Photo Index - Sears | Craftsman - 103.24241

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Sears | Craftsman
Chicago, IL

True Manufacturer:
King-Seeley Corp.-Central Specialty Division, Ann Arbor, MI; Ypsilanti, MI

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Table Saw
Machine Size:	8 inch
Submitted By:	Manny Ringel

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	103.24241
Date of Manufacturer:	1953
Serial Number:
Last Updated	11/25/2012 7:17:34 PM

Comments:

A recent garage sale find for $8. Now I have 8", 9", and 10" Craftsman 1950's table saws. This one will live in the garage and get wheeled onto the driveway for outdoor and household carpentry projects, saving me from many trips down and up the basement stairs to the workshop for every trim cut. At least that's the excuse I gave myself for owning three table saws :-)

No before pictures but it was in good shape except for surface rust on the table, and a missing miter gauge, and came on the Sears stand. The tilt and elevation mechanism was frozen and PO said the motor did not run, both reasons for the low price. I figured I could deal with both issues, and I had a spare miter gauge at home from one of my other saws.

The tilt and elevation worked fine after cleaning and lubrication, as I suspected it would. The motor indeed did not start for me, but pressing the red reset button took care of that :-). It was a bit noisy, but after blowing out a pound of sawdust and repacking the bearings with grease, it ran like a champ. The motor ball bearings, according to the manual downloaded from this site, were lubed for life, but they weren't sealed, and I figured that 60 years was probably a bit longer than the manufacturer had in mind as the lifetime.

Wire brush cleaned up the table just fine. As for the miter gauge, I knew I would have to switch the miter head over to a smaller 5/8 inch bar to fit the small miter slots on this saw. I didn't realize that 5/8 steel bar stock was not a standard size at the home center, I finally ended up taking 3/4 by 1/8 aluminum and cutting it down to 5/8. Naturally, a week after I finished redoing the miter gauge, I was going through my metal scrap bucket for something else and found a length of 5/8 steel bar. I'll keep it on hand if the aluminum gives way, but so far it seems to work fine.

The saw came with one cast iron wing on the right, I made a second wing for the left side. Also added some outfeed support behind the saw and a small shelf below. One thing which had caught my eye when I bought the saw was the "Powr Panl" switch with its nice graphics. Unfortunately when I inspected this more closely at home, I realized (as I should have expected from an early 1950s device) that it was not grounded, strictly a two prong plug device. I replaced the plug and cord on the motor with a grounded plug and cord, and mounted the Powr Panl on a 4 inch extension ring (like a 4 inch metal electrical box, but open on both ends). That let me add a grounded receptacle but still use and preserve the appearance of the Powr Panl. Also fabricated a knee-operated bar to turn off the saw, and some handles in front to make it easier to wheel the saw around.

All in all a fun restoration.

Photo 1:

Comments: front view showing new wing and outfeed support behind
Source: me

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Photo 2:

Comments: rear view of motor on funky angled mount, and outfeed support. 1750 RPM with 5" pulley to get the correct blade speed
Source: me

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Photo 3:

Comments: fuzzy view of back of Powr Panl showing two-prong construction
Source: me

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Photo 4:

Comments: Powr Panl mounted on 4" extension ring for grounded plugs
Source: me

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Photo 5:

Comments: Powr Panl mounted to stand, with panic bar and fold-out lifting handles. Shelf in rear.
Source: me

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Photo 6:

Comments: fence, and miter on 5/8 aluminum bar
Source: me

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