I recently purchased just the headstock for a Delta Homecraft Lathe. Delta sold different models of lathes with this same or very similar headstock from the early 30's until the mid-50's so I don't know when specifically this headstock was sold.
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| Before and After |
I stripped the headstock down completely, cleaned and looked at every part. The Timken tapered roller bearings
(1) &
(2) are in excellent condition and did not need replacement. The spindle threads had some minor damage which I repaired with a needle file.
Unfortunately the indexing pin point was damaged sometime in the past but is still usable.
Since I was down to bare metal I filed the casting seams fairly smooth
One little mishap during the process, the badge was damaged.
Now what to do with it? My original plan was to make a bowl lathe / disc sander. I might still do that or might end up reselling it.
Inspired by an 1840-ish Shaker table originally made in Harvard. I redrew this full scale from a sketch in Shea's "Making Authentic Shaker Furniture" and created full size patterns for the feet and legs. The leg tenons extend all the way through the feet. The feet each have half a mortise which makes construction much simpler. The feet join together and are pinned to the leg. The leg, stretcher, and battens all interlock. The top is attached with screws in elongated slots.
