I have been cleaning out the rat hole and had to move some of these machines around so I thought I would push them together for a "Delta Family Portrait". Hard to get them spread out enough for a group pic in my small shop but you can get a good idea of the verity of wood working machines that Delta produced.
Delta Family Portrait
- Thread starter Tarnished
- Start date
purplezr2
Well-known member
Nice collection. I like my delta shaper
Wow, very nice Delta collection.
Toolfool
Well-known member
Those photos really show how far the quality of machine manufacturing has sunken. 
Roberts210
Well-known member
Ho Lee ****!! You have an astounding set of Delta machines, and most look like you lovingly restored them.
captain14
Well-known member
Very nice collection.
What’s the manufacturing date between the oldest to youngest?
What’s the manufacturing date between the oldest to youngest?
Luntz
Well-known member
I feel massively inadequate .................One of each type of machine would be nice.
paulsomlo
Well-known member
That's my kind of family!
wow, superb collection!
tombell572
Well-known member
The amount of cast iron that went into those beautiful machine bases is mind-boggling.
Tom B.
Tom B.
Firstram: the big saw is called a Delta 12/14. It can take up to a 14" blade. I believe it morphed into the RT-40 later in life. And your correct, it is a joy to use. Especially when cutting large stock.
Captain: Sorry, I really don't know. have to look. Most of the machines are from the late 40's to probably the 60's. The Rockwell Unisaw is probably the youngest being 1985.
Wow, never thought about favorite. All are usable machines and do get used periodically, some almost daily. The Rockwell unisaw with the Biesemeyer fence gets used all the time mostly because of the fence but I guess the favorite would have to be the 14" bandsaws or the drill presses or the......
lafester
Well-known member
I like the 17 with t slot table, foot feet and machine lamp.
Lafester: You have good taste. The 17 is a great drill press made even better with the T slot production table from a later machine. There were a LOT of the 17's made in all types of configuration for a lot of years so there are a ton of these to be had. I would love to have the 17" in a 2 headed cast iron table model if I only had the room.
gatewaysysop
Well-known member
Beautiful shop and fantastic collection of old iron. Talk about living the dream. Glad all that cast iron goodness is still being put to use too. Outstanding.
lafester
Well-known member
I could have almost made one like that but instead I went with a variable speed head and the smaller clamp table. I sold the t slot table although I probably should have kept it around. I only have a few foot feed parts gathered so far.Lafester: You have good taste. The 17 is a great drill press made even better with the T slot production table from a later machine. There were a LOT of the 17's made in all types of configuration for a lot of years so there are a ton of these to be had. I would love to have the 17" in a 2 headed cast iron table model if I only had the room.
Lafester: As far as the foot feed goes, it doesn't get used that much. Seems to be pretty useful if your doing multiple holes, or constant down pressure for big hole, but most times it is just in the way. I have it on both the 17" and the 14" and for most operations I still use the hand feed. Varable speed would be nice and I have kept a 17" 3ph (not shown) around to use a vfd with but haven't found the need to set it up yet.
SquareWave
Well-known member
Dam nice collection
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
Really nice collection. The earlier 17" drill press with the later T-slot table did have me a bit puzzled to start. I agree it is a nice combination.
Tool_Scrounge: The T slot caused me quite a bit of concern for it not being original to the this machine. But in the end I thought I would get more use out of it this way than with the standard table and I do. So I kept the original table for the next guy.
Thanks everyone. It has been an ongoing project for quite a few years and hopefully will continue for a few more.
There are 25 Delta machines in these pictures and I think only 19 have been completed (not counting the planner which is my current project) so you can see I still have a few more to go. Here's a better pic of the "grinders" spread out a little.
Thanks everyone. It has been an ongoing project for quite a few years and hopefully will continue for a few more.
There are 25 Delta machines in these pictures and I think only 19 have been completed (not counting the planner which is my current project) so you can see I still have a few more to go. Here's a better pic of the "grinders" spread out a little.
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
Tarnished - I just went thru the same delema this weekend with a Delta 31-352 1x42 belt grinder. I have an 80s vintage one in nice shape but with the cost reduced sheet metal table and bar stock idler wheel arm. I ran into a early 70s vintage one in only fair condition with a non-original motor but with the more desireable cast iron table and arm. In the end I decided neither was ever going to be collector grade and swapped the tables and idler arms. I end up with the configuration I wanted and my neighbor ended up with the 70's version I had tuned up at a price he could afford.
lafester
Well-known member
I mix and match all the time to get the best possible combination. I've gone through 5 stanley grinders just to get two complete ones with decent badges. For some reason these are always completely beat and missing parts. My 17 delta has parts from 3 different models to get the combination I wanted. My 6 inch sander again has parts from 3 different machines to make it complete and in good condition.
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Yea that's what it takes to make a complete machine now. Parts are so rare and unattainable that you have to scavenge parts to get a working model. Frustrating! But the finished product is worth it in the end. This has to be a labor of love as no one is willing to pay for all the time and energy it takes to source the parts and do the repair. Probably why most just buy new and chuck old when it quits. LOL.
My goal is to keep things as original as possible when possible. After all it is only "original" once. But I have no problem making the machine fit MY needs. If that takes 2 or more machines to make it happen so be it. If I can't complete the second donor machine, I am sure there is someone looking for the parts I can't use so nothing really goes to waste. One mistake I made is keeping "original" paint. If I had it to do over again I would repaint ALL that machines in the same color. Oh well, maybe next time.
My goal is to keep things as original as possible when possible. After all it is only "original" once. But I have no problem making the machine fit MY needs. If that takes 2 or more machines to make it happen so be it. If I can't complete the second donor machine, I am sure there is someone looking for the parts I can't use so nothing really goes to waste. One mistake I made is keeping "original" paint. If I had it to do over again I would repaint ALL that machines in the same color. Oh well, maybe next time.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Damn!