Photo Index - Porter-Cable Machine Co. - S-1 oscillating spindle sander

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Porter-Cable Machine Co.
Syracuse, NY and Jackson, TN

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Sander
Machine Size:	6" spindle
Submitted By:	James Huston

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	S-1 oscillating spindle sander
Date of Manufacturer:	Unknown
Serial Number:	Unknown
Last Updated	4/12/2015 7:14:33 PM

Comments:

I received this sander from Dan Wyatt, who warned me point blank that it was in rough shape and was missing a lot of pieces. I was happy to have it; after all,it's not like they're making any more of them. Thanks to fellow owwm'ers Eric Clayton and gamma the sander arrived at my house without any further incident. The sander was missing the entire oscillating mechanism and had been retrofitted with a shopbuilt spindle. The original motor was long gone with the drums, tilt knob and serial number plate. the sander was essentially nothing but the five main castings. Oh, and the foot was badly cracked, the gearbox cover broken in half and the table had grooves worn in it from hard,hard use.
I love machines like Maggie ( I named her within 48 hours). You have nowhere to go but up.

I welded up the gearbox cover and foot, cleaned up the blood and entrails and with a bit of primer and paint had a much better foundation. My mother ( who worked at a Sherwin Williams when I was a boy) was able to match the remaining paint, but after that I had expended my ability to restore this machine.I must have done something right ( though I really can't remember when) because Jeff Parker and Dave Rybak came to my aid, big time. Jeff loaned me an entire S-1 head to study and Dave contributed his formidable skills as a machinist, reproducing the entire assembly ( I'm glad he's a Porter Cable guy!).
During the period where I was bugging other S-1 owners, I found that my sander has a number of peculiarities. My S-1 has only one force cup ( for the upper bearing), a oscillating locking thumbscrew that is to the right of the cam ( instead of below) and the Porter Cable decal on the front gearbox face.
There are minor issues to sort out still, like reproducing the Porter Cable decal and buying new drums and paper, but she runs and works as intended. There is a plan in the works to mill out a larger throat and fit inserts, and I think I've devised a way of adding a Wadkin-ish dust collection port. But right now I'm just marveling at how close this sander came to being in a scrapheap. this sander is technically now made of chilled cast iron, because the cold breath of the reaper was down her back for a long,long time.
Dan, Eric, Gamma, Jeff and Dave, Thank you. Maggie and I are in your debt.

Photo 1:

Comments: Before, poor thing
Source: JHuston

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Photo 2:

Comments: Decal
Source: JHuston

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Photo 3:

Comments: Welding the faultline
Source: Jhuston

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Photo 4:

Comments: The Maestro's work about to be installed
Source: JHuston

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Photo 5:

Comments: back to work, old girl
Source: JHuston

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Photo 6:

Comments: Big,bold, sassy and brassy
Source: Jhuston

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