Purchasing a Boring Machine
A dedicated boring machine is a huge productivity booster that will quickly repay its purchase price. August 29, 2006
Question
I have read several articles about the Delta 32-325. I have read that they use some plastic parts where the quality boring machines use metal. Do the plastic parts wear out quickly? Am I crazy to purchase a used one if they are so unreliable? The reason I ask is the rest of the boring machines cost at least twice as much. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? Is there a good place to find a used Delta? I watch ebay and see them go for almost new prices and if not they charge $200 for shipping. Several of the used equipment companies this website promotes do not handle something this small or they want almost new prices for it. If you can help with some advice I would appreciate it!
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor A:
Go ahead and suck it up and buy the new one. I have a larger machine but I have a friend who has had one of the Delta borers for almost 10 years without a single problem. It is a huge time saver and will pay for itself quickly.
From contributor B:
I purchased mine last year for a set of built in bookcases, and I love it. I found it on ebay on a make an offer auction, and worked a deal. The seller sold it without the factory stand and saved me several hundred dollars. I just built a mobile stand with drawers and mounted it. I'm certain it has saved me its cost in labor alone and also increased the quality of my cabinets.
From contributor C:
Detel makes a 23 spindle industrial machine with pneumatics for 2400.00. It is much faster than a Delta, will last forever, and if you are growing enough to go from a 3 spindle
Blum type to a Delta 13 spindle, try to come up with the extra amount. At that base price a lease with 1.00 buy back shouldn't be that much per month and it will have a greater sale value when you move up to a double line machine later.
From contributor D:
I just purchased about 4 months ago, and I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. I, too, questioned spending that much money on a dedicated machine, but it was apparent immediately that it was worth it. The nice thing about the 13 spindle is that the only time I have to reset the machine is when I'm doing a cabinet smaller than 30 in. Then I have to take some bits out. Other than that it's so simple to use. It would normally take me up to 3 hours with a jig and drill to put all the holes in, and they still wouldn't line up like I wanted and had a lot of tearout on the holes. I now do a whole job perfectly in about 15 minutes.
From contributor E:
Is anyone drilling system holes for frameless cabinets with the Delta drill? I’m just about ready to get something. No doubt the best buy is a good industrial unit but we need to get by if possible for a while.
From contributor C:
To contributor E: You cannot bore the second row of system holes for drawer slides like the
Blum Tandems as there is not enough movement in the fence and every time you do move it, it takes time to reset to 37mm setback for hinge plates. As long as you bore 37mm setback from front and back this machine is fine. There are jigs for predrilling drawer bank system holes that are not costly and most shops tend to standardize these drawer heights and one or two jigs will do this job for you very quickly. For example, I mostly do 3 drawer units 6"/12"/12" (+ -), or 6/6/6/12, or 6/24 door. The same jig is used with 4 rails that are never moved. I do not use this anymore as I have a double line machine, but this is as accurate as a double line boring setup. It just takes more time, maybe 3 minutes per box.
