Some time ago I rescued a '70s era 16" abrasive cutoff saw from an ignomious fate (meaning going to someone else). It was in *horrible* condition, which was factored into the price. However, once I got it home and thought about it awhile it seemed fixable. Here's a list of what was wrong with it:
- motor bearings absolutely shot, worst I've ever heard, howled maybe 120 dB
- spindle bearings not much better, truly worn out
- main wheel guard (aluminum casting) had bad crack in it
- saw had been physically very abused, stand was bent, belt guard broken
- sheet metal guards on table were badly rusted, screws sheared in table casting
- saw was wired for 440V
- the handle had completely broken out of the upper casting and was gone
- lot of rust on many parts including pulleys
I got all the broken screws except one out of the table casting using easyouts. I tried a large variety of methods on the last screw including:
- welding a piece of sheet metal to the busted screw, then turning that * soaking it in nitric acid (3 days) * soaking it in warm alum solution (a week)
Finally, I gave up on the last screw. That one guard is now held in by 3 screws, not 4. It doesn't rattle. I used brass screws instead of steel in an attempt to defeat electrostatic corrosion from locking them in. To summarize, I removed the table sheet metal guards, electrolytically derusted them, straightened them, repaired/repainted them, and reinstalled them with new screws.
The main wheel guard went down to Ernie, who TIG welded the crack. (THANKS!!)
I replaced the entire motor, happened to have one that fit. 7½ horsepower, 3450 rpm, wired for 240V, it's a screamer. I was happy that it runs OK on my 3 phase converter, which has only a 7½ hp idler. Works fine so far.
I derusted a lot of the main parts, including the pulleys.
I fabricated a new handle by bolting a piece of steel over the broken hole, and welding a piece of pipe which had been cut to a 25° angle to it, then screwing on a 3/4" straight pipe coupler to that, leaving a female 3/4" pipe thread at the 25° angle I wanted. I'm currently using a handle from an old Ridgid pipe threader, but any piece of 3/4" pipe would do.
I replaced the spindle bearings. Wow, new motor, new spindle bearings, sounds like a nice machine now, not like a camel giving birth.
I disassembled the sheet metal stand and pounded it as straight as I could get it, then reassembled it with new fasteners. Seemed basically sound, but I wanted it stronger and portable, so I cut a piece of 1/4" plate steel to the size of the stand, and punched holes for swivel casters, making sure that the corner holes lined up with the holes in the stand where the feet had been, then through-bolted the casters to the plate. Much more rigid, now it's portable, don't have to bend over anymore to use it. Wish the casters had brakes, didn't want to spend $45 to get nice braking casters.
Bought some new 16" blades off ebay, $3 apiece. They're 5/32" wide, and the local Praxair store carries 3/32" blades but those are $18 apiece.
Today I shot a few pictures and did my first test cuts. Cuts just great! I cut off a beer truck axle, powered smoothly right through it. Truck axle is some super tough steel, really really tough on bandsaw blades. The axle is a bit over
2" thick, the saw cut it in about 6-8 seconds. Sa-weet!Yes, it's loud, yes it's smelly, yes it throws crap everywhere. But it's fast, and cuts true, and that means money.
Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington