Found an old Delta Bandsaw....

[Huck]

It's a wood/metal saw, model 28-303. Found it at a surplus auction and travelled to preview it.
It looks to be all intact except for the door covering the pulley area is missing. One thing that I didn't like is the knob to engage/disengage the gearbox is seized.
I couldn't remove the v-belt from that big pulley to the motor and could only turn the big pulley an inch or so, the blade moved with it.
The gearbox is full of oil,and looks to be very lightly used....the staff claimed it was in storage for years and they didn't have a 230 volt outlet to power it up.
I know very little about these older saws so don't know what the best case/worst case would be if there's an issue with the gearbox.
Anyone with experience have an opinion?
Thanks.

 

[454ragtop]

The Delta experts hang out over at OWWM.org Might ask over there.

 

[zkling]

As the owner of 2 of them, I'd suggest a larger bandsaw. Or even a portaband on a swag stand.

You can jog the input shafts a bit to make sure the gears line up as you put pressure on the shift lever, but the shift mechanism could be gummed or rusted up. They are pretty fragile so don't force it.

Plan on putting all new bearings in. The table trunions (what it pivots on) are extremely fragile.

 

[Packard V8]

I love the old Delta machinery and own a lot of it. Despite their claim, there is no such machine as a wood/metal bandsaw. The wood-cutting Delta is a nice light duty machine. Trying to cut metal will inevitably result in frustration.

jack vines

 

[Huck]

As the owner of 2 of them, I'd suggest a larger bandsaw. Or even a portaband on a swag stand.

You can jog the input shafts a bit to make sure the gears line up as you put pressure on the shift lever, but the shift mechanism could be gummed or rusted up. They are pretty fragile so don't force it.

Plan on putting all new bearings in. The table trunions (what it pivots on) are extremely fragile.

Thanks, I didn't know about the trunions, I'm going to put a appropriate bid in to make sure of some headroom for buying parts.

 

[Huck]

I love the old Delta machinery and own a lot of it. Despite their claim, there is no such machine as a wood/metal bandsaw. The wood-cutting Delta is a nice light duty machine. Trying to cut metal will inevitably result in frustration.

jack vines

Ya, most dual purpose machines are like that. But compared to the stuff coming out of China....I plan on using it for domestic duty only, just some angle iron and so on.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I love the old Delta machinery and own a lot of it. Despite their claim, there is no such machine as a wood/metal bandsaw. The wood-cutting Delta is a nice light duty machine. Trying to cut metal will inevitably result in frustration.

jack vines

You might want to rethink that broad statement.
This is a picture of my two Delta Rockwell band saws. The saw on the left is a woodcutting saw, model 28-350. The saw on the right is a wood/metal cutting version, with a two speed gear box, along with a variable speed reeves drive. Speeds range from 45 fpm to 4500 fpm, model 28-365. Not the difference in table thickness and drive types.

 

[ez-duzit]

I've owned a number of Delta bandsaws. The old wood/metal saw, if in good condition, is a great tool. But the reality is you should get a quality, vertical/horizontal, metal-cutting bandsaw, if you are serious about metalwork, and a vertical wood bandsaw for wood.

 

[crguy]

I love the old Delta machinery and own a lot of it. Despite their claim, there is no such machine as a wood/metal bandsaw. The wood-cutting Delta is a nice light duty machine. Trying to cut metal will inevitably result in frustration.

jack vines

Yeah, I'm going to disagree with that also. I've cut 1" steel plate on the 14" Delta I used to have.

I now have a 14" Walker Turner wood/metal that is a heavier machine. Have cut 2 - 3" steel with it.

Not fast, but it gets it done.

 

[exmaxima1]

.....It's a wood/metal saw, model 28-303. One thing that I didn't like is the knob to engage/disengage the gearbox is seized.
I couldn't remove the v-belt from that big pulley to the motor and could only turn the big pulley an inch or so, the blade moved with it......

That knob is found on the later versions of that saw, as the earlier model had a lever. The gear oil gets very gummy after 50 years or so, and makes that knob nearly impossible to slide by hand. Spray the shaft with penetrating oil for a few days and try to wiggle it. Spray again and try it again. Eventually it will slide to shift the gearbox.

 

[Norcal]

I have a Rockwell 20" wood/metal bandsaw, if only could find out what lubricant goes in the gearbox then could start to use it. My saw is a later (1976) version of OccupantRJ's saws in post #7 & based on the catalog number was a former educational machine. If the OP gets the 14" W/M saw at a decent price, doubt he will regret it.

 

[exmaxima1]

I have a Rockwell 20" wood/metal bandsaw, if only could find out what lubricant goes in the gearbox then could start to use it. My saw is a later (1976) version of OccupantRJ's saws in post #7 & based on the catalog number was a former educational machine. If the OP gets the 14" W/M saw at a decent price, doubt he will regret it.

Gear lube with API GL-5 rating would qualify, as it is considered "extreme pressure" and roughly from that era. If your bandsaw has brass/bronze gears, I would go with GL-4 lubricant as it is better suited for brass.

 

[OccupantRJ]

My saw info specified #0 grease for my gearbox. Not easy to find locally. I finally found it at the John Deere dealer as corn header grease.

 

[Norcal]

Gear lube with API GL-5 rating would qualify, as it is considered "extreme pressure" and roughly from that era. If your bandsaw has brass/bronze gears, I would go with GL-4 lubricant as it is better suited for brass.

I can't remember if it used brass/bronze gears, been many years since I was in it, I used for a few minutes to cut some thin plastic, but because the gear box is dry, do not wish to push the issue.