Interesting thread/ read! I’m in the unique position of having a restored Delta Rockwell 17” press, as well as a new Delta 18” (18-900) press in my garage right now, (I just finished building a new house, and am in the process of setting up-shop - for the last time, “forever home”, etc). Both arguably the Cadillac’s of their generation. That said, I’m historically an OWWM guy, (having leaned on Mr Vaughn’s advise many times to date), but honestly am having a hard time deciding which to keep, and which to pass along. That said, I’m only keeping one....the new Delta is well built for what it is, and the forward-tilting table, laser, and LED work light is very nice - but the Rockwell is an absolute tank, (at least 2x the weight), and I have a 3 phase motor on it w/ a VFD to run on standard single phase power, while providing infinite speed control vs the belt driven manual speed changes on the “new” Delta.
Robert, I’ll shoot you a PM if you’d like to come help me decide!