Photo Index - Delta Specialty/Delta Mfg. Co./Delta-Rockwell/Rockwell Intl. - 1200

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Delta Specialty/Delta Mfg. Co./Delta-Rockwell/Rockwell Intl.
Milwaukee, WI; Jackson, TN; Tupelo, MS

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Jig or Scroll Saw
Machine Size:	24"
Submitted By:	William Pierce

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	1200
Date of Manufacturer:	ca. 1937
Serial Number:	none
Last Updated	6/4/2011 1:31:33 PM

Comments:

This saw is one of the oldest of this design, made before Milwaukee was added to the Delta name and before serial numbers were assigned. It was given to me by a neighbor who had received it as a gift, and it actually is the second of two scroll saws given to me during the past six months. Unfortunately, this machine had been stored outside under an old rug for a number of years and was pretty badly rusted (as shown in the As Found photo). The table cleaned up reasonably well; however, it is pitted from exposure to the elements. The drive pulley was broken, and there was no belt guard or stand. The retirement lamp was a welcome feature, as I previously did not have one.

I disassembled the saw completely, removed the rust from the frame and repainted, drained and cleaned the sump and the internal parts, polished parts as appropriate, made new gaskets, rewired, and reassembled. The replacement pulley, belt guard, and stand and the reproduction decals were obtained from other members.

The motor is a Marathon model 1289, 1/3 hp, which runs superbly. The saw was made in the day when the instruction manual provided the recommended motor specifications; no motor was supplied with the saw. As a result, this could be the motor the original owner installed. I'd prefer a Delta-branded motor, but the only one I currently have is some twenty years newer than the saw.

The knob on the free end of the motor shaft is shop made until I find the real thing, as are the table insert, J- bolts, and blower tube. The switch box is bolted to another handy box located behind the front lip of the stand. The rear box contains a duplex receptacle wired such that the outlet for the retirement lamp is energized at all times. This affords light for blade changes and adjustments when the saw is off.

The shopmade base arrangement (wheels in the rear not shown) raises the saw a few inches. As I'm fairly tall, I find the extra height helpful for complex cutting.

The original gray color, as identified on the areas of the main casting covered by the gearbox plates, was much lighter than most "Delta" grays. I chose Rustoleum Professional Light Machinery Gray which by no means is a perfect match but does distinguish the saw from other Delta machines in my shop. The belt guard, which was not a particularly smooth casting, was cleaned up and painted with Rustoleum Silver Hammered.

Despite its age and the years of neglect, this is one of the smoothest scroll saws I have used.

Photo 1:

Comments: Completed restoration
Source: Canon

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Photo 2:

Comments: Frontal view, completed
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Photo 3:

Comments: Completed. Shopmade motor knob in foreground
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Photo 4:

Comments: As found, complete with several bees nests and a mouse nest inside the casting.
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Photo 5:

Comments: "Before" shot of stand. Someone had taken a cutting torch to the bottom shelf; must have been a really stubborn bolt!
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