"warbler" wrote in message
ups.com...
FInally got to use my fancy new Delta (14-651) mortiser last evening.
The set-up and all the other stuff associated with this toy was
relatively straightforward. I did a few test mortises and found the
chisels sharp, easy to swap in and out and simple to fine tune.

After lining up my first actual workpiece on the machine (the leg for
an outdoor bench), I switched on the machine and began to lower the
chisel into the wood. After entering the piece, the handle broke off
the machine. Yikes. I shut off the machine with the chisel half
inbedded in the wood. After closer inspection, the gear that holds the
handle and manages the raising and lowering of the chisel had broken in
half. The cast iron piece had cracjed into pieces. Metal fatigue?

Delta is shipping a new piece, no questions asked.


Not meaning to sound cynical or anything, but shouldn't you be asking some
questions?

Like how is it a simple part like this broke in the first few minutes of
using the machine?

And perhaps most importantly, was this part produced in china by prison
workers?

I would be willig to bet that this sort of thing is much more common now
than it used to be. And it will become even more common in the future.