Photo Index - Delta/Rockwell of Canada Ltd. - 15-630 15" Drill Press "6+6" Floor Model

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Delta/Rockwell of Canada Ltd.
Guelph, ON

True Manufacturer:
Delta/Rockwell of Canada Ltd., Guelph, ON

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery & Metal Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Drill Press
Machine Size:	15"
Submitted By:	Markus Svilans

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	15-630 15" Drill Press "6+6" Floor Model
Date of Manufacturer:	approx. 1980
Serial Number:	200883
Last Updated	11/20/2011 2:32:17 PM

Comments:

Purchased from the original owner in November 2011.

Originally I had been thinking about purchasing a brand new floor model drill press. The 15" Ridgid from Home Depot seemed to be a decent price/quality combination, and I almost ended up buying it. However, since I was keeping one eye on used machines on Kijiji and Craigslist, I noticed that from time to time people were selling used older machines.

I live in Sudbury, but work took me to Ottawa for a week, so I took the opportunity to check out this 15" Rockwell 15-630 that a guy had up for sale. After trying it out a little bit, I knew this was the one. The price was the same as the new 15" Ridgid, but the Rockwell had a 3/4 HP motor and 6" spindle travel. Not to mention the sheer weight of all that cast iron. The 1/2 HP motor and and 3-3/4" spindle travel on the Ridgid just didn't measure up.

On the downside, it was clear that the Rockwell would need some love to get it back into good operating condition, and thankfully the previous owner was amenable to dropping his price a little bit because of that. The motor pulley had some serious wobble, which caused the belt to vibrate. The vibration wasn't quite bad enough to dance a 1/2" nut off the table, but it was still unacceptable. Afterward I learned that new pulleys (Delta part number 41-833) cost upward of $200 (and had I known that up front, I would have pushed for further price reduction, but done is done).

The top cover is cracked in a few places, but a little bit of fiber glass will fix that up. The belt is a little bit uneven, causing some noise at the spindle pulley, but belts are relatively inexpensive to replace.

Other than the motor pulley, the machine appears to be in very good shape. Everything is well oiled and the mechanical parts are rust free. The 3/4 HP motor is a real pleasure to work with. I've recently started some metal working projects, and this thing drills 1/2" holes in mild steel plate like it was butter. The only thing I would wish for is that spindle speeds lower than 425 RPM would be available, for drilling larger holes in metal.

Currently I am looking for a way to fix the pulley wobble without shelling out a few hundred bucks for brand new pulleys.

Photo 1:

Comments: Rockwell 15-630 drill press
Source: Markus Svilans

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Photo 2:

Comments: Rockwell 15-630 drill press
Source: Markus Svilans

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Photo 3:

Comments: Rockwell 15-630 drill press - closer view of top
Source: Markus Svilans

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Photo 4:

Comments: Rockwell 15-630 drill press - model number / serial number plate
Source: Markus Svilans

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