My apologies. I thought for some reason that I was in the Atlas forum instead of the Rockwell Delta one. I'm not familiar enough with the Rockwell machines to know how much if any of the below procedures are applicable. But basically, if retracting the ram does not free up whatever is stuck, remove the ram from the tailstock and get the stuck tooling out that way.
The following may only apply to an Atlas tailstock: You don;t actually have to do anything to the tailstock other than crank the ram out until it runs off of the threads and then pull the ram on out of the tailstock casting to get the ram and stuck tooling out of the tailstock. Once you have the stuck tooling out of the ram, pull up on the lock lever and pull the bolt and two beveled cylinders out of the tailstock and inspect and if necessary clean them. Reassemble the lock assembly, screwing the lever onto the bolt no more than 2 or 3 full turns.
Oil the lock assembly and threads and ram and threads. Stick the ram back into the tailstock and slide it on in until you can see it in the hole for the lock. Pull it back just out of sight.
Hold the lock assembly by the top of the upper beveled cylinder and allow the other parts to drop down as far as they will go. Orient the lock assembly so that the two bevels are pointed towards the ram side of the hole and lower it into the hole. Push lightly in the ram while raising or lowering the lock assemble until the ram slides past the lock assembly. Slide the ram on in until it is stopped by the screw. Push gently on the ram while turning the hand wheel CCW. Continue turning the hand wheel until the ram is back to where you normally leave it. Tighten the lock lever until the ram is locked and then loosen it about a quarter-turn.
