Replies

1. 
   user-148830 | Jul 24, 2007 06:17pm | #1

   Hi Tom,
   Sorry. Had my head buried in my machines.

   Do not tell anyone else this information, but used 3 phase equipment is a screaming deal. You can find all sorts of old beasts with so much more cast iron on them. Yes, check for flatness and good trunnions, all the gears working, etc, but phase converters are out there for a couple of hundred bucks. My information says avoid rotary phase converters as you lose some power, static is the way to go, but in a one man shop you can run all your machines off this one converter and have a veritable shrine to old cast iron. I say go for it. Gary

1. 
   ajewoodwork | Jul 25, 2007 04:48am | #2

   Thanks s o much for your input. I'll let you know how I do.

1. 
   woodrae | Jul 25, 2007 04:12pm | #3

   Tom—I'll echo Gary's sentiments, especially when it comes to old cast iron. Again, please don't tell anyone, so you and I and Gary will be well-stocked into the next millennium: There are thousands of old machines out there that will perform as good, or typically better, than today's modern machines. While you may not get all the bells and whistles, and while safety components such as guards and splitters may not be up to snuff or not even there, the guts of these older machines are typically way beefier than anything you can buy today. Bringing the windings and wiring up to code may take some work, but I think it's worth the effort.Many of the machines in my shop are old, and I like it that way. For years I've been acquiring old stuff because a) it's better, and b) it's way less expensive. We just took delivery of a beautiful 16 in. American jointer, circa somewhere around 1920 or so. This one machine will outlast myself, my family, my family's family, and so on. The price was too good to pass up, being thousands (yes, that's plural) of dollars less compared to today's equivalent.Be sure to look at woodworking tool auctions. Some of my best deals have come this way. Today, you can access these auctioned machines on the internet. Back in the early 90s, I stood on a farmer's loading dock in the rolling countryside of southeastern Pennsylvania, surrounded by a bunch of hayseeds, and bid $400 on an 18-in. Crescent jointer. No one else uttered a word, and I joyfully trucked the beast home for subsequent years of faithful service in my shop. (I sold it for $1,200 when I moved south some years ago; I still miss the brute.) There are deals out there that you've never imagined.—Andy Rae