Delta Scroll saw (Old Arn)

Dave Richards

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Location
SE Minnesota
This showed up in my shop last night.





This saw was in the shop my father and grandfather shared and I made a lot of little boxes and other projects with it. My brother had it for awhile, cleaned it up and painted it black :rolleyes: and then loaned to an uncle for a few years. Unfortunately he stored it in a damp garage and the table ended up rusted and pitted. My brother got it back and cleaned up the table best he could and now I've got it.


So I think I'll disassemble it, get black paint of of it and repaint it Delta gray.


Any idea how to remove the rivets holding the little plates on without drilling them and how to get new ones to replace them if needed?
 
Nice old saw. Looks like the motor is a replacement from original, and I doubt it originally came with the 4-step pulleys, either.

Looks like it ought to clean up/refurb nicely.

Those 'rivets' are probably twist-threaded, and will require a counter-clockwise twist to remove them. Not sure how you'd be able to grip the rounded head well enough to do that. You might be able to use a Dremel with a slitting blade and slot the heads, then use a screwdriver to remove them. Other than that...Good Luck! :D
 
Jim, you could be right on both the motor and the stepped pulleys. It was like that when my father bought it better than 40 years ago. The motor is labeled "Delta", though. I know there was a variable speed doohickey on at least some of these but this one never had it while it's been in our family.

I'll see if I can get a grip on the rivets, they don't seem to be incredibly tight and the plates are loose. I'd like to be able to get them out without wrecking them if I can but we'll see.
 
Thanks Ryan. I came across that name earlier but not in reference to this saw. You're right, though. Knowing the correct name will make searching for them a whole lot easier. :D
 
Dave,

I have one just like it in the original Delta grey, and it has the lamp as well. Tod Evans said the lamp was an rare option and it alone is worth about $75. My lamp is brass but the same shape.

Greg
 
The common recommendation to remove those drive screws is to cut a slot across the top, and then use a hollow ground screwdrivers (such as a gunsmith might have) and back them out. That's worked for me about 1/2 the time of the 2 dozen or so I've tried to remove (a couple of old Dewalt RAS). It may help to use a cneter punch and tap on them first, then do the cut/back out trick. Finding replacements isn't hard, McMaster Carr has all sizes though they come in boxes of 100 (I think). That's a really cool saw, I watched just the "retirement lamp" sell for over $100 on e bay (hard to figure some folks). I'm thinking that stepped pulley may have been OEM, they are on several in the pics over at OWWM, many of them still have the guard that covers them.
 
I sanded the flat metal with a ROS & used HF sand blaster with play sand for the cast iron pieces. After I had taped things out. I believe in the KIS forumla . No chemicals. I used I think Krylon paint labeled Ford motor paint or something like that. Turned out fine. I got the manufactures approximate DOM wrong not 1953 closer to 1940 because after 1940 they stamped the date on the back edge of the table & before & during 1940 they were not dated according to a guy the buys a lot of these old saws to overhaul & sell. Mine has no date. As to the red paint on the hand wheels & plinth well I just can't have my saw looking like every one elses.
 

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I have the same saw. Your motor and 4 step pulleys most likely are original. The saw came that way standard. An upgrade was a variable speed Reeves drive system. It's nice to have the lamp as well - others have chimed in on this. If you're like me, though, it's worth more to me on the saw so that i can see what i'm doing than it is on Ebay.

There is good information about rebuilding/tuning this saw up over on www.owwm.org and at www.vintagemachinery.org (where you can find exploded parts diagrams in the "publication" section of the Delta page. There's good information there about rebuilding the air pump and blower as well. You don't need it to cut wood, but boy it helps to see your lines.

Since you can't get behind the drive screws to push them out, i'd really be tempted to mask them off and strip/paint around the tag. It's not hard to do a very clean job of it by trimming the masking tape with an exacto or razor blade.

It's a nice saw, and i do enjoy using mine. Have fun with it.

paulh
 
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