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Peter Rideout

Peter Rideout

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Messages
1,776
Location
Nova Scotia, 45°N 64°W
3125F75D-53B1-4A7E-B814-3F7FFEF6E38F.jpeg
By way of checking in after some time away, here’s a little restoration project we hope to get underway in the next few months. It’s a 36 inch Cowan & Co bandsaw, built in Galt, Ontario in the early 1900’s.
It’ll be fun, but not quick, as there are many other projects on the books. I’ll keep you posted.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying some shop time.
 
Thank you for the encouraging comments guys. We are at the evaluation and research stage so far and one of the first steps is a realistic budget for time and money, as well as breaking the project down into manageable bites, so it doesn’t become an overwhelming, hopeless task. We need to keep it fun. A real bonus: I have a friend nearby who is very interested in the project and has particular skills😀

Luckily, the owner dismantled the machine, putting everything but the big casting into the barn maybe 20-30 years ago when he closed his woodworking business. But what an unbelievable jumble it was! Still not sure we have all the parts.
Some early observations:
-we’re going to need a new 5hp motor, about $600
-the shafting for both wheels, the blade guide apparatus and the tensioning mechanism need replacing
-the main bearings are all Babbitt and will have to be re-poured. My go-to machinist thinks he can remember how to do this, and there’s always YouTube.
-I underestimated it’s size! The height is over 9 feet, which means it will have to live in the open, un-heated part of the barn (shop ceiling is 8 feet) plus the footprint will be about 4’x6’. It likely weighs well over a ton, so good support underneath is essential.
-modern blade guides, tires and blades seem to be readily available.

Bonus: it has a friend, a 12 inch jointer, same vintage, in the back of that old barn....😉
 
My first look at the saw made me think of the ship's saw that Leo is using to rebuilt/refurbish the sailing yacht "Tally Ho"
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sampson+boat+co

If you go back a few episodes you'll see where he got the saw and refurbished it to cut ribs and various parts sof the boat... it's a massive saw.

Yours would never fit in my shop... ceiling rafters are only about 7' high... though the peak of the building is near 10'. and only at the very center of the shop...
will have to have custom made blades?
 
A friend of mine wanted to give me a similar one but not that big. I had to refuse for the same reason. It was too high for my shop.
You‘ll have to get fit to move those parts up and down Peter.
 
glenn bradley said:
Good to hear from you Peter. This looks like a great project. Loved the back story and the potential for a second machine.
Click to expand...
Thanks Glenn. We’re excited about the project, tempered with a bit of anxiety too. My son’s timeline (running by spring) and mine (running in a year) are a ways apart, but I have budget control and my wife wants a new pantry, front porch, library shelves and more this winter...🙂
I’m going to talk to the owner about the jointer this week. I don’t “need” a big jointer, being the current owner of Mack Cameron’s nice old 8” Rockwell, but I hate to see the stuff go for scrap. That’s how the bandsaw ended up here!
 
Chuck Ellis said:
My first look at the saw made me think of the ship's saw that Leo is using to rebuilt/refurbish the sailing yacht "Tally Ho"
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sampson+boat+co

If you go back a few episodes you'll see where he got the saw and refurbished it to cut ribs and various parts sof the boat... it's a massive saw.

Yours would never fit in my shop... ceiling rafters are only about 7' high... though the peak of the building is near 10'. and only at the very center of the shop...
will have to have custom made blades?
Click to expand...
Thanks Chuck

I’m a keen follower of the Tally Ho project. It’s a great story, beautifully told and I look forward to each new episode. I’ve looked at the episodes about the ship saw several times and there are certainly things to be learned. That ability to saw a constantly changing bevel is amazing. Larry Merlau and I had occasion to visit the historic shipyard at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut a few years ago where they had a massive ship saw, the first one I’d seen in person.
As to blades, they’ll certainly have to be custom ordered, fortunately Mill Supply in Halifax can source them. We’re fortunate to have those kind of resources just an hour’s drive from home.
 
Toni Ciuraneta said:
A friend of mine wanted to give me a similar one but not that big. I had to refuse for the same reason. It was too high for my shop.
You‘ll have to get fit to move those parts up and down Peter.
Click to expand...
Thanks Toni. Too bad you couldn’t accommodate the saw, it would have been a great addition to your shop, even if you had to raise the roof!
I saw on the news that Madrid had snow. Hopefully not in balmy Barcelona.
Stay healthy and active!
 
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