Photo Index - Sears | Dunlap - Dunlap 12" Scroll Saw

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Sears | Dunlap
Chicago, IL

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

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Jig or Scroll Saw
Machine Size:	12-inch
Submitted By:	Richard McGowen

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Dunlap 12" Scroll Saw
Date of Manufacturer:	early '50s
Serial Number:	?
Last Updated	12/14/2011 8:12:13 PM

Comments:

Found in neighborhood garage sale. Table rusty, mechanism frozen, covered in grime. Priced accordingly. A real ugly duckling. A sucker for apparent lost causes, I had to have it.

While uniformly covered in heavy rust, the top was not pitted. Initial scraping followed with a Scotch-Brite pad revealed a fairly nice top. WD-40 and elbow grease elsewhere similarly revealed a pretty nice scroll saw with original paint mostly intact. Remnants of red paint remained on guide thumbscrew, plunger top and hold down finger tips. Also a splash of red appears under the table. Given the condition overall, I assumed the red is original. Disassembly of the internals continued the good fortune. The shaft was frozen to the column by hardened assembly grease. This saw had hardly been run if at all. Certainly not enough for the lubricating oil to have desolved the grease. Lack of wear on guides and absence of paint chipping at mounting flanges reinforces this assessment.

Heat applied to the column softened the grease freeing the shaft. A thorough cleaning. reassembly with assembly lube on the moving parts, a touch up of the red paint and its good to go. Not bad for an afternoon's entertainment, for less than the cost of popcorn at the movies.

As to history, the seller acquired it with thoughts of fixing it up, but was stymied by the frozed works. A search of the catalog archives dates it as early '50s under the Dunlap name. The same saw appears in 1949 catalog under Craftsman name, so was apparently demoted later on. The blade clamps are grooved to accept pinned blades. Blade length is 5". The pulley fitted is Craftsman brand and also assumed original.

With helpful input from Brian Kachadurian determined this is King Seeley-made and a 1950 model.

Now that I have had my fun, this has go away to a new home in Pennsylvania.

Photo 1:

Comments: Full View
Source: My Canon EOS Digital

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Photo 2:

Comments: Details
Source: My Canon EOS digital

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Photo 3:

Comments: Label (couldn't they have put it on straight?!)
Source: My Canon EOS Digital

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