Every Shop Needs a Milling Machine

The Grant St. Garage has a rather complete set of woodworking tools, but they are usually the cheaper version, often bought used, and that sometimes makes for compromises. My Delta 12" planer is a good example. This little benchtop machine has planed thousands of feet of lumber without complaint, and it works great. But when it was designed, chip collection was not a big part of the equation. Delta did offer a bent sheet metal attachment, and I bought it to hook to my dust collector. It works more or less adequately, but its design is poor compared to more modern equipment like the Dewalt 13" benchtop planer.

Anyway, today I noticed that the duct had pulled loose on one side. The thin metal, held by a pair of tiny wing nuts, was just not up to the task.