Delta 700 Scroll Saw Restoration, and Upgrade

[Larry Buskirk]

"Back From the Archives"

 

Hi,

I am about to undertake the restoration, and upgrade of a Delta model 700 Scroll Saw. This model was available from 1931 to 1937 in the Delta catalogs. I have two of these saws, and will be using the best parts from both units to complete one machine. Both of the machines as I received them either had the upper blade chuck missing or broken, so this is where the upgrade part of the restoration comes into play. I will be using the plunger bearing, shaft, and upper blade chuck from a later model Delta Scroll saw to replace what I have found to be a rather unobtainable part to locate. At the same time I will maintain the ability to index the upper blade chuck, plus add easier to perform blade tensioning to the saw.

 

First the saws.

 

Now for a look at the original upper blade chuck assembly.

 

Now a look at the parts that I'll be using for the modification.

 

A comparison of the upper blade chucks, I'll be using the smaller one.

 

A showing of the parts after a little rework.

 

All machining work was accomplished using 180 grit sandpaper, and a 1/8" round file.

 

The bearing was turned down with sandpaper to fit the upper head casting, and the large brass washers inner diameter were enlarged to fit the shoulder on the plunger bearing. These were in turn epoxied to the bearing shoulder, and each other. The file slot is for blade indexing, and gets secured using the 6-32 Brass machine screw, and knurl nut. The plunger shaft was cut just below the fiber washer, then 1" was removed from the shaft. The next step was to turn the head of the 10-32 machine screw down to fit in the end of the plunger shaft. This was then silver soldered into the shaft. This will accomplish the bade tensioning by shortening the shaft's length. The smaller brass washers will be epoxied to the top of the fiber washer assembly's metal part.

 

Another view showing the assembly.

 

Another view showing original versus the remake.

 

And another.

 

And a test fit view on the saw.

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the photo quality, but this is my first time using a digital camera, it's also the first time that I've posted pictures to a website. So thanks for understanding.

I hope that you have enjoyed the show, and thanks for looking. More to come later, as I now have to pick the best parts from the rest of the remains....

Oh, and who was it that said you can't fit a square peg in a round hole???

It all depends upon how you go about it!!!

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Bob Kloes]

Really nice job. I have most of a 440 sitting here if you want the table. Not sure if it fits or not, but you are welcome to it. Good luck on the rest of your saw. bob

[Larry Buskirk]

Thank's Bob,

Thank you for the kind words.

 

If you've got the lower blade chuck I might try replacing the lower chuck also. Both chucks are made from a pot metal substance, and are prone to breakage on the 700's. As to the table the one from the second saw is in pretty decent shape so I've got that covered. I'm not sure exactly what model saw the replacement plunger parts are from. I'm also not sure if the lower blade chuck from a later saw will fit, or be able to be made to fit the 700 or not.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Larry Buskirk]

Hi Again, I tore the saws down today, one completely down to the bare castings so I can get the castings ready for paint.

 

The castings are now soaking in de greaser for cleaning up.

The better of the two tables, it's missing the angle scale visible on the upside down table with the lower drive parts on it.

 

A few more views of today's progress.

 

 

 

Bad scoring on the lower chuck plunger shaft, hopefully the one from the other saw is in better shape.

 

Bottom view of better table showing missing angle scale, and cardboard shims.

 

So, as I get the castings ready for paint I guess it's decision time as to paint colors. After being wowed by Shane's Universal Woodworker, I believe the brass parts of the upper head assembly beg for black. So I'll be going with Hammered Black on the main castings, and Brass on the round Delta side cover, and drive housing. I'll also be replacing the rest of the exposed hardware with Brass. That's all for today, So I hope you enjoyed.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Dan Wyatt]

Hi Larry

Great restoration project. I have had 3 of these 700s over the years and they are a neat old machine. I still have one that I may restore some day ........ anyhoos please keep the pictures comin.

Thanks ~ Dan

 

[John Moody]

Larry, great restoration project. Thanks for posting the pictures that really make a nice documentation of the project.

[tool613]

Nice job on the chuck. Great resourcefulness. I did a Powermatic 95 SS black with some gold and it turned out pretty good. Most of the time black looks good on old machines (100years) but the small scale of the saw made it work. I just did not want to do it Powermatic pea green. Keep up the good work.

 

Does the shaft go through bronzes bearings?

jack

English machines

[Ron Dudelston]

Larry that looks like a fun project! Not too big and not too small.

[Larry Buskirk]

Hi Jack,

Yes the shaft goes through the bearing. The bearing has a slight score towards the top,but is otherwise fine. As I have two of these saws I will be using the best parts from both drive-trains, I should be able assemble a complete unit. I'll be posting pictures of the good the bad, and ugly, parts once I tear down the second drive-train. The second one appears to be in better shape, as it had no apparent slop when holding the plunger in the down position, and trying to turn the pulley. The first unit had some slop when checking in the same manner.

As to the re-manufacture of the upper plunger assembly, I was rather pleased as to how it came out. It allows me to use the saw after finally giving up on finding an original upper chuck.(been looking 5+ years). It allows indexing the chuck, plus allows for tensioning of the blade without the mess of having to use the fiber washers as in the original, which required getting greasy in the process. Also replacement parts are much easier to find.

As to my choice of colors, as I stated the wow factor of Shane's Universal Woodworker just made the decision easier.

That and the fact that this is the first of several old Delta's that I will be doing, I didn't want the typical grey. (sorry purists) So I'll start out with the scrollie. As many of my machines as possible are to be combined in a bench style arrangement that will be ran from a line-shaft setup, which I am still working out the details of machine placement etc.

So far it has been a fun project, and exactly why I chose the scrollie first, it's not too big. That and I just want it working.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[tool613]

Larry

 

that's about what i had to do to get may Powermatic going. The whole upper chuck was MIA and the air pump was toast.

I end up getting a Delta 24" for change, and found that many of the parts fit. The old machines when done up are way better than any thing today and mine run on a VFD and 3 phase motor. works like a charm and is great for filing metal with the VFD speed control. Like i said i did mine black and to turned out great. Shane is the best at restores and an inspiration that's for sure. the Brass parts I add popped with the black color.

 

I was pleased with how it turn out with just a bit of work. it was one of my first restorations and i found it a lot of fun.

 

 

Looks like yours is going to turn out great . good luck.

 

jack

English Machines

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Roger Hamblen]

This looks like a fun project. good luck with it

 

Roger

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Larry Buskirk]

Hi Again,

Time for today's update of progress, which covers getting the castings ready for paint.

Today's tools of attack:

 

The wire wheel on the angle grinder made fast work of paint removal.

 

 

 

 

Which the last few photos show was a need to clean up the casting mold lines and create a more level surface for paint.

So I went to work with the files to clean up, and give a better appearance to the castings.

 

 

 

 

 

The parts are now ready for primer which will help fill the remaining irregularities, also the fact that I'll be using Rust-Oleum Hammered finish paint will also help .

 

 

 

The round Delta side cover, and the bearing housing parts next to it are going to be painted Rust-Oleum Polished Brass to contrast with the main housing. I know I have to finish cleaning up the bearing cover

I decided to use both rear castings from the two saws, being the saw is a 24" I'll lose about 4" in throat depth but I figure that a 20" is plenty big for my needs. That and I had them both anyways, and thought it added to the cool factor. One of Delta's catalogs shows using two rear castings, but to make the saw larger than 24".

So that's about it for today, other than I did get to check the other drive unit, and it is in much better shape than the first one that I tore down, so I'll have no problem getting the drive together. As a matter of fact the main housing that I got ready for paint is from the second saw because the pressed in bronze bearing was in perfect shape. The plunger tube has less damage than the first's but also has a slight score in it from the cross-slide's set screw having come loose at some point. This score is much shorter than the others, and does not even come close to the bearing.

So until next time, hope you enjoyed the update.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Larry Buskirk]

Hi Again,

It's time for today's progress update, which gets us started with the painting process. It's been one of those one step forward, one step back days. First the good, so here we go. After reinspecting the castings, I decided that they needed a little more work in the surface preparation to get ready for paint, so a little cheating was in order. After all the filing work the castings still had some low spots, that needed attention. So a little automotive body filler (Bondo) was used to bring the low areas up, and to fill some of the original grinding marks. I left the imperfections that look like pour marks (waves) from when the parts were cast 70+ years ago.

So here some photos of today's progress.

 

 

 

 

Now we're ready for paint, I didn't take any pictures of the primer stage, as I figured everyone's seen Delta's in grey, so we'll go right for the color coats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The upper plunger casting looks grayish due to the cameras flash, but it is black.

The step backward came in when I tried to rush clear coating the Brass painted parts, apparently I didn't wait long enough and the clear ate right into the Metallic Brass paint causing it to thin, and the primer started showing through. Lesson learned take more time when working with the Metallic paints. (They were looking real good until I clear coated them). So these parts are soaking to remove the paint again.

So tomorrows another day, and maybe the rest of the parts will get redone again.

That's about it for today.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Larry Buskirk]

Hi Again,

Not much to report today, as I was parts searching. I did get some of the Brass painted parts stripped, and repainted.

So I'll show everyone how the black, and brass will look.  All I can say is I like it!!!

 

I added a 45 degree brass street elbow to the oil fill plug to make it easier to fill, and just for looks.

 

I also couldn't resist seeing how the upper plunger assembly would look with color.

 

 

 

I'm still trying to find a place in my area that carries decal making materials, due to the economy the hobby shops in my area have closed.

More updates tomorrow.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Bob Kloes]

Looking very nice Larry. It will be showy, that's for sure. bob

[Wayne]

Nice job Larry. Looking really good.

[SQ]

What a great project! It's a beauty! Can't wait to see it finished!

 

[Doug Morgan]

Nice work there.  Its going to be a beauty when you're finished.

[Larry Buskirk]

Hi Again,

Couldn't paint today 93 degrees with 90% humidity, so I cleaned up drive train parts and started to clean up the frame tubes.

Upon inspection of the crankshaft assembly's I discovered that one had a damaged shaft from the pulley coming loose, the other had a crack in the cam next to the drive pin for the cross-slide. So I had to use parts from both crankshafts. I'll let the photos describe in better detail.

 

 

I drove the shafts out with a 2 1/2 lb. hammer with the cam set on an open vise (don't have an arbor press). I used a 1/2" copper pipe cap to protect the pulley end of the shaft and drove the shaft back into the cam using the same hammer. Not professional but it worked. The following photo shows the drive-train parts cleaned up, and the reassembled driveshaft assembly.

 

All of the bearings are good, both air pump diaphragms are good, so I should have parts to make the old saw last a long time as long as I don't mess up the driveshaft.

As to my choice of colors the following photos will show that I back dated the machine by a decade.

 

 

That's a 1923 Delta American Boy 8" scroll saw, Deltas first scroll saw. This one is an early version, as the later models had a square work table. I may add the red to the pulleys on my equipment, as going with the black, I am now committed to doing the rest of my machines the same color scheme. I still have to find material for making decals for the machines. I'll be using available images from the Vintage Machinery .org website, as the originals are not available. What they have is close enough for my purposes.

Now for a look at the frame tubes.

 

The rear tube has been wire wheeled, and sanded with 100 grit sandpaper. These will be done in the following routine. Wire wheel, 100 grit, 150 grit, 220 grit, green Scotch Brite, purple Scotch Brite, and then clear coated. (wish I had the lathe set up).

 

The front tube after a double pass with the wire wheel, first from one end, then the other. Now time to sand, sand, sand......

 

That's it for today, so until next time.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Larry Buskirk]

Hi again,

I've made a little progress over the past few days. After trying to sand the frame tubes by hand for over an hour and basically getting nowhere, I decided the best way to clean them up was on the lathe. So I did a temporary setup of the lathe to do so. The following pictures show the tubes in various states of cleanup. The first photo shows a tube as it came off of the saws, one after wire wheeling, and one after being sanded on the lathe. It also shows the way that I mounted the tubes to the lathe using a setup made with all-thread rod, some washers, nuts, all-thread coupling nuts, and two wooden plugs cut with a hole saw and sanded to fit into the tubes.

 

The following photos shows a tube mounted on the lathe. I used two morse taper 2 Jacobs chucks to mount everything on the lathe. One holding an all-thread coupling nut, the other with a 1/4" bronze bushing that I used with a shoulder bolt that I cut the head off on the tail-stock end.

 

 

The tubes came out better than I had hoped for considering that they were totally rusted, in fact good enough that I have decided to polish them on the buffing wheels. This is a little slower process as I am buffing to find the pits that did not quite sand out on the lathe, then sanding with a random orbital sander to remove the pitting, then buffing again. I'll get photos of this process tomorrow, along with photos of the progress of cleaning up the table.

So that's it for now.

 

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Larry Buskirk