Photo Index - Delta / Rockwell Mfg / Rockwell-Delta - Model 930 Lathe (cast Iron bed)

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Delta / Rockwell Mfg / Rockwell-Delta
Milwaukee, WI; Pittsburgh, PA; Jackson, TN; Tupelo, MS

True Manufacturer:
Delta / Rockwell Mfg / Rockwell-Delta, Milwaukee, WI; Pittsburgh, PA; Jackson, TN; Tupelo, MS

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Lathe, Wood
Machine Size:	11"
Submitted By:	D.L. (Larry) Felton

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Model 930 Lathe (cast Iron bed)
Date of Manufacturer:	1940-1941
Serial Number:	9-5610
Last Updated	9/19/2012 1:15:13 AM

Comments:

This Model 930 was acquired in the Sacramento, CA area through CL; no history was known/forthcoming from the seller. It has a cast iron bed, which shows up as an improvement on the earlier Model 930 steel bed in the 1941 catalog (http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1141/2685.pdf). The original stepped pulley was damaged, as was the housing for the indexing pin - I suspect someone started the machine with it engaged. I had to buy a similar lathe to get a pulley to make this one functional (and so it goes, down this slippery but fascinating slope...). The back end of the tailstock has a well-executed repair to replace the threaded pot-metal cap. It's not original, but works fine and is probably stronger as a result (see image below).

The late-1940/early-1941 manufacture date conclusion is based on the serial number and the patent number decal on the left end of the headstock. The serial number (9-5610) precedes the earliest documented series (13-0000, used in 1941, per Keith Bohn's article at: http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/DeltaSerialNumbers.ashx). The most recent patent number on the poorly-preserved decal (2,210,135) was granted on Aug. 6, 1940. (I got great help locating images of more intact examples of this decal from the OWWM discussion group: http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=119016).

I disassembled, cleaned, and repainted the headstock and tailstock before putting the lathe in service. I removed the oxidized surface of the nasty greenish paint on the bed to reveal a distinctly bluish gray original color, and went to some length (not entirely successfully) to tint a Rustoleum gray base to match. The bearings, once cleaned, seemed OK, so I re-used them, adding shims to reduce the end-to-end play. I made some additional shims from brass shim stock, and it seems to run fine. There is some of the often-mentioned oil leakage around the original felt seals when running. I'm considering the possibility of installing some modern seals, as described by Lee Thomas on the OWWM site and elsewhere (http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19421&p=97102&hilit=delta+lathe+bearing+seals#p97102; http://www.yankeetoys.org/lee/lathe-4.htm).

After using the lathe for a few weeks, I finally got around to painting the bed and jury-rigging a Rube Goldberg-esque belt guard (I wouldn't want to get my tie caught in the belt... doesn't everyone turn in their necktie, as shown in the 1930s Delta literature??). Now I have to get out there and find a third old Delta lathe to buy to get parts so I can fix up the second one, an older steel bed 930... I can see this isn't going to end well...

Photo 1:

Comments: Repainted, back in service
Source: My Canon PowereShot SX200

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Photo 2:

Comments: Replacement pulley, SN, painting under way. Headstock repainted; oxidation cleaned from bed but not yet repainted.
Source: My Canon PowereShot SX200

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Photo 3:

Comments: Patent decal; most recent marked.
Source: My Canon PowereShot SX200

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Photo 4:

Comments: Maker's decal; remant of original paint on bottom plate of tailstock.
Source: My Canon PowereShot SX200

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Photo 5:

Comments: Tailstock repair; "fins" added to provide points to attach the new cap with hex-head machine screws.
Source: My Canon PowereShot SX200

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Photo 6:

Comments: As-found; original CL image. Included box with gouges and many original accessories.
Source: Craigs List

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