# New (to me) Tool Gloat! 1950 Rockwell Delta Jointer



## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

I've been wanting a small jointer for quite some time now and I love old 'arn so when I saw this little dude pop up on craigslist, I jumped on it. 

As you can see it needed a lot of "love" to get it presentable, but I was happy to put the effort into it. I sanded everything down, applied naval jelly to most of it, cleaned it up, painted as necessary and got to work on the table tops and fence. I really have grown to hate cleaning cast iron tops, but after a ton of WD-40, naval jelly, 400 grit sandpaper, scotch-brite pads and some paste wax, it's at least presentable and functional. 

I replaced the failed belt with a v-link one I had laying around the shop and fired it up. Works like a champ!


----------



## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

That looks great! :thumbsup:

Did you look on E-Bay first? :huh:


----------



## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

mdntrdr said:


> Did you look on E-Bay first? :huh:


Hahahahaha! Poke the bear, will ya? As a matter of fact, I DID, and found that I could buy the fence assembly for $85, which is roughly twice what I paid for the entire thing :thumbsup:


----------



## mn pete (Dec 10, 2010)

Looks good!


----------



## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Nice work! That's a sweet little tool you've got there. :thumbsup:


----------



## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

Great looking restoration! :thumbsup: You've given it another 62 years of life. The 4" is a handy size for a lot of work. You did that little jointer proud!


----------



## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Man, TM, that looks good. Cleaned up well, it should serve you nicely for a long time.

Couldn't help notice, on the last pic, was that an old Diston saw?


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Nice job on the refurb! You must have gotten painting lesson from johnboy :no:

Well done!

~tom


----------



## Stevedore (Dec 28, 2011)

Nice job, I like it! I had an old 4" jointer that was cast aluminum, had short tables, and never worked well for me. I watched CL for one like yours for a while, but ended up with a Delta 37-280 in trade for a few chairs I no longer wanted. It's an improvement over what I had, but I'd prefer one like yours with the adjustable outfeed table. Setting the knives to match the outfeed table is a real pain. 

Again, nice job.


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Nice score on CL there TM! You did one heck of a job refurbing it too..... 

You know, you could probably turn a good profit on that by selling it now.... That seems to be the thing to do, and before you know it, you could make $4000 in a month. Just ask Johnnyboy how to do it.....

I know you wouldn't want to part with it after all that hard work you did. It should last you quite a long time, that is for sure.... They don't make them like that anymore!

Fabian


----------



## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Brink said:


> Man, TM, that looks good. Cleaned up well, it should serve you nicely for a long time.
> 
> Couldn't help notice, on the last pic, was that an old Diston saw?


Thanks everyone! What a keen eye you have there, Brink. That happens to be a Warranted Superior, but it's part of a group of hand tools I got recently, along with a Disston that was made between the wars. I've been trying to clean them up as well, but so far the steel is giving me fits.


----------



## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

firemedic said:


> Nice job on the refurb! You must have gotten painting lesson from johnboy :no:





thegrgyle said:


> Nice score on CL there TM! You did one heck of a job refurbing it too.....
> 
> You know, you could probably turn a good profit on that by selling it now.... That seems to be the thing to do, and before you know it, you could make $4000 in a month. Just ask Johnnyboy how to do it.....
> 
> ...


Thanks fellas. I've certainly made my share of coin off buying old stuff, cleaning it up and selling it for a profit, but I've never registered to a website for that explicit purpose and typically it's after I've used the tool and determined it's not what I wanted. 



Stevedore said:


> Nice job, I like it! I had an old 4" jointer that was cast aluminum, had short tables, and never worked well for me. I watched CL for one like yours for a while, but ended up with a Delta 37-280 in trade for a few chairs I no longer wanted. It's an improvement over what I had, but I'd prefer one like yours with the adjustable outfeed table. Setting the knives to match the outfeed table is a real pain.
> 
> Again, nice job.


Thanks Steve, and welcome, by the way! I had an old 4" Craftsman table top jointer a few years back that didn't have an adjustable outfeed table and it was miserable. I ended up selling it quickly. I've run a few test pieces over it and it's worked great. 

I agree with everyone that it should last me quite a while!


----------



## MarkAustin (Feb 13, 2012)

*Replacement knives*

I have the same jointer and am having trouble finding the right knives for it, since i only have a visible ser # and that is all. Did you repaces your knives when you refinished it? if so where did you get them? Thanks -Mark


----------



## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Yep, welcome Mark. Here's what you're looking for.


----------



## Roger Newby (May 26, 2009)

Nice haul TM and thanks for the link for blades. I got your jointer's older big brother last fall. A 1946 6" model for 100 bucks :thumbsup::clap:. Original motor and all. Even the cord was original and I replaced it 'cause it was cracking and falling apart. The pics are from the day I got it and you can see how clean it was. A couple of small rust spots is all.


----------



## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Nice Roger! It turns out my dad has the exact same one you have. I didn't know it prior to buying mine and when I forwarded him pics of mine he said "hey that's cute." Ha! I took off the dust chute and place a jointer DC plate in it's place. I also really need to replace the power cord... it's original and falling apart just like yours. I've used rubber electrical tape to hold it steady as is, but it's definitely in need of replacement. 

It all may be moot, however, as I'm going to look at a 6", much newer, Delta today.


----------



## USMC_Buckaroo (Nov 15, 2012)

Howdy *Taylormade*,

Nice CL find, an and even nicer restoration there pard' :thumbsup:

Strangely enough I ALSO have that same units older, and larger 6" big brother...the very same 6" machine as *Roger Newby*, and apparently, your Dad.
I also picked it up for a steal on CL, but it was missing the blade guard, and the instructions.

I don't SUPPOSE either of you good fellows could provide me with a copy of the instructions to this vintage machine? Either photocopied, or perhaps a link where one might find such a hard-to-find publication?
I am in the process of restoring my machine, and the instructions would be quite helpful.


PM me if you are able to help. 
MANY thanks in advance dear Sirs. :smile:


*Buck.*


----------



## Roger Newby (May 26, 2009)

USMC_Buckaroo said:


> Howdy *Taylormade*,
> 
> Nice CL find, an and even nicer restoration there pard' :thumbsup:
> 
> ...


http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=1141&tab=3


----------

