When my dad retired about 10 years ago and closed his business (Florist / Greenhouse business), he gave me the table saw that was in the store basement. I had used it for years in repairing old and building new greehouses. My Delta Contractors saw was much better (and not in a million pieces) so the saw just sat in the garage. Trust me, no one could tell if a little more rust got on this thing. The saw is an old Delta Homelife 3/4 HP contractor type saw. The table length (front to back) is about 3 inches shorter than the current day Deltas.
Yesterday, I started playing around with the old saw. Thought maybe I could get it back into shape. It also gave me the excuse to try things I wouldn’t have dared to do to my saw. First, the table top… It was so bad… It was black as coal and had the consistency of course grit sandpaper.
I first tried the Boeshield rust remover (Phosphoric acid, I believe). Following the directions for a half hour, I removed a lot of rust but no sign of a polished top anywhere nearby. I next tried 0000 steel wool with WD-40. Not much help. Next, 0000 steel wool with the Boeshield product. Now started to make some progress. Actually raised about a quarter size of smooth polished iron top. So, I continued with that process for another hour or so, making progress, but nothing dramatic.
Finally, I thought of the process I used when making gel-coat repairs to my boat. Started with 400 silicone carbide wet / dry sandpaper. Sprayed on the Boeshield and sanded out the top. It removed so much rust that it gunked the paper fairly quickly. Did it again with the Boeshield and then came back with 0000 steel wool and mineral spirits. When most of the top showed polished metal, I moved to 600, then 800, then 1000 grit. I would guess the top hasn’t looked this good and smooth for about 40 years.
The motor needs to be rewired and so I will take that to a motor shop.
I removed the “cabinet” from around the saw and cleaned everything and sprayed on some powder graphite to the gears.
The one piece of advice I’d humbly request is with the table arbor. It is not frozen, but it is very tight. I shot some lithium grease and it loosed it very slightly. The assembly which holds the arbor is fairly different from my new Delta contractors saw (same concept, but different looking parts). There is a square nut that can probably be removed. What will I find? Are there bearings in this old saw? If I need to replace them, I’d like to do it myself. I do not have an instruction manual for this old saw. Can anyone help with what I should do, how I should do it and where can I find the parts?
Thanks,
Bob
Replies
One note / addition. The motor is a Delta Homecraft 1 HP motor (not 3/4 hp as I had mentioned). It was manufactured for Delta Rockewell (Milwaukee, WI) by Marathon Mfg, also of Wisconsin.
Robbie: Forest Girl hit the nail on the head with her post contact Delta they do have manuals and parts for the older tools they will do everything possible to help you ,yes its refreshing to find a company in this day and age that wants to help customers..<G>... thats also a reason that Im a proud member of the Delta Club...
ToolDoc
I've a repair center here in Milwaukee that even has a bone yard of reclaimed tools & parts. Lots of parts some used. I have unisaw std fences on my craftsman and rockwell contractor TS's It isn't cheap but the sturdy fence rails make a better tool than some of the newer melamine coated beaver barf fences of today. A strip of UHMW on the fence makes it glide better than new.Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
Tool Doc and Forest Girl: Thank you for the responses everyone. Called Delta and they requested a model #. Untortunately, I checked the saw a third time and a model # has not yet appeared! Called my Dad and he told me he guessed that he bought the saw not in the 60s, but in the early to mid 50s.
Given that, I would guess that an arbor bearing job is in order. While according to Delta you need special tools to press in the bearings, I will try to make do. Besides, it could be a learning experience. I may even try some basic wiring, but will probably see if I can find a 1 hp motor for a decent price somewhere. Any ideas?
Though about putting a short Biesemeyer home fence on this and realized that my ideas were verging on trying to make a silk purse out of the proverbial sow's ear. If nothing else, perhaps my experiment / experience in renewing this really rusted table top might help someone else with table rust problems
All advice welcome.
Robbie : For a motor try a local motor repair shop,many times they have repaired motors you can pick up a tad cheaper than buying new.. if your interested in a new one try either Grainger or Mc Master carr they have tons of motors...
Best of Luck on restoring your saw.. ToolDoc
Edited 3/11/2003 10:13:41 AM ET by TOOLDOC
Add to tool doc's suggestion a farm store. Farm & fleet or fleet farm are stores in my area. They have large animal supplies, and implement motors. just match the rpm and the base mounting method and you are going.
as for the bearings. WD 40 the bejeebers out of them and spin them to rinse out the rust. If they are still rough running take the arbor from the bottom of the table (unbolt it probably) and take it to a Bearing house. (check yellow pages.) Replacements are 20 bucks or so ea.Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
Folks:
Thank you for your responses. At forestgirl's suggestion, I called Delta today and they were unbelievably helpful. It was shocking regarding the information that they have maintained over the years, despite the changes in ownership.
From the serial number, Delta was able to tell me not only the model number, but also the month it was manufactured and the replacement part numbers for the bearings. As it turns out, This Old Saw is:
Model: 34-500
Manufacture Date: May, 1954
Given the date, replacing the bearings might not be a bad idea. I will keep you posted on the saga. Darn, I wished I had done a before and after. Only you all would understand...
Best,
Robbie
Ahhhh, I think I'll bookmark that last post -- for the next time someone queries us about possibly choosing Sears over Delta or Jet. ROFL!!! [Actually, you've done better with Delta, by a tad, than I did with Jet while refurbishing my old JTS -- Still haven't been able to get the right bolt to hold the guard bracket to the saw. Good excuse to get a 1023S from Grizzly, eh??]
Go for it Robbie, sounds like fun.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Bringing back up for DJK who is refinishing a vintage Unisaw.
Cheapie motor, don't sweat the details. Price a new one before you rewire that one. Marathon's are the Tecumseh of electrics.
As for the arbor. Run it loose by cranking the operating mechanisims as well as the bearings at the housing where the wheels crank the adjustments. BUT after you are thru working the rust loose, wipe off the grease. It'll capture the sawdust and make a crappy mess when you rub up on it. Consider WD 40 next time. It doesn't attract as much dust and works almost as well.
The sandpaper with a block to keep the table top flat is the answer. Don't forget to shine up the rails for the fence. that makes it work nicely too. A coat of car wax on the rails makes for smooth operation.
It is a nice 2nd saw for you or any small shop. Make it the dado setup. It really saves the changeovers.Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
You might try just calling Delta. I got a part for a 40-year-old miter gauge from them, a very specialized part no less, and the guy who answered my phone call was very knowledgeable.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I wouldn't put any real money into it, besides a set of bearings, but it would make a great sanding disk setup. I would slow it down with a small drive sheave and larger arbor sheave, which may limit how high you can raise it, but you can compensate with a larger disk if nothing else is in the way. You could also put on a 1/3 to 1/2 hp 1800 rpm motor (air handler or furnace salvage) to get half the speed it has now.
Be seeing you...
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled