Delta DP600 Rebuild

[onesojourner]

I recently decided that my little grizzly bench top drill press and I will no longer be friends. So I started my search for a proper drill press and I ended up with 2, A 1950's Delta 17 and a Buffalo 18. This will be the restore process of the Delta. The Delta is a total basket case. I bought it in lots of little rusty pieces. I paid $200 for the Delta, and that was probably to much. I am missing the motor, both pulleys the table raising handle and the hand knob on the spring. The seller says he has those things so we will see what happens there.

With the help of a friend I got the head mostly torn down the day I bought the press and this is how I brought it home.

Finally here is a CL pic of the old buffalo. It is not yet in my possession. When it gets here It will get a full rebuild also.

 

[Packard V8]

Congrats. Both are excellent home shop DPs. The Delta is far more common and at any given time there are several being parted out on eBay. Be aware there are two variants of the 17" Delta and not all parts interchange. Parts aren't cheap, but they are available.

A 1/2hp ball bearing motor is sufficient for most home shop use. Don't buy a sleeve bearing for vertical mounting. If you find a bargain on 3/4hp or 1hp, be aware of your drive pulley IDs, as the shaft sizes of fractional horsepower motors can vary between 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" and 1". There are adapters to go smaller, but sometimes there's not enough material in the pulley to bore larger.

Your Delta has the #2 Morse taper spindle, so you'll either want to find an adapter and a chuck or watch for the more desirable but less common JT33 taper spindle which can direct mount a chuck. When buying a used JT33 spindle, be aware some have been abused to the point of going junk. Don't pay too much unless you can inspect it or the seller offers a money back guarantee.

The Buffalo is less common, but I understand the assets were reorganized and some parts are now available from Buffalo.

Bottom line - DPs are a blacksmith tool and anyone with patience and basic skills can repair and restore them.

jack vines

 

[tool_scrounge]

You might consider listing your general location in your profile. Otherwise folks who have spares of the parts you listed as needing but are borderline too much a pain to ship may not reach out to you.

The bafallo drill press looks pretty nice. Looks like you got the earlier cast iron partial belt guard. The full sheet metal belt guard showed up on the 15" drill press in 1957 and later (before 1968) on the 18".

 

[onesojourner]

Your Delta has the #2 Morse taper spindle, so you'll either want to find an adapter and a chuck or watch for the more desirable but less common JT33 taper spindle which can direct mount a chuck. When buying a used JT33 spindle, be aware some have been abused to the point of going junk. Don't pay too much unless you can inspect it or the seller offers a money back guarantee.

I actually got an old Jacobs with the delta. I think I am going to need to swap it for one that is a bit smaller though.

If I remember right this is a 3a. It is completely frozen up. I need to figure out what size key I need.

The Buffalo is less common, but I understand the assets were reorganized and some parts are now available from Buffalo.

The good news is the buffalo seems to be complete. I hope all it will need is bearings and a vfd.

 

[onesojourner]

You might consider listing your general location in your profile.

Done.

 

[Davefr]

I am missing the motor, both pulleys the table raising handle and the hand knob on the spring. The seller says he has those things so we will see what happens there.

Welcome to GJ and the DP600 owners club. A restored DP600 is a wonderful machine and will serve many generations.

My advice is to go back to the seller pronto and get those missing parts. They will take a lot of time to find on Ebay and even when you do they'll be expensive.

If you need a motor consider a 3 phase + VFD combo. Once you VFD a DP you'll never miss going back to belt changes.

The DP 600 is pretty straightforward to rebuild. The two trickiest parts are removing the locking collar to remove the quill and separating the upper and lower spindles. There's a hidden woodruff key!! Start soaking that locking collar right away if your machine is rusty.

Ask for help here or at OWWM.org and download all the manuals and parts lists at vintagemachinery.org. I'd also take a look at youtube. I believe there's a 4 part series of a DP600 restoration.

 

[onesojourner]

If you need a motor consider a 3 phase + VFD combo. Once you VFD a DP you'll never miss going back to belt changes.

The DP 600 is pretty straightforward to rebuild. The two trickiest parts are removing the locking collar to remove the quill and separating the upper and lower spindles. There's a hidden woodruff key!! Start soaking that locking collar right away if your machine is rusty.

If the seller has the motor for this it will be a single phase. If he cannot locate the motor I will definitely consider going with a 3 phase.

I have thoroughly soaked almost every fastener with kroil. That stuff is incredible.


Is that your 17? That is sharp! This is one of my favorites:

 

[Davefr]

Is that your 17? That is sharp!

Yes, thank you. This is how I found it. It came with a Walker Turner 1.5 HP 3 phase motor so I VFD'd it.

I've also attached an image of the "retaining collar from hell" and how I had to remove it. And here's the hidden key that separates the upper and lower spindle halves. Everything else was pretty easy.

Hope this helps.

 

[onesojourner]

This is my first time messing around with electrolysis and am super impressed. I figured I would start at the bottom and work my way up. The base of this drill press is huge when you are trying to find a container for it. I ended up having to flip this a couple times. It worked out ok. For the first round I just borrowed an old car battery charger. I pulled the base out of the bath after about a week. I spent about 30 minuted with a wire brush, mineral spirits and a scotch bright pad to get this paint ready.

 

[onesojourner]

Alright, Here is the column taking a bath. This spent about 5 days. It was pretty pitted. I also spent some time polishing up some of the hardware.

 

[onesojourner]

Alright I spent a solid 3 hours getting the column in decent shape. I should have set up a motor to spin it. I think I would have finished a bit faster. I also have everything apart at this point with exception of the serial tag. I have to try to get those little pins out. I have them soaking in kroil. I will see what I can get done on my lunch break today.

 

[Packard V8]

Progress! The Delta DP600 is a serious machine and worth the effort.

jack vines

 

[onesojourner]

I got the table pulled out today. It was kind of weird because the brown rust never really dropped off. So it looked almost like it did three days ago when I started it. It did clean up in about 15 minutes. I still have some work to do on it before paint. The final cast piece of the table is now in the electrolysis tank.

 

[onesojourner]

The head is now in the electrolysis tank. I will probably leave that for a week since most of the rust is on the inside and not in the line of site of the electrode, or is it anode? I can never keep it straight.

I just barely had enough paint to get that table parts painted, but I made it.

 

[exmaxima1]

I got the table pulled out today. It was kind of weird because the brown rust never really dropped off. So it looked almost like it did three days ago when I started it. It did clean up in about 15 minutes. I still have some work to do on it before paint. The final cast piece of the table is now in the electrolysis tank.

When I got my DP600 a few years ago it had a chewed up table worse than yours. I topped it with a scrap of tool plate. More work area, and much easier to clamp things down. Nice job so far!

 

[onesojourner]

When I got my DP600 a few years ago it had a chewed up table worse than yours. I topped it with a scrap of tool plate. More work area, and much easier to clamp things down. Nice job so far!

I think I am going to build something like this:

 

[onesojourner]

Alright, I need some input from you guys. I have 3 motor options to choose from, all are in my possession. I will only be keeping one. Also keep in mind I have another 18" 3 phase drill press that I will be restoring next. I will most likely only keep one.

 

[onesojourner]

I forgot the pics:

 

[onesojourner]

Do all three have the same shaft O.D. and mounting pattern? That might dictate your decision. Modifying mounts and shaft bushings can be a PIA. The DP600's use an oddball style motor mounting pattern.

Visually inspecting them it appears they will all work. I need to get some measurements though. I will try to get that done tonight after work.

1. 3 Phase Rockwell and add a Teco L510 VFD. A VFD on a DP is a marriage made in heaven.

This is the small motor. If one is not going to fit it will be this one. It is smaller than most of the motors you see hanging off the back of the 17's. Can you give me some of the reasoning behind picking this 3 phase motor first vs the black one?

2. The Repulsion motor as long as the brushes are good. It's easy to reverse them for L.H. drilling. It's also 120V.

3. The 220V 1 phase motor. This would be my last choice because 220V outlets can be a PIA unless your shop has plenty of them already installed.

The motor on the left is 120 0r 220v single phase.

The motor on the right (black one) is 220v 3 phase.

The other consideration is the bearing condition and available replacements. I'd never put any of those motors into service without complete bearing replacement and/or overhaul.

That is my plan. Once I get the bearing numbers for the motor of choice I will put in an order with Accurate. I can start pulling these apart if it would be useful in making the decision.

 

[Davefr]

This is the small motor. If one is not going to fit it will be this one. It is smaller than most of the motors you see hanging off the back of the 17's. Can you give me some of the reasoning behind picking this 3 phase motor first vs the black one?

Sorry, I misread the nameplate and thought the one in the middle was 1 phase. I'd pick whichever one of those two 3 phase motors would be the easiest mount. The repulsion motor would be my last choice. I believe the 86-920 middle motor was a factory option for the DP600. It also has higher amps then the one on the right.

Three phase motors are also very easy to overhaul.

 

[lafester]

So how are you doing on this build?
Mine is almost complete after hunting down too many parts on ebay.
I really like it though and for the price, and availability of parts, you can't really go wrong.

I'm talking about the Delta of course

I'm stupidly thinking of picking up another to fix up and flip since nobody seems to want it.

Visually inspecting them it appears they will all work. I need to get some measurements though. I will try to get that done tonight after work.

This is the small motor. If one is not going to fit it will be this one. It is smaller than most of the motors you see hanging off the back of the 17's. Can you give me some of the reasoning behind picking this 3 phase motor first vs the black one?

The motor on the left is 120 0r 220v single phase.

The motor on the right (black one) is 220v 3 phase.

That is my plan. Once I get the bearing numbers for the motor of choice I will put in an order with Accurate. I can start pulling these apart if it would be useful in making the decision.

 

[Tarnished]

Lafester: I'm awed that you consider my Delta 17 one of your favorites. It is defiantly an awesome machine, and one of my daily drivers. (W/T 14" gets the most use)
Mine wasn't in much better condition when I found it, and it is a combination of 3 different machines to this point.

(As Found)
Not exactly "original", but set up the way I wanted it. This one came with the 1hp 1ph motor, but I have another 17" with the 3ph that I plan on using a VFD when I get around to doing the restore on that machine.
You will love the Delta when you get it done. Looking forward to seeing your build.

(Daily Drivers)

 

[lafester]

Is that table from the newer model 17? Exactly what I am looking for.

Lafester: I'm awed that you consider my Delta 17 one of your favorites. It is defiantly an awesome machine, and one of my daily drivers. (W/T 14" gets the most use)
Mine wasn't in much better condition when I found it, and it is a combination of 3 different machines to this point.

(As Found)
Not exactly "original", but set up the way I wanted it. This one came with the 1hp 1ph motor, but I have another 17" with the 3ph that I plan on using a VFD when I get around to doing the restore on that machine.
You will love the Delta when you get it done. Looking forward to seeing your build.

(Daily Drivers)

 

[Tarnished]

Is that table from the newer model 17? Exactly what I am looking for.

Yea, I picked up a couple of BEAT Delta 17's from a factory closing few years ago, and was able to pick and choose which parts to keep. This is the table from one of them. I believe both were DP17-600's vintage 1967.
Made this Frankendrill from all three machines. Was pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and the way it works in my shop.

Here were my choices for table:

T-slot hands down winner!

onesojourner: I like your choice for paint. Lighter ones just look so CLEAN! If I was doing it over again, think I would go the lighter color route. What was your paint color?

 

[lafester]

Does that table have a part number on it?

Yea, I picked up a couple of BEAT Delta 17's from a factory closing few years ago, and was able to pick and choose which parts to keep. This is the table from one of them. I believe both were DP17-600's vintage 1967.
Made this Frankendrill from all three machines. Was pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and the way it works in my shop.

Here were my choices for table:

T-slot hands down winner!

onesojourner: I like your choice for paint. Lighter ones just look so CLEAN! If I was doing it over again, think I would go the lighter color route. What was your paint color?

 

[Tarnished]

Does that table have a part number on it?

lafester, I don't really know. I crawled under and took these snaps, but they don't look like Delta numbers to me. Maybe others will know more. VintageMichinery.org is your friend!
Here is what I have:

 

[lafester]

lafester, I don't really know. I crawled under and took these snaps, but they don't look like Delta numbers to me. Maybe others will know more. VintageMichinery.org is your friend!
Here is what I have:

Thanks! I'll check them out and see.
I've been looking around owwm and have only seen a few of these tables.

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