I'm having to redo this post due to some weird bug that deleted the whole thing. Oh well.
So a brief description, this design was patented in 1928, I'm not sure exactly how old my saw is, but the other ones I have found online have a serial number with either 5 or 6 numbers. Mine is number 504, so I'd wager it's a pretty old one.
This is one of the things that was left at the house after the estate sale. I don't think they knew what it was. Also it's cast iron and heavy and was in a shed in back. I checked out a company online that actually still makes these, and while they do have some upgrades done to them a saw in this configuration is still worth a pretty penny.
When I first brought it back in to the wood shop and plugged it in, it fired right up, it was awesome. This thing would cut your fingers right off and not give a damn. It was originally running two serpentine belts with the grooves facing the pulleys. This might be good for cars, but it tore up the paper fiber pulley that these things use. It was still operational but on occasion a chunk would fly off of the pulley just from it being so chewed up.
So the first thing I did was to source some new pulleys from, would you have guessed, paperpulleys.com I picked up two just to have a spare. They were more designed for power take offs and such on tractors, and while it was the right diameter it just barely cleared the inner frame, by less than an eighth I'd say, but still good enough.
Then the next thing to do was to find some belts. That was the hard part. The Lady Friend, and myself any more for that matter, is not a fan of leather products. While you can find leather belts for these things day in and day out, finding an alternative that isn't just another car belt is sort of tough. Fortunately I came across hitnmiss.com This guy makes rubberized canvas belts in any size you can imagine. So I picked up a three ply 1.75″ x 50″ belt from him. And then another one just to have a spare.
I've also decided to start repainting it. That'll involve a full tear down, but for now I'm working on the parts that are easily removed. I have some Eastwood underhood black that I have decided to paint it, so this isn't going to be a true to original restore, more so just a cleanup and refresh. The paint gives it a nice semigloss finish more towards the glossy side of things.
I also decided to upgrade the old on off light switch to a paddle off safety switch.
I had to go with a deep box to mount the switch in due to the spade connectors being used. I'll probably paint the box to match the saw frame as well, or possibly red to match the paddle, but that might be too gaudy. Either way it works well and does exactly what I need it to. With the larger tools that will be in the shop having a similar style of switch it'll just be a little thing to bring things together.
Now I just need to figure out the swivel base so I can get really crazy and make this thing do miter cuts as well. Gotta get some new brushes as well. Found some, I think, I might need to file them down a touch. I'll post photos of that when I get them.
And the model plate. Gotta love that cast iron portability.
