I’m restoring a classic Delta woodworking lathe which only had a bed and head stock with it
when I found it. I’ve been piecing it together with original parts when I can find them, but
most often when I do find them the prices are thru the roof that I can’t afford them. So….as
I often have to do with the Stovebolt, I fabricate.
I’m adding the full capability that was offered by the 16 speed option. That was
accomplished by driving thru a counter shaft with four step pulleys.So I’m “fabricating” a
countershaft. I can make everything except the four step pulleys and the only ones that I
could find that had the correct bore and step diameters are made by Chicago Die Casting
in Franklin Park, IL. They do not sell direct so I had to buy it thru a stocking dealer and the
only dealer that stocked them was Wholesale Tool Industrial Machinery & Tool Supply out
of Warren, MI.
Now, we’ve seen some pretty shabby workmanship coming out of the east and we’re
always complaining about not being able to buy American made products……well…..
let me tell you, this American made pulley ranks among the poorest quality die casting, with
the worst excuse for machine work and shows a total lack of quality control and I’ve been
using fractional horse power pulleys for more than half a century. I find it hard to believe
that any manufacturer would even consider offering this for sale to the public.
The casting is full of voids, and is so thin that where the “single” set screw is located it is
breaking thru the side. Further more, locating it on the key where the material is already thin
shows the lack of engineering in the design and production. The casting was apparently so
bad, that they had to machine all of the surfaces, which was never done in the past on die
cast pulleys, and I do mean all of the surfaces. And all of the surfaces that were machined
show bad chatter,, they have sharp edges everywhere and are loaded with burrs. The
V-belt groove looks so rough I’m afraid it will tear up the V-belts and the webs between the
groves is too thin. Without exaggerating, a kid attempting his first machining project could
have done a better job.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/delta_1460_wood_lathe So, I’m ashamed to say that this part was made in America.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
