common in Delta machines nowadays? I fixed my problem by grinding down 4 of my 5/8' T-slot nuts to fit the slots. No, I was told, it has been in production since 1989 - and one rep said that this was the first complaint he had heard about the poor quality oi the T-slots. A call to the Porter-Cable service line (they now own Delta, I was informed) brought essentially the same answer. I phoned the Delta technical service line and basically got this message: this drill press was made in China what do you expect? If you want a quality one, buy our $6,000+ midel. 1/2' T-slot nuts are a very sloppy, loose fit in the slots. When it arrived, I found out that the 5/8' T-slots were cast with the table and didn't accept either 5/8' or 9/16' T-slot nuts even though they appear to be nominal 5/8' slots. Thomas might thumb their noses at this model but I thought it was the right size and price for my needs - $1,000 list and $799 street). I decided on and purchased a 20' Delta, model 70-200 (F. Recently I searched around for a larger drill press to replace my aging, 15 yr. I have some very basic machines and use a friend's lathe for these jobs. However, I do my own 'rough' metal work for home repairs and making prototypes. I send out my fine machine work to shops with CNC mills and lathes.

I am not a machinist like most of you guys but enjoy reading the threads in this and the other home machinist site for useful tips.

T slot bolts for drill press table