Photo Index - Powermatic Machine Co. - Model 81 Bandsaw

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Powermatic Machine Co.
McMinnville, TN; La Vergne, TN

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Band Saw
Machine Size:	20" Bandsaw
Submitted By:	Phillip Smith

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Model 81 Bandsaw
Date of Manufacturer:
Serial Number:
Last Updated	1/8/2006 12:00:00 AM

Comments:

This was my first OWWM purchase. Purchase price with buyers premium was $830. I purchased at an IRS auction of Russell's Woodcarvings in Hickory, NC in August of 2004. Although I purchased the machine at the auction it was not part of the woodcarving facility but was placed in the auction by a used machinery dealer who had repainted the with with a cheap sticky green paint (the paint was still not competely cured when we picked the saw up) the you can see in the first picture. A friend, Bruce had inspected the saw before the sale and we knew that there was rust on the table and that the saw need new upper wheel bearings and new guide bearing and that the upper guide post was frozen in the housing. As it turns out the saw was more rusted than expected. We cracked the upper wheel pulling it off the shaft. Some one had driven the cotter key into the slot and the hub cracked as the shaft pulled out. I purchased a powermatic wheel off ebay from a fellow OWWM member but the wheel had been run on another machine with what looked like a pice of brass tubing a a shaft sleeve. Had the wheel rebored by a machine shop and new steel sleeve made to fit shaft. We had trouble pulling the lower wheel off the shaft so Bruce made a custom wheel puller which you can see in the last picture. We had a lot of torque on the puller to get the rusty wheel off.

The saw frame was stripped to bear metal with combination of sanding and paint stripper. Primed with automotive primer and painted with PPG Industrial enamel that was color matched to the inside of the door of a second Powermatic 81 that Burce purchased. Most of the cast iron pieces including the table were put through and electrolyis bath to remove rust and paint and then primed and painted. Will post pictures of finished saw in second post.

Photo 1:

Comments: Picture of the saw posted in the online auction
Source: IRS auction of Russell's Woodcarving

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Photo 2:

Comments: Upper Wheel showing rebored wheel & new bushing
Source: My camera

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Photo 3:

Comments: Picture of custom made wheel puller
Source: my camera

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