DELTA Bandsaw Prototype

On occasion, protoypes of particularly famous tools show up. Sometimes we know for sure that this is a prototype because it's labeled so. Sometimes it's wish fulfillment on the part of the collector. By prototype we mean it's truly one of a kind and of the earliest manufacture. Sometimes we have photographic evidence that is proof positive of the accuracy of the claim to "prototype" for a well known tool or piece of machinery.

This is one of those instances. I came across this photograph on an online auction. It looked interesting and was certainly a good buy, so I bought it. Although there are no brand name marks on the print, my guess is somewhere in the 1940's. If anyone is an expert in dating the fedora, please chime in. On close examination, it became clear to me that this was one of those rare instances of documentary evidence of the development of what has become the most recognizable design for a bandsaw, the Delta Bandsaw.

My guess is that this is a photograph of the inventor of the Delta Bandsaw, I. B. Delta (known to his friends as Mr. OSHA, witness his use of blade guards, eye & hearing protection as well as the classic nine fingered hold). Clearly proud of his work, you can see he has dressed for his portrait, complete with his favorite fedora, pipe, three-piece suit and tie. No overalls or sweaty workshirts for this photograph. I am also guessing that the tools hanging on the wall behind Mr. Delta are the very same tools used to make this prototype. Keyhole saws of various toothing, clamps, a brace and a level. What more could he have needed to produce this prototype? It's the answer to that age old quandry: How do you build a piece of machinery if you don't have machinery? The answer is here before us in this important piece of Tool History.

If anyone, and I do mean anyone, has further information regarding this photograph, please contact Delta directly. They are anxious to learn of any first-person accounts of the taking of this image.

 

Till next, Gary

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News Flash! Raymond McInnis of WoodworkingHistory.com fame, sent this item from a new post at his site. We know now that this was a Popular Mechanics "Forty Tools You Can Make' feature from 1941. At least I got the year right. Once again, what was thought to be a prototype ended up being anything but one. Please don't send any emails to Delta concerning this bandsaw. Send them to Populat Mechanics instead.

 

Gary