How to evaluate a used Delta 20 inch bandsaw
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Greetings all.
An elderly friend has offered me an old 20″ Delta bandsaw that’s been sitting unused in the back of his shop for some unknown number of years. He knew I’ve been looking to save up for a good band saw, and he suggested that I take this one and refurb/etc. to get it up and running. It ran well, he says, last it was used, probably back in the Clinton administration. But obviously no one can vouch for its performance right now.
I plan to go take a look at it this weekend, but I’d like to know what sorts of things to look for/at, given that I’m not familiar with the evaluation of old bandsaws. Also, though he’s trying to give it to me, I’d like to be able to get a sense of a fair value for it; if it’s worth significant money–and I think it possible it might be–I’d want to properly compensate him in an appropriate fashion.
I don’t know model number, etc. yet, just that it’s an old Delta. All useful tips appreciated. Thanks.
Replies
Your search will most likely find that there are no factory authorized parts available. There may or may not be aftermarket parts depending on the model but the company that is Delta ( in Hong Kong ) a once good company gone bad, supports nothing from their old catalog as far as I can tell. There are vintage machine people and websites/ forums that might give you some indication how difficult rehabbing your particular model might be. I find this disturbing when I see so many Delta logos in my own shop!
I’ll probably know more once I can get the model number and do a little research online, it seems. I’m hoping it’s a machine that’s relatively popular or well-known, so to speak. Will cross my fingers and hope for the best!
So, your first evaluation is "Is it all here?" "Is anything broken?" Distinguish between what has to be there and what would be nice. In particular, it might not have a fence. I have built fences for both my bandsaws (a 36" antique; fence of wood with three different heights for resawing different width boards; and an old 14" Delta: fence main casting from an old table saw fence, pipe on hand needing to be sanded slightly on a belt sander to make it fit nicely, angle iron and steel bits from my collection or friends' stashes.
If the saw runs, that's great. If it is all there enough to work well, the main problems you will face are aging rubber (tires and drive belts), and worn guides. You can resurface the working surfaces of the guides on a grinder if they are worn, but have adequate length. Drive belts are available from the auto parts store. 20" tires should be easily available. Less likely but possible will be worn bearings, either wheel or motor. They can be replaced, as they will be available from any bearing house. You can listen to the bearings when it is running, or take off the blade and drive belts and turn the shafts by hand to feel for roughness.
Bandsaws are really pretty simple machines. As long as it is there, and not totally rusted up beyond adjusting and repair, it should be good.
I am a big fan of old used machinery, as it is far better value than new, unless you need particular new features not available on old iron. I have rebuilt: a 1939 26" Buss thickness planer; 1920s era 8" and 24" jointers; old 2 spindle Fay & Egan shaper; 1954 12" Walker-Turner radial arm saw; 14" and 36" bandsaws; Powermatic 90 lathe, 1954 Onsrud overarm router, etc. One of the advantages of restoring/rebuilding these old machines is that you know how to maintain them.
There are different styles of machine rebuilding; some folks bead blast everything, powder coat everything except what they have chromed, etc. I clean it up, adjust it, get all the working parts doing well, and use it to do woodworking.
Good luck! Let us know how it comes out...
Harvey
That’s some great info and guidance, there, Harvey, much appreciated. I was figuring the belts and other rubber parts are so far past their “best by” dates as to make ‘em obviously in need of replacement. Good news is that this sounds like a relatively easy thing to address. Bearings will now get a critical hand and ear applied. And I guess I wanna look for any potential wiring/electrical issues. I figure the mice might’ve snacked on something that could be a problem. After all, they’ve done it to my vehicle before.
Thanks again; I’ll let you know how things come out.
If you get it and without a fence, let me know, as my fence design separates setting the thickness of the resaw from adjusting the fence for blade drift (which gets more critical as the height of the resawn board and its hardness increase.)
I understand about the mice; I've had to clean out mice nests and dead bodies from my pickup heater, my wife's car heater, and long ago the air cleaner of my motorcycle. As far as the wiring, apparently some wire is manufactured using vegetable oil as the lubricant when the insulation is being extruded. Very attractive to rodents. They haven't eaten my vehicle wiring, but have eaten thru various buried electrical lines from my shop to places like my pumphouse. Interesting challenge to figure out where the break is in 400 feet of buried wire!! Nine years ago I discovered that a neighbor is in the business of running underground utilities, so I had him run flexible electrical conduit to all the buildings. Problem solved! Oddly enough, I have about 600 feet of buried phone line, some in the same trench as some of the rodent damaged wiring. No problem for over 40 years!
I’ll let you know. If I were to guess, I’d say the fence is…somewhere, but not with the saw. Seems to be the way things go with fences and the like—they just slowly drift away from the machine they’re intended to accompany. But we’ll see.
Thanks again!
Well, the Delta bandsaw is not gonna be mine. Not even a long story. Just that someone else—in the family—wants it, and that’s that. Which is okay, actually.
Now I guess I’ll just focus on saving a bit for something that says “Laguna” on the side. C’est la vie.
Ebay was a great sourse for old Delta Rockwell lathe parts. Perhaps once you know the model you can do a sesrch gor critcal parts. I assumed the bearings on the 60 year old headstock I was buying would be bad. I was able to find the bearings on Ebay also. Seems to be a lot of parts dealers there. It was a lot of work but worth the savings.
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