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Bill,
You referred me to this thread exactly 6 days short of 1 year ago. It has been full speed down the slope ever since!
Thanks again for documenting this. I have a WT 14" 1200 benchtop in the Q. It is a little bit different than my Delta 17".
Steve
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I am bumping this to the top again. I had been the 2nd reply saying I was going to restore a WT 900 myself and that press was too far gone to help. It was a basket case of parts and the more I dug into it, the more I realize I going to end up replacing everything.
I started buying parts for the press before I got too far into it and now I am left with those parts. I thought about selling them off, but Walker Turner 900 parts are about as common as corn in the midwest. So then I wondered if a complete press could be made from just picking up various parts along the way. Granted this is probably the most expensive way to get a press, but I know a lot of people have castings laying around that can never be sold because of the shippping costs. So with ArnFest a few weeks out, I thought it would be a good time to ask if I can get any parts cheap. I'll need to read through Bill's thread some more, but so far I think I've got 75% of the press accounted for. I'll post some pictures as things move along, but nothing too detailed as Bill covers it all above.
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Bump Bump Bump Bump.......
If it can't kill you it probably ain't no good. Better living through chemicals.
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Another bump - what a beautiful job!
Doug
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Took me 3 days, but I just finished reading this whole thread. GREAT job, and well described too! I have a feeling you'd be a great teacher in person, too.
I recently picked up an older Craftsman DP from another woodnetter, and while it's a good user now, I plan on fixing it up bit by bit as I have time (with a toddler running around). Since I have it apart right now, I'm going to clean up and repaint the base. Honestly that's the only really rusty part anyway. One thing I didn't notice in your thread was if you did anything about the inside of the column? Maybe the black widow scared you away
Short of cleaning it with chimney sweeping equipment, I'm not sure there's much you can do... Thoughts?
Here's a pic... I wish I got one of it stuffed into my VW
Benny
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So how's the progess?
Oh, and another bump for this thread.
Buck
Business Meetings - None of us is as dumb as all of us.
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Got the base cleaned up, repainted and mounted on a mobile base. I didn't try to separate the column... Nor did I tape anything off. I'm going for a nice looking user for myself, not a full restoration/resell. I'm going to clean up and repaint the table, which is in MUCH better shape than the base, then put the whole thing back together and use it. Maybe next year I'll do the head.
Wire cup on the angle grinder....
Some machine grey, two layers of 1/2" ply, and carriage bolted to this craftsman base I had laying around. To connect the ply to the base in the corners, I drilled holes progressively larger than the 1/4" carriage bolts by 1/64" increments until the corners of the square shoulder were almost going in, then banged them in with a hammer. Nice and low profile on the bottom, and they aren't going anywhere. Acorn nuts on top to keep it clean.
Benny
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Keeping this thread alive and a quick update:
Got my table painted this weekend, and mounted it up last night. Decided to put the head back on and start using it. I'll save the re-paint for next winter.
It was a bit chilly, so I warmed up the table with my small radiant heater. I brought the rattle cans inside overnight so they were warm too.
All put back together, runs like a top.
Took the tape off the table and hit it with a quick coat of clear. I'm going to be using an auxiliary table anyway so I wanted to just seal up the surface.
Benny
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Outstanding. I'm still working on my original WT DP. I've bought several presses since then but was so busy working on them, my original still isn't done.
Only thing not original on mine is the table. I had a good one but replaced it with a Delta because I wanted one that tilts.
Buck
Business Meetings - None of us is as dumb as all of us.
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Yeah some newer ones have some much more user friendly features... Mine requires me to knock out a pin and loosen something to tilt the table, but honestly I doubt I'll use that feature too much.
Quick update as I find an hour or two in the shop...
Gently cleaned up the table angle gauge thing and re-mounted it with a new stainless screw to replace the rusty flathead one.
I'm having fun cleaning up things with the wire wheel on my bench grinder! Especially things with threads... The depth gauge cleaned up pretty nicely with just a little patina left.
The handles...
Got my table mounted up too. It seemed big on my bench-top press, and seems small on this one... Maybe one day I'll make a nice one! I had to relocate the threaded inserts for the mounting rod, but otherwise it was a smooth transition.
Benny
