finally breathing again

Paul Hubbman

Member
Messages
582
Location
St. Louis, MO
Well, it's been longer than i'd care to admit, but i took advantage of some time off during the holidays - real time off - no trips out of town, no major projects on the house - just time at home to sleep in a bit, play with the kids, and catch up on some reading.

I did rummage around in the shop for a while. Now that the Christmas projects were all done, i spent a bit of time cleaning the place up and FINALLY GOT MY BANDSAW PUT BACK TO ORDER. It's an early 1930's Crescent 20". I had done the mechanical check-up, including new spindle bearings, drive belt, extensive cleaning, lube, etc. and had started replacing the original rubber tires when i had to shelf it for a while to work on something more pressing.

I pulled it out, finished stripping off the old rubber tires and adhesive, took off the rest of the paint from the wheels, repainted, installed the new tires, checked them for balance, and put the wheels back on. I even made the one piece that was M.I.A. - the little bit of blade guard that attaches to the upper guide post.

I installed a resaw blade i had picked up for it, took a final look at its dustless gleem, fired it up, and fed a 10" piece of oak through it. It was a sweet moment. I cut veneer off in 1/16" inch thicknesses. No problem.

It's ridiculous, but i now have 2 band saws. The redundancy is against my grain, but the smaller one (an ollllllld 17" C-frame) was a very involved complete rebuild that i worked on with my Dad - can't bring myself to part with it. The Crescent, however, is in a different league. So, now i've got one for finer work, and more of a brut for the manly stuff.

It felt great to check that off my list and get it back into service. Mechanically, now, it's top knotch - tuned up and running smooth. The paint looks pretty sorry, but i'll wait for another day to deal with that one.

Now, about that old lathe that's sitting lame in my shop . . .

Paul Hubbman
 
OK, alright, i'll snap some pics and get them posted. Maybe i'll take a few of the next projects waiting in line - the late 1800's FE Reed lathe and the Atlas table saw.

Mechanically, the lathe itself is in fine condition. It needs cleaning and paint, but the basics are good. I do need to turn a new flat belt step pulley to pair with the one on the headstock and put the jack shaft back together. It has bench legs on it, but i'm not going to dedicate any of my bench space to the lathe - i need to build a base for it.

The table saw is a bit more straight forward. One of the pot metal trunnion brackets that mount to the top broke. I found a replacement, but still need to pull the saw apart for a good cleaning and a new paint job. It's for a friend of mine - it'll be nice to get it out of my basement. The corner it's sitting in is earmarked for the "new" lathe, so maybe i'll do the saw first.

Anybody else got a project cued up or under way???

Paul Hubbman
 
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