Stomana Bandsaws?

[onocoffee]

Personally, I don’t buy project tools. A tool that needs heavy restoration, especially missing impossible to source parts just isn’t worth the time I would otherwise be using on actual woodworking projects.
Unless it’s some kind of special old tool.
But, that’s just me.

I don't mind it as much. Since woodworking isn't my profession, it's difficult to justify going out and buying the Harvey Alpha (though that nickel-plated table is cool). I recently ended up doing a restoration of a 1934 Delta 14", so this doesn't seem too difficult - especially if it's essentially a Laguna LT14SE.

 

[onocoffee]

Something like this spectacular 1920's Kirchner in magnificent condition that went dirt cheap on a woodwork forum recently?

Earlier this summer I ended up getting a 1934 Delta 14" for $200. Some owner along the way had spray painted it (very poorly) white and painted the shields red. I intended to use it as is, but since I had taken it apart to the frame for transport, it seemed silly to reassemble it looking like it did. Took it completely apart, stripped it, sent the cast pieces out for blasting, clear coated the parts and basically did a restoration (or is it a refubishment?). Ended up spending a total of $550 including the price of the saw.

But that Kirchner though...

 

[Dr. P. Venkman]

Earlier this summer I ended up getting a 1934 Delta 14" for $200. Some owner along the way had spray painted it (very poorly) white and painted the shields red. I intended to use it as is, but since I had taken it apart to the frame for transport, it seemed silly to reassemble it looking like it did. Took it completely apart, stripped it, sent the cast pieces out for blasting, clear coated the parts and basically did a restoration (or is it a refubishment?). Ended up spending a total of $550 including the price of the saw.

But that Kirchner though...

I kind of want to see a picture of that.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Yes, pics please!

 

[onocoffee]

Pics? Happy to oblige.

These are the pics from the marketplace ad and how it looked when I picked it up. Someone along the way (not the guy I bought it from) had spray painted the frame and did a poor job at it. The latter two is the frame as I transported it home and then the upper frame and wheels after I had used citrus stripper and was just unhappy with how they cleaned up forcing a decision to send them out for blasting. One of the owners had built a base and flywheel cover out of plywood and did a helluva job. My shop is small so I need to move equipment around for use and storage, so I picked up some 2.5" double-locking casters from Woodcraft. But the base was robust and had a handmade slotted motor mount out of oak. Kudos to that owner.

 

[onocoffee]

Since it's a 91 year old saw, quite a bit of the cast iron had some surface rust. I soaked all those parts in EvapoRust and it cleaned them up well. The guide assemblies show how much overspray someone did along the way. The nice thing is that it came with the original rails and fence. To my eye, the Star Wars designers definitely used this fence as inspiration for the rear engines of the Imperial Star Destroyer. I only sent the important parts to the blaster - a local country boy who turned the parts around overnight and at a great price. Then I set the pieces outside to spray with clear coat. I thought about painting them stock grey but a friend of mine had her coffee roaster done in clear coat and I really liked the bare metal look and decided it might be fun to mimic that.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Nice! Love old machines!

I have very old metal shaper waiting to be restored, hopefully when I retire!

 

[onocoffee]

First pic is the saw partially assembled. It took several days to put it all back together. Rebuilt the lower guides and added one of those adjustable belts since the one that came with the saw was pretty old, hard and looked like it had developed a memory bend. Then photos of the upper guides and tensioner. I changed the power switch to something more modern and a bit more safety than the old switch that came with the saw. The original switch was mounted on the base and this location seemed more "natural" and matched modern versions. I really like the fence and was able to polish it up a bit and added some touches like the yellow indicators on the fence and table angle gauge. Not sure how to really read the scale on the fence rail but I like that they put the scale on it.

 

[onocoffee]

One of the touches Delta put on the 890 are these brass adjusters for the guides. They were covered in white paint and I was pleasantly surprised when they came out of the paint stripper. Then a pic of the saw both without the shields and with them on. The red was painted at some point in its life and I wanted to strip it off but the decal is original. The person who painted the shields also did a piss poor job of protecting the decal as they only partially masked it. I didn't want to risk destroying the decal so I left it red - though the red paint job was infinitely better than the white spray. Because I needed the saw to be on wheels, I had to modify the base. Without modification and with the wheels the table would have been at 48". I wanted it to be at 38" so I ended up using the TS55 on the track to cut around the base - this is when I really learned how well one of the owners built it. Plywood panels that were rabbeted and nailed with primer and grey paint. I did the blue black paint to match my workshops design language. I also added the yellow tractor paint to the blade guards to give it a modern flair.

So far, with the exception of me kinking the blade the other day, the saw has been a great performer. I thought about adding a riser block and then decided that I wanted to keep it close to stock (and I didn't want the expense). The motor is 1/2hp so it's a little under powered meaning that I try to control my impatience in feeding. Doing a rebuild wasn't in my original plan but I just couldn't live with the rust and the poor paint job. I'm actually very proud of the work and I hope that this saw will continue for another hundred years. My only wish is that it had some form of dust collection. I'm thinking about trying to magnet a port of some kind under the table by the guides to add whatever little dust collection possible.

Thanks for asking.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Nice work, that polished metal looks fantastic!

Segmented belts are great, usually reduces the noise a lot.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Older machines start getting to be something again, once they hit a certain age, but it depends on one's level of interest. (or willingness to mess with it)
With things like jointers and bandsaws, you can get much bigger/heavier/more stable machines, for a far more reasonable price, than new. That kind of outlay is just too much, for a home shop.
10-15 is not old, it's just used. At that point, it really is "what the market will bare." How many are in your area? and what are they selling for? One like that, is a bit of an anomaly, unlike the typical Asian 14" cast iron models.
It has lost some value, because of age(and missing parts), but not enough to re-gain it as really old.
In the old shop, we had a 30" Yates-American bandsaw, from the 1950s. It came from a high school woodshop, for quite a good price, but it did need some work. (bearings and brake parts)
The tires were shockingly good, must have been recently replaced.

After all that, since you already have the power to run it, there isn't added cost there. That alone,might eliminate a few other contenders, help bring the price down.

 

[onocoffee]

Well, I looked at it, it ran great, ran quiet, looked like the blade was running straight and the seller had dropped the asking price to $250, so I got it.

Overall, it's in good shape for a 21 year old bandsaw. There's a bit of sawdust buildup, the tension indicator doesn't work, there's some rust on the base (with enough in spots to flake the paint) and I feel itchy to take it apart, strip and repaint - but I'm trying not to give in to those tendencies. The seller turned out to be a great guy and we chatted about equipment and woodworking for more than an hour while getting the saw ready to transport. Took off the table, magnetic power switch and some components to lighten it as much as possible - but it's still a beast. Though I gotta say that when I saw it in person, it looked a bit smaller than I had imagined.

The seller bought it at an auction a few years ago and it sat in a barn for awhile until the table started to develop rust, then he brought it into his air conditioned shop where it's been taking up space and it was time to go. He did replace the tires recently so they're in great condition. While it has the wheel set from the factory, I'm thinking of replacing them with 2.5" double locking casters as there are four threaded holes in the bottom of the base. I think that would make it easier to move around just wondering if it might make it too narrow for balance (though it would be the same footprint as the base, so maybe I'm off in my presumption). Otherwise, it's time to treat the rust on the base, get it off the truck, clean it up, make a door and get it running.

@P_K - you said earlier that the blade looked like a Resaw King? Comparing it to the Resaw King on Laguna's website, the teeth profile looks a bit different - but I don't know bandsaw blade teeth profiles. Considering the cost of a new RK, it would be nice if it is an RK and can be resharpened.

 

[P_K]

That's defenitely a RK blade, just has the older geometry. https://www.rockler.com/laguna-tools-resaw-king-carbide-bandsaw-blade-1inch-carbide-blade
The teeth are carbide-tipped so they last quite a while, might still be sharp even though the blade itself is a bit oxidised.

Congrats on the purchase.

 

[onocoffee]

That's defenitely a RK blade, just has the older geometry. https://www.rockler.com/laguna-tools-resaw-king-carbide-bandsaw-blade-1inch-carbide-blade
The teeth are carbide-tipped so they last quite a while, might still be sharp even though the blade itself is a bit oxidised.

Congrats on the purchase.

Thanks, I looked on Laguna's website and while I have to go check the blade, they say they don't accept blades older than three years from the stamped date. Irritating. Called up a local joint that does resharpening but they do not do bandsaw blades. However, I learned they will weld me a blade of any length. 112" 1" wide 3TPI - about $40. They use stock from a company called M.K. Morse.

Anyone happen to have any experience with M.K. Morse blades?

 

[luvmytoolz]

@onocoffee I'd just look for another bandsaw blade sharpener. The Ripsaw King blades pretty much set the bar, and depending on what you'll be cutting, it may well be the only saw blade you'll now use.

 

[Cheese]

Anyone happen to have any experience with M.K. Morse blades?

M.K. Morse is considered to be a quality manufacturer of saw blades. They specialize in a lot of industrial products.

Band Saw Blades

www.mkmorse.com