Delta drill Press, Which one is it? Please identify.

[Luntz]

Any idea what model this is?

 

[jmarkwolf]

Post your pic on the 1930-50s-delta-milwaukee-picture thread this forum.

There are Delta historians over there.

 

[Packard V8]

Looks like an early Delta 17".

jack vines

 

[Firebrick43]

That is a prewar delta 17" Many call them DP600 for the main casting number. Delta never called them by the "dp 600" however, just a 17" drill press.

Its prewar because of the cast iron front belt guard/art deco rear guard. During the war they went to an all pressed steel guard of similar styling, after the war they simplified it and got away from the art deco influences.

 

[Luntz]

You guys are a wealth of information. Where is the serial number located?
It's in decent shape. I can pick it up for a couple hundred bucks if I want it.
It's got a 3 phase motor, so I'd have to delve into that world.

 

[Luntz]

Interesting find concerning the brass tag of the distributor for the drill press. Found this picture of the Smith Booth Usher Company located in Los Angeles circa 1938 on the Los Angeles Public Library site.
Even more interesting is the description of the amateur Photographer that took the picture:

Herman J. Schultheis was born in Aachen, Germany in 1900, and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1920s after obtaining a Ph.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering. He married Ethel Wisloh in 1936, and the pair moved to Los Angeles the following year. He worked in the film industry from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s, most notably on the animated features Fantasia and Pinocchio. His detailed notebook, documenting the special effects for Fantasia, is the subject of a 14-minute short-subject included on the film's DVD. In 1949, he started employment with Librascope as a patentengineer. Schultheis was an avid amateur photographer who traveled the world with his cameras. It was on one of these photographic exhibitions in 1955 that he disappeared in the jungles of Guatemala. His remains were discovered 18 months later.

Ph.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering, in 1920's. Died in the jungles of Guatemala in 1955!!!!??? WTF????
Can you imagine the tools he used??!!!!

 

[slowtwitch73]

That's a nice one ... early. I have a bit later one. It was the same freekin green color when I got it.

 

[Tarnished]

That is a prewar delta 17" Many call them DP600 for the main casting number. Delta never called them by the "dp 600" however, just a 17" drill press.

Its prewar because of the cast iron front belt guard/art deco rear guard. During the war they went to an all pressed steel guard of similar styling, after the war they simplified it and got away from the art deco influences.

What Firebrick said! Probably no S/N as may have been paper label which is long gone. Pre 1941. Looks like a good resto project. The CI guard alone is worth $200, has the table lift, and nice table, no arc of shame. The motor is probably not original, but looks period. Can change out motor to 1ph or use a VFD. Nice find and certainly worth the effort. Good place to start might be here: A Delta Curiosity: Keep us posted

 

[crguy]

It's a great drill press. Would be even better if it had the bigger production table. Well worth $200. even if you have to put a different motor on it.

 

[rancherbill]

That's a great deal. As mentioned get a VFD and you're going.

I am amazed, it's 80 plus years old and there 2 really bad marks of shame and the center hole looks only a little wonky.