DIYbanter - Good experience on delta planer support (Yoohoo Steve knight)

Steve knight recently needed to replace a portable planer in a hurry and
told about the infeed roller tearing up on his Delta 22-580 planer. This
is one of those "wear and tear" parts on this portable planer, so I've
learned. Well, around that time I had a problem with my infeed roller
shredding a bit. I "fixed" it by taking some fine sand paper and sanding
the rough spot on the roller, prolonging its life a bit. Now my planer is
13 months old (2 year warranty), so I decided to see how this would be
viewed as a warranty item. I looked up the local rep (Circle Saw Builders
in Houston) and spoke to Tom. Now let me tell you, its so nice to get that
personal "I give a hoot" service. Tom told me that Delta service had gotten
a lot more picky on warranty claims since B&D took them over and he did not
know if they would pay for the infeed roller under warranty. I asked him
how big a job it was. He said it was about $50 parts and labor or I could
buy the part for $30.70. He assured me that it was a user repairable job to
change the roller. He suggested I call Delta support (800)-223-PART and
tell them my situation and ask if they would just ship me a new part for
self installation under warranty. Well, 10 minutes later I was talking to
the nicest lady who took my particulars and shipped me a new roller with no
questions asked and no charge.

I took the time to call Tom back and let him know how much I appreciated his
help and how well Delta had responded. I made his day and mine. He said he
believes Delta (B&D) has swung the pendulum way to far the other way and he
hoped they would get back in line with the great heritage their name
represents.

By the way, Tom told me the service that tends to eat rollers up is either
1) lots of small sharp pieces or 2) long very heavy pieces. I am still
happy with my Delta planer. For me, blades and rollers last a year. At a
cost of $28 and $31 respectively, I'll use this planer until it rolls over
dead.

Bob