Hi,
Talk about lucky and fortunate!!! My brother gave me an old Delta 34-171 Tenoning jig. He found it in the basement of an old house that had burned and that he was going to demolish. It was rusted and pretty grimy, but it was all there. I cleaned it up and it came out very nice. Below is a photo. It is a very simple jig, but there are two parts on the back of it that I cannot identify, or figure out the function of. They are in the center front of the photo, which is the back of the jig. There is a sheet of paper with an arrow pointing to them, but the arrow may not be visible.
Both parts are only about a half inch high. One looks like a “stop” and it has a pin in the middle so that either side can stick up. This piece is attached to the top of a cylinder which is situated by press-fit into a hole in the base of the jig. The cylinder, and thus the “stop” can point in any direction. I don’t know if it is supposed to turn as it does. I figured that a “stop” should always point in the same direction.
The second piece is right next to the first. They may operate together in some way. It has a point on one end. The other end is screwed down to the base of the jig. By loosening the screw, the pointer can point in any direction.
Does anyone know what these two parts are supposed to do?
If not, do you have any suggestions as to where I could find out.
I did find Delta publication PM-1731, dated 2-24-50 which is the Operating and Maintenance Instructions for the Tenoning Jigs numbered 1170 and 1172. There are photos and a parts list and a list of instructions, but these two parts that I am referring to do not show up anywhere in the document. Just looking at the parts, it is hard to believe they are not original.
I would appreciate any advice or information that you can provide.
Thank you very much.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Replies
This is just a guess based on a what you see on most miter guages. The part that points into the air looks like it would be a pointer similiar to a miter guage and the other part looks like a flip stop. This would only apply if there was some type on a sliding bar on this and it is obviously missing. Even if it is missing it is still a great find, Congrats.
You can try the web site of Old Woodworking Machinery
http://www.owwm.com/
2x4,
Thanks for your reply. I had already been to that website. That is where I downloaded the manual for the jig. It is a great site for that type of thing. Based on your suggestion, I went back to the site, and found two people to write to. I wrote to them, and hope to hear back. Thank you for your help.MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Compliments are undeserved. However as a guess, judging from the pattern of holes on the baseplate, could this be a keeper for attachment plates which could be placed on the working face to cut mitered etc tenons? If there are matching patterns of holes on the working face, then this may be so. Do let us all know eventually.
Mufti,
Thank you. I will send in the answer when I find it. I have discovered the old woodworking tools website,
http://www.owwm.com/
and last night I "applied for membership". This morning I received confirmation that I can post messages there. I will post the picture and the questions there, and see if they know. I have already contacted Delta for a "Parts list". If it is the same as the parts list in the Delta document I downloaded from the abovementioned website, then it wont be any help. I am hoping it is different. The "working face" of this monsterously large and heavy jig has four holes in a square pattern. The only way to turn that into a an "angle cutter" is to attach a piece of wood that is cut at the correct angle. Those four holes don't seem to have anything to do with the two little contraptions that I am asking about. BUT -- anything is possible.I did get a response from the person on the old woodworking tools website who posted a photo of this jig. He has one and it has the same holes, but his did not come with the two mechanisms, and he has never heard of or seen any such mechanisms. He intimated that it is possible that these were made for a short period of time and then discontinued. He suggested that I post to their forum, which I will do tonight.I have refurbished a few inexpensive Stanley planes, but never tried anything like this big jig. I am having a great time with it. I have checked its "squareness" in all obvious ways, and it is right on. The parts now move easily and are easily clamped. It works beautifully. It is overkill to the n-th degree. I equate that with high art!!!I read an old post on Amazon.com from when they used to sell both this Delta jig and the later, cheaper, lighter models. The guy said that this is the only one to have, because he can take an 8 foot long board and clamp it into the jig at a 45 degree angle and it won't budge. Unfortunately, I can't try that. My ceilings are too low.Have fun, and thanks for the reply.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
I couldn't see much detail when I clicked on to the picture until I opened it in a new window and magnified it. Those parts look like the indicator and stop for a miter gauge. Could there have been one attached (perhaps a regular Delta one will fit) to allow for the cutting of the shoulders after the checks were all cut? There looks to be enough room to put chair sized parts under the handle area of the jig, perhaps bigger with the tenoning part removed.
Edited 9/11/2006 3:13 pm by QCInspector
QC,
Thank you very much for trying to come up with a rationale as to what the functions of those two pieces are. I agree that they look like a stop and a pointer for a miter gauge.I am making other inquiries on the old woodworking tools website. I will let you know if I can find anything definitive. Until then, all I have is your analysis. Thank you for that.MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
QC, Mufti and all,I posted a message with a photo on the Old Woodworking Machines website, and got two responses in a matter of hours. Keith Bohn, who heads up that website answered me first with the following:"The plate underneath your tenoning jig was also sold as a shaper jig. It had the miter gage head attached and those two parts are the pointer and stop."So I have an answer. I wanted to post this answer so it is available to others if they ever need it.Thank you all.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
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