Page History: A Brief History of Delta
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Page Revision: 2008/04/01 01:02
Submitted by Keith Bohn, e-mail: UnisawA100@wi.rr.com What follows was born from a request on rec.woodworking to put together a list of Delta's major machine release dates. It was later re-edited and re-released on
a couple of woodworking forums. Please note, much of this consists of my own opinion but this opinion is some what based on fact.
Much of this information came about from my meager collection of old catalogs and Deltagrams. There are gaps and vagaries throughout. If you have any information
to fill in the gaps and "devagarize", please feel free to contact me and I will update this article. I should also note, the Delta catalogs are not historically
accurate in all ways. Old art work was re-used and recycled for years and in some cases, decades. When possible I try to corroborate facts with coinciding *dated*
publications, i.e., periodicals, from the same time period. So, without further adieu...
Delta Brand & Model History ¶
I've gone through and put this together in chronological order. I'm noting prices where I can. Before you start salivating consider the buying power of a dollar in
those days and inflation. You might find the cost of tools today to be a much better buy. In fact I've taken the $168 (plus or minus) cost of a Unisaw in 1939 and calc'd
it out to 1999 and the price should be around $1900. Of course a 1999 ain't holding a candle to the 1939 but it's still a fine saw none the less.
I have not paid much attention to the various Delta drill press lines as there were so many through the years it's darn near impossible to focus on one popular
model. I also lack a number of catalogs making a drill press write up difficult. Similarly, lathes suffer the same fate. The Delta Specialty Company began business
in 1919 in a one car garage at 969 Louis Avenue on Milwaukee's near northwest side.
It was called the Delta Specialty Company until the early thirties. One of the co-owners,
Herbert Tautz was a machinist. The other co-owner was William Peters who left the
company in 1923.
American Boy Scroll Saw
This was released in 1923. It was a small hand crank and later *Normitized* with
the addition of a motor. The scroll saw took off and the rest is history. There
are surviving examples and they show up on eBay quite a bit. I've got one "with"
a vintage motor. :-) The original sold for $20 which is about what I paid for mine.
American Girl Sewing Machine
When you have an American Boy it seems logical to have an American girl. Actually
Tautz made many things and the American Boy/Girl were but two. I've often wondered
what would have happened had the sewing machine took off instead of the scroll saw.
Would Norm have a sewing show using a Unisew? By the way, I have the instructions
for this machine and the address on it is, 858 Third St., Milwaukee, Wis. These
also show up on eBay from time to time.
Handishop ¶
In 1928 Delta Specialty Company came out with this set of tools and it included
table saw, lathe, disc sander and the American Boy scroll saw. This was a combination
machine. It's interesting that Delta's closets rivals, Boice-Crane and Walker-Turner,
also had a similar early history to Delta's and sold a similar machine though I
suspect Boice-Crane's pre-dated those sold by Delta and Walker-Turner as Boice-Crane
had an 18 year head start in the machinery business.
In 1929 Delta Specialty became a division of the newly formed Delta Manufacturing
Company. Their address was 1661-1667 Holten Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
4" Jointer and 8" Tilt Table Saw ¶
These were released in 1929 and were separate machines on a common stand sharing
the same motor. There was also a nifty mortising attachment. These were not the
Homecraft line that came about in the 40's but similar in appearance.
"The Modern Motor-Driven Woodworking Shop" by Herbert Tautz and Clyde Fruits
was released in 1930. This three volume set took the reader through most of the
basic machine set-ups and usage and ended with a project to build. For all intents
and purposes the books still hold up today as a rather good introductory manual.
Keep in mind, when these books were first released, electricity wasn't a common
commodity. So much so that there is a saw shown in one of the books that's powered
by a small gasoline engine. There is a note in the text to vent the exhaust outside.
Delta Woodshop #12
Similar to the Handishop this was released in 1930. The difference being they
were separate tools on a common bench and powered by a jack shaft below connected
to one motor, sometimes gasoline. Imagine that noise in your shop. The machines
were also available separately and eventually sold only that way because of demand.
12" Bandsaw ¶
Delta began selling the No.385 12" bandsaw in 1924. This is the saw made for
them by Blue Star Products/Heston & Anderson of Fairfield, Iowa. I have no idea
when it was discontinued but it does not appear in the 1934 catalog.
10" Bandsaw, Bench Top Drill Press and 24" Scroll saw ¶
These were originally released in 1931. None of these survive today in the current
line. The 24" scroll saw was later replaced with the much more substantial Deluxe
24" Scroll Saw. The 10" bandsaw was near identical in design to the 14" released
later but it didn't sport the better blade guides found on that saw.
No. 785 10" Bandsaw - $17.85 W/O motor and stand
No. 620 Bench Top Drill Press - $16.95 W/O motor
The Deltagrams
These were Delta's "house organ" and consisted of ads and articles for the hobbyist
woodworker. Early issues have loads of great pictures of Delta tools, but the articles
and projects, for the most part, are pretty lame. The first Deltagram was released
in January 1932 in a 6" X 9" format and published six times a year. This format
continued up until the end of 1949. These issues, from 1932 to 1949, were eventually
bundled into a 4-volume set and can still be found today on eBay and in used book
stores. In January 1950 the format was changed to 8 1/2" X 11". The magazines also
featured pictures of home shops and prove that woodworkers in the 30's, 40's and
50's had some pretty sophisticated set ups. During the 50's they featured a column
called Flying Chips. By January 1962 the magazine had become known as Deltagrams/Flying
Chips and in 1963 the name was flip-flopped to Flying Chips/Deltagrams. This went
on until the late 60's when the name was finally changed to Flying Chips. The significance
of the name change had more to do with Rockwell's wanting to drop the Delta name
than anything else though a column called "Delta Citations", honoring a different
woodworker each month, remained up into the 70's. In the 60's the magazine began
to play down the industrial quality tools in favor of the bottom feeding Homecraft
and Compactatool lines. Historically this was the low water mark for woodworking
machines. It wasn't until this 80's that the course reversed itself and the hobbyist
woodworker became aware of better tools. By the way, Arnold Palmer once acted as
spokes model for Rockwell machinery. The publication was eventually discontinued
in the early 70's. The beginning of the end...
Let's get back to the 30's...
14" Band Saw ¶
This was the real entry into the *good tools* line that Delta became famous for.
It remains almost identical in design today as it did in 1934. The major difference
being the castings which are open on the back. They also sported pressed steel wheels
which Delta claimed were better than cast wheels. Other major changes were in the
styling and the stand(s). It should be noted that the riser block was immediately
available from Delta. No. 890 14" Bandsaw - $43.85 W/O motor and stand In 1935 a
new plant was built at 600-634 East Vienna Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
6" Jointer and Deluxe 24" Scroll Saw ¶
These were added to the high end line in 1935. With some minor changes the scroll
saw remained almost identical throughout it's production run that lasted until the
90's. On the other hand the jointer has been modified several times and in my humble
opinion the present jointer with the rack and pinion fence is the high water mark
of this line though it lacks the styling of earlier models. Doesn't mean I'd give
up my 50's 6" machine though. Bench
Top Shaper and 10" Tilting Table Saw ¶
These were released in 1936 and neither survive today. The table saw was a near
clone of the 8" tilting table saw. The bench top shaper did survive up into the
Rockwell years with some modifications.
No. 1180 Bench Top Shaper - $25.75 W/O motor
No. 1160 10" Table Saw - $49.85 W/O motor and stand
6" X 48" Sander ¶
This was released in 1937 but did not include the 12" disc sander option. Hardly
any modifications have been made to this machine. It is not to be confused with
the cheaper Sanding Center sold today.
No. 1400 6" X 48" Sander - $28.85 W/O motor and stand
12" Disc Sander ¶
Released in 1938 this remains today an almost duplicate to the original and is
a main stay in metal working shops.
No. 1425 12" Disc Sander - $24.85 W/O motor and stand
In 1939 Tautz sold the company to The Marshall Fields Company.
Unisaw
Delta says it was released in 1937 though it doesn't show up in the catalog until
1939. I have evidence supporting a late 1938 "introduction" and the aforementioned
1939 availability through the catalog. My obsession with the true release date has
gone so far as to writing an article on the subject of collecting *dirty paper*
and was published in Popular Woodworking in August of 2001. The base was changed
to sheet metal in 1977. The original motor guard was a cast iron half goose egg
shape and primarily sold to schools. It was changed to sheet metal in 1967. The
dust door was eliminated in 1987 as part of the "50th. Anniversary Model". It should
be noted that this was not the first tilting arbor saw available to the hobbyist
but it is the first saw of its size available with the tilting arbor. It should
also be noted that the casting marks LTA stand for "Light Tilting Arbor" and when
compared to other industrial machines, this saw is a light weight.
No. 1450 10" Unisaw - $89.50 W/O motor (1939 catalog price)
Heavy Duty Shaper
Delta claims this was released in 1939 but it does not show up in that catalog
so I am suspect on their date. This is the big shaper that shares the same cabinet
style and base as the Unisaw and with the exception of the sheet metal *donut* base
it is as it was the day it was released.
No. 43-205 Heavy Duty Shaper - $116.90 W/O motor and switch
In 1940 Pittsburgh Equitable Meter and Manufacturing Company bought Crescent
Machine Company of Leetonia, Ohio. Stay with me on this factoid.
I should stop and mention here that during World War II the production at Delta
shifted to producing tools for the war effort and in order to buy a tool you had
to prove that you were an essential industry. The Deltagrams advertised that "after
the war, you'll be able to buy Delta again". I believe there was something of a
pent up demand after the victory in the Pacific.
It should also be noted that it appeared that the 1941 price list was used throughout
the war years and there were no price increases.
In 1942 Marshal Fields sold the company to the Timken Detroit Axle Company, controlled
by Colonel Willard Rockwell.
In 1945 Delta was purchased by Rockwell Manufacturing Company of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Formerly the Rockwell company was known as, ready, Pittsburgh Equitable
Meter and Manufacturing Company. Doesn't really slide off the tongue like Rockwell
does it? Anyway, there's our connection between Crescent and Delta. Technically
Delta didn't buy Crescent but instead suffered its same fate.
After the war, Delta's parent company Rockwell, began tagging the line with their
logo while keeping the Delta and Delta/Milwaukee brand name. In my humble opinion
these years were Delta's best.
Homecraft
The 1946 buy out of Homecraft from The Arcade Manufacturing Company was one of
Rockwell's greatest contributions to the future of the company and brought Delta
back into a sharp focus on the light duty tools for the hobby market. In the long
run though, their eventual dependency of the lighter duty machines though did the
hobbyist woodworker more damage than good.
8", 10", 12", 14", 16" & 20" Radial Arm Saws
The 1948 buy out of Red Star products got Delta into the radial arm saw market.
These saws sport the same turret arm assembly found today. The 12", 14" and 16"
survive today while the 20" shrunk down 2".
I'll interject an editorial note at this point. 1952 was a sad year when the
Delta factory was moved from Milwaukee to Bellefontaine, Ohio and later the Tupelo,
Mississippi plant where all U.S. made tools are currently made. The move came about
after the workers at the Milwaukee plant went on strike. Colonel Rockwell once predicted
he'd shut the factory down before he put up with a strike and true to his word,
he did just that. Today Delta's 1919 birth place in a garage on Milwaukee's near
north side is possibly gone. There is a building at the corner of East Vienna and
Holten Street but there is no address on it so I cannot confirm if it's the old
plant. Around the corner the newer East Vienna Street plant remains. At one time
it was a Pabst beer warehouse. Half of the building is currently empty and the words
DELTA MACHINERY CO. can still be seen above the front door in the masonry anchors.
8" Jointer, 12"-14" Table Saw and 20" Bandsaw ¶
These came into the line after the Crescent Machinery plant was closed in the
Summer of 1952. Apparently they weren't paying attention to what was going on in
Milwaukee and went on strike. Prior to 1952 Crescent machines were sold by Rockwell
as a subsidiary.. The 12"-14" table saw and the 20" bandsaw were produced up through
the 60's and then took on the modifications we see today.
Beaver/Delta
Beaver was bought in 1953. It's line was very similar to the Homecraft line.
20" Drill Press and Ram Type Radial Drill Press ¶
These came into the line after the 1956 buy out of Walker-Turner. Rockwell put
out a separate catalog of the Walker-Turner line and eventually the line was absorbed
into Rockwell's Delta catalog. Rockwell continued to market Walker-Turner up until
the early 60's. With the exception of these two tools W-T's line was abandoned.
Porter-Cable
P-C was bought by Rockwell in 1960. I'm not sure when they dropped the P-C name
but I think it was rather immediate. I know by the early 70's all the portable tools
were branded with the Rockwell name. Despite that the P-C reputation survived until
Pentair revived it in 1981. As we all know it's thrives as one of the better lines
and it ain't painted that turd yellow color.
Contrary to popular belief Rockwell did not spin off a pneumatic tool line based
on the P-C electric tool line. The air tools came from a 1963 Rockwell buy out of
Buckeye Tool.
In 1973 the bean counting really started with the merger of Rockwell Manufacturing
with North American Rockwell. The resulting merger was called Rockwell International
and the machines were branded such and took on the *up-side down "Y" (peace sign)
logo*. The 14" band saw and 6" X 48" sander suffered the most from this, in my humble
opinion. This was Rockwell's greatest crime against humanity. I should note, production
was spotty throughout this period and consideration of buying a Rockwell International
machine should be proceeded by a lengthy *look over* and running.
Sorry for the big gap but there was very little excitement during the Rockwell
International years...
Rockwell sold off the portable electric tool division to Pentair in 1981. Pentair
renamed this division Porter-Cable and it is as we see it today.
Rockwell sold the machine tool division to Pentair in 1984. Pentair in turn re-names
it the Delta International Machinery Corporation.
In 1985 Delta introduces their imported *consumer market* line of tools and history
repeats itself as Rockwell had done years earlier with the Homecraft line though
there's considerably less weight in this new line. Hopefully Pentair will continue
to market the industrial quality machines along side the import line. As it looks,
the imports might be subsidizing the industrial machines as the Unisaw hasn't had
a significant price increase in over 10 years.
Biesemeyer
Delta buys Biesemeyer in 1995.
There you have it. Please feel free to add to or dispute any of the above. I'm
going to go rest now.
Keith Bohn