Delta Homecraft Lathe pics posted in abpw

[John Moorhead]

Folks -

Well, I finally posted the pics of the start of the project - getting the lathe off of the floor and closer to being a tool instead of an anchor.

The setup that my dad had originally had an intermediate shaft for a greater range of speeds. The way that it kept tension on the drive belt, and hooked up to the motor was a bridge to far, if I wanted to put the motor in the base cabinet. So, now the lathe only has 4 speeds.

I just finished wiring the motor to an easier to use switch and added a power outlet (1 switched with the lathe, one hot) so I can hook up a shop vac or some such and have it handy.

I have to turn some gallery spindles ASAP for screen doors, then turn some spindles for a rocking chair project that is beyond overdue. The wif wants to jump in and help, and that's fine by me. I just want to get the thing steady, safe and sharp before I give her the green light.

Pop had this cross vice tool mount for precise work, presumably in metal as there were a mess of small metal type cutters about 1/4" square. The lathe doesn't have a lead screw, so that's kind of odd... I'll post more pics of the tooling in the next go round.

Can anyone point me to the story behind "Rockwell Delta Milwaukee Homecraft"? I have a drill press and 4" jointer of the same make.

Thanks!

John Moorhead

[Bob Itnyre]

Have you tried

? They have a lot of data and pictures on old wood working machines. I've found some very usful as well as interesting information on that site. Good Luck, Bob

[John Moorhead]

Weelllllll..... Based on the serial number, the lathe was mfd in late '51. There were a couple of examples that looked spot on... I am going to check out info on the drill press as it is of the same vintage..

John

[Unisaw A100]

Be careful John. Delta didn't build some of the Homecraft line at the Milwaukee plant and therefore the numbers didn't/don't always match the list from that plant.

UA100