Photo Index - Ekstrom, Carlson & Co. - Model E Rip Saw

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Ekstrom, Carlson & Co.
Rockford, IL

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Rip Saw
Machine Size:	18" Blade, 225 Feet Per Minute
Submitted By:	Chuck Hess

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Model E Rip Saw
Date of Manufacturer:	1958
Serial Number:
Last Updated	1/11/2006 4:46:37 PM

Comments:

Ekstrom Carlson Model E Rip Saw, 1958. Before.

Aloha,
This saw came from Eugene Oregon and was forced on me by one of my lumber salesmen. He used to have a furniture shop there that he closed down and he was convinced that my shop was the perfect home for this saw. I think that is largely because he has seen my restorations and this saw needs some help. He also shipped an Irvington chop saw which I told him I did not want but he replied if you have a rip saw, you're going to want a chop saw too. My reply was that I didnt want a rip saw either, because I was about to finish all my restoration/ machinery projects and did not want to dive into another big honkin' project right now. I know it sounds crazy, but I guess I was thinking that I would actually concentrate on woodworking for a while. But now they are both here at a price that I could not refuse, literally. The deal also included a terrific cantilever rack, which we have already erected and loaded in our warehouse. The rip saw also came with the original manual which is very nice to have.
The good news is that the saw is not rusty. The bad news is that it is a giant grease ball and every time I get near it I get slimed. With the addition of this saw to my shop, my OWWM sickness has gone from slippery slope to your basic freefall. So I did the usual "wire the thing up and see if it will run thing" and my employees did the usual "back off shaking their heads and watch me from a safe distance thing". It ran alright, a 20 HP motor on the arbor and the feedworks slow speed is 56 feet per minute. The top end is 225 ft per minute and is positively frightening. I dont know if I can handle saving that much time. Depth of cut is 4 1/4" with an 18" blade installed. This is a "saw under design" which means the blade is under the table between the feed tracks and the upper part is pressure rollers and anti-kickback devices. Looks like a very cool design, it's the first one I've seen up close. It needs new arbor bearings and the 9" diameter arbor flange has been abused by the last shop to try that. I have already started the teardown, we removed the shaft today, and I am going to take the entire shaft and flange to the sugar mill machine shop. Going straight to the top on this one. I am pretty comfortable working on 5 HP saws but this one is big, the nut that holds the rotor on the shaft is 2 5/8", bigger than anything I have so I had to borrow a socket for that already. It has been a while since I had to borrow a tool. The motor side bearing is about 5" in diameter and the blade side is about 4". The shaft is about 40" long & 2 11/16" in diameter!
This is my first Ekstrom machine and so far I am very impressed with the workmanship I am seeing. All the nuts and bolts have serial numbers stamped on them. The base of the saw is thick steel plate welded construction. The upper arms and other parts are cast iron. I think the manual says it weighs 4950 lbs. The saw seems to have original paint with what looks like a light gray primer on the steel parts and the cast parts also have a layer of almost white, what I guess is casting filler under the primer. Maybe the Ekstrom Carlson experts out there can tell me if that is the factory light grey/green color? I am not going to strip it since it is not rusty but we will scuff it and paint her. I am thinking about a metallic purple like the kids Honda cars around here, what do you think?
Aloha for now, tune in later for another exciting episode of CIFB = Cast Iron Fever, Baby!!!

Chuck

Photo 1:

Comments: Left half of table is off.
Source: Mines

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Photo 2:

Comments: Arbor Assembly
Source: Mines

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Photo 3:

Comments: Big nut & 20 HP rotor
Source: Mines

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