Photo Index - Sears | Craftsman - Craftsman Bandsaw - #'s unknown

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Sears | Craftsman
Chicago, IL

True Manufacturer:
Walker-Turner Co., Inc., Jersey City, NJ; Plainfield, NJ

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Band Saw
Machine Size:	12"
Submitted By:	Richard McGowen

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Craftsman Bandsaw - #'s unknown
Date of Manufacturer:	late 30's
Serial Number:	Unknown
Last Updated	11/1/2009 10:27:49 PM

Comments:

Additional Edit:

Sold this saw in late summer 2009, thus it is no longer in my possession. Was a great performer. Actually preferred it in some respects to my 14" Delta band saw. Currently have two others like this one under restoration.

Edit:

Moved add'l photos to:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/rcmg52/Craftsman%20W-T%20BS/

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Finally finished rebuild of this piece. In addition to work detailed below, also made knobs, tweeked alignment of components, fitted Timberwolf blade/cool blocks and mounted on '50s Toro tool stand. Powered by 3/4 hp Craftsman motor. Cuts beautifully yielding consistent thin slices off 4" stock.

No additional info on model number. I place the date as 1938 or 1939 based on detail differences shown in 1937 and 1939 catalogs. Saw was built by Walker Turner for Sears. Saw shares stand with K/S 4-inch jointer of same late '30s time period.

Color was matched to original blue from clean, unexposed area between wood table bracket and frame and is darker than on any of the K/S-made Craftsman pieces I have. Silver wheels are as original as is the use of black for guide assemblies. Cover knobs were fabricated from Rockler knobs and shop-made extensions. Not exactly correct, but functional.

With bargain hunting for added bits, total investment around $140 for saw. Motor was found at county recycling center for free. : )

--Original Post --

Current project. Picked up locally for $43, through an eBay auction. Other than missing original retaining knobs for covers, is complete and original. Purchased new by seller's grandfather. Shown as found, dirty, neglected, but still wearing its original Sears blue finish. No tags other than Craftsman badge on top cover. SKF Bearings-marked disk on top wheel hub and remnants of SKF Bearings decal on frame. Motor is a Delco Rigidframe Appliance, 1/3 hp of same period.

The good: Solid machine, massive cast-iron frame. Ball bearings in both wheels. Aluminum wheels straight and true. Complete and original except for missing cover knobs. Motor hums along just fine.

The bad: One of top wheel bearings grabbing, wheel spinning around bearing. (Top axle fitted from new with oiler hole exiting top of axle instead of bottom so no oil would flow in to lube bearings - assembler must have had a bad day.) Cast potmetal covers stress-cracked. Table trunnion junk from new. As originally cast, metal did not fully flow into mold to completely form curved edge on one side, thus two halves don't mate properly and table wobbles. (So much for superior workmanship in good ol' days). Top guide assembly originally fitted with hex-shaped end of guide post into hex-shaped socket in assembly. Grandpa at some point thought it a good idea to round off end of guide post with a file. Will have to clean up and shim to make fit tight again.

Completed thus far: Stripped, cleaned, primed. (Table surface cleaned up beautifully.) Repaired covers. New bearings top and bottom. New tires on wheels. Mated trunnion halves best possible, will still have to shim a little. Yet to do: Paint, assemble and tune, make new wood table extension, fix fit of guide assembly. post new pictures.

Top bearings similar to common 6202 x 5/8" but not quite. An obsolete number, these have same o.d. but measure .623" i.d. With help of Gopher Bearing in St. Paul, located original bearings, but at $35 each, opted to follow their advice and use 6202 x 5/8" along with bearing lock fluid to make up the .002" difference. As for wheel spinning around frozen bearing, no wobble with wear only .002"-.003" inside wheel (got lucky here, obviously wasn't run much this way) and will use the bearing lock fluid here as well. Could use epoxy, but someone may want to remove the bearings some day.

Applied J-B Weld and fiberglass screen mesh on backside of covers to mend stress cracks. Of 5 different resin materials tested, J-B Weld was most tenacious in sticking to potmetal. Regular clear epoxy, PC-7 and others peeled or popped off under pressure. Spread thin, J-B Weld easily breaks when flexed, thus the fiberglass mesh to strengthen. Covers now seem as least as strong as new. (Accidently dropped one and it didn't break.)

Photo 1:

Comments: As found
Source: Sellers photo

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Photo 2:

Comments: Restored
Source: My Canon EOS digital

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Photo 3:

Comments: Restored
Source: My Canon EOS digital

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