Photo Index - Delta Specialty/Delta Mfg. Co./Delta-Rockwell/Rockwell Intl. - Drill Press 17 inch

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:	Drill Press
Machine Size:	17 inch
Submitted By:	Gerald Buttigieg

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Drill Press 17 inch
Date of Manufacturer:	1948
Serial Number:	65-8118 (View SN Registry Entry)
Last Updated	8/19/2014 3:34:14 PM

Comments:

September 2006. In passing I visited my friend Eric in Pinetown, South Africa who does General Engineering, Turning etc. and remembering he had a Rockwell Drill Press took my camera with me so I could photograph it for the photo index. The second picture shows the Delta Drill press in his engineering works. It is the largest DP I have come across so far. The Serial Number dates it as 1948. I could not find a model number label but it appears to be a 17 inch type. Eric told me he bought it at auction and everything on it is functional. The table looks a bit small for the size machine but it turns out this was the standard table fitted. The motor is not original. It is a FEMCO(SA make) and runs off 220V. I asked Eric if the DP was up for sale but at this time he said no he wanted to keep it for his business. Would be alovely machine to do up.

November 2006. Strange how one thing leads to another but I was speaking to Eric (above) again in connection with a part I wanted him to make. He asked whether I was still interested in buying the Delta Drill Press I had shown interest in as he had other drill presses and this one could go. I asked him the price and he wanted Rand 1500 (approximately $200.) I contacted Eric Tuck (OWWM) as he had one and he convinced me it was worth the asking price. The drill press has just been brought home and I think its first ever refurbishment will start soon. I have now edited the picture gallery to show a picture of the drill press in its refurbished state. I am pleased with the result and I am not sorry that I bought the machine. I am astounded at the weight of the drill press and really they did not skimp on material for this model. The table was not in the best condition having an array of holes drilled right across in the usual arc. I repaired the table by filling the holes with an epoxy putty which I blackened in order to get a match with the table. The result was pretty good. The labels were individually revamped and as you can see have been restored with a bit more colour than they had. The drill press makes it an "all Rockwell machine" in my shop now.

During 2009, Mike Welner from Bemidji Minnesota, offered a knob for the return spring cover for sale on the BOYD forum. I contacted Mike and he offered it to me free for the cost of the shipping. It duly arrived and now reinstates the drill press to original condition.

During October 2010, I was given the two bottom portions from a foot feed attachment by Barry Parkin, a friend of mine, in return for me having refurbished a small WT drill press for him. Unfortunately he had no idea where the top three parts, the gear sector, the shaft and the lever were or whether they were still attached to the original DP. Without these parts the lower parts were useless. I stripped the lower section only to find that the heavy return spring had been broken at some point and probably why the foot feed had been removed from the DP. I took the return spring in to a spring manufacturer in Pietermaritzburg to see if they could make a copy. They could and did make a copy and it fitted well but could not be tried out until I had the missing parts that complete the foot feed. I then put out a Want to Buy on the owwm.org BOYD forum thinking this would be a hard call. It would be miracle to find the three missing parts out here. I had three responses, the first was for all three parts but rather pricey and beyond my pocket. Remember I still had to pay for shipping over to South Africa. The second offer was for the gear sector only which was not practical, but the third offer from John Snyder (from Brush Prairie WA) was reasonable albeit the shipping would increase the end price. I decided to accept John's offer and the deal went through with the three parts being posted via USPS 23rd December 2010, arriving at Byrne South Africa on 10th January 2011. I had to manufacture the linkage as this was missing as well but it was simple to fabricate. I used lengths of mild steel 12 mm rod and the tube is copper water pipe. The foot feed attachment was added and I must say that this addition makes the DP one of the very few in South Africa I would say to have an original foot feed fitted. The copied return spring works well so that was a success. The ultimate would be to find a production type table which perhaps the original DP was fitted with but that would be another quest item.
The 17 inch Drill Press has been one of my prize "gets" and I have sent Eric photos of it in its now refurbished state. The light is my own attachment. The Model No. is 17-205.

Photo 1:

Comments: Refurbished and looking good for 60 years.
Source: GB's Roving Sony

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Photo 2:

Comments: Taken in 2006 when first seen in Eric Boyd"s engineering works. Note washed out front label.
Source: GB's Roving Sony

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Photo 3:

Comments: Serial Number Plate and to the right the return spring cover with proper knob missing.
Source: GB's Roving Sony

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Photo 4:

Comments: Did a number on the labels.
Source: GB's Roving Sony

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Photo 5:

Comments: The correct knob for this vintage machine for the return spring cover.
Source: GB's Roving Sony

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Photo 6:

Comments: The DP now with foot feed added. The table is covered with a wooden table which incorporates rails to fit a DP vice and allows it to be fixed at any angle on the surface.
Source: GB's Roving Sony

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