Information on the 1931 Delta/Rockwell Tilt Table Saw

Early Designs

• In the years between the end of World War I in 1919 and the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929, America was transformed by the introduction of mass production and assembly line factories. The country's commerce centers shifted from the rural farms to the urban industrialized centers. In the factories, steam powered and electrically driven machinery powered the Industrial Revolution. This equipment was soon adapted for home use. Factory machinery transferred power from large centralized electric motors to individual workstations by a series of belts and pulleys. This design was incorporated into the first Delta tilting table saws. A stationary motor transferred power to a stationary blade via quiet running rubber belts.

The Tilting Surface Tablesaw

• First introduced by Delta in approximately 1929 was the tilting surface table saw. The "American Boy" saw was composed of two workbenches that could be fitted with up to five different pieces of woodworking equipment. The motor and the belt driven arbor were stationary. The various attachments were fitted to the motor and stand. As a result, the adjustments necessary for making various types of cuts were built into the attachments. For the table saw, the work surface tilted up to 45 degrees while the motor and saw arbor remained in a fixed position. While this ingenious adaptation of the larger factory equipment offered flexibility to the home woodworker, another innovation quickly challenged Delta's position in the market.

The Tilting Arbor Tablesaw

• First introduced by Boice-Crane, the tilting arbor table saw offered a significant advantage over the tilting tabletop. By mounting the motor and the saw arbor to a unified tilting device, the saw blade would tilt in relationship to the tabletop while the tabletop remained parallel to the floor. This innovation provided the woodworker the ability to build extended work surfaces which supported larger pieces of wood and plywood. The table's flat surface also offered the woodworker added safety. No matter the size of the piece of wood or angle at which the wood was cut, the work surface remained flat and level.

The Delta Rockwell Uni-Saw

• By 1936, Delta equipment's founder, Mr. Tautz, had filed for patent for the first Delta Uni-saw. The advantages and stability of the flat and level table top had proven themselves in the marketplace. Mr. Tautz's revolutionary patent request included a heavy cast-iron table saw surface which dampened the motor's vibrations. His innovation created a table saw which has become the standard for the professional and home hobbyist woodworking industry. The Delta tilting arbor uni-saw is still the industry standard almost a century later.