Advice Needed

[Sonny]

A friend's BIL, Tom, passed away and my friend gave me Tom's woodshop.... no other heirs. Rockwell tools: lathe, shaper, drill press, table saw... all with lots of accessories, tools, bits, cutters, etc; vises, grinders, sanders, hand tools. Plus cabinets, misc screw/nail/etc organized containers, a shed of lumber (cherry, walnut, mahogany, white oak). All the items have not been used in 10 yrs, or so, and most of the tools date back to the 40s & 50s.

All the power tools work, however all the wiring is corroded, insulation dry rotted and/or cracking. I'm tentatively rewiring the tools.... I'm not an electrician, but I'm confident I can duplicate the wiring, as is, easy enough. All the belts are in poor shape, also. I've cleaned and polished the major tools and downloaded the owners manuals for the ones I've tackled (wiring), so for.

The shaper (model 43-110) sounds rough, as if it groans, as if the bearings are bad or, more so, something needs grease, but I see no way to grease anything, unless I take it apart (including removing it from its cabinet). I can't tell where the roughness actually is.... Or, I may not be familiar enough with shapers to know if this "roughness" is normal. I would think it is not normal, though the tool is not vibrating. To me, it just sounds rough running. I am hesitant to test a cut until I can solve this rough sound issue. Given this info and before taking it apart, can anyone give a suggestion as to what I may look for or try to do? I'm also wondering if it just needs to be run for a while, since it hadn't been used in a long time. I have an old Craftsman shaper (model 113-259201) and it's sound is not a perfect hum, either.

Also, I already have a 4' lathe. Shouldn't I be able to connect the two lathe beds to make an 8' lathe? Or might this length be unstable? Install a central stabilizer? My lathe motor is 3/4 hp, whereas Tom's lathe motor is 1 hp. Might a larger hp motor be required for 8' turnings, though I would rarely turn something 8' long? I've asked myself, why screw with a good thing, if I'll rarely use it in that other capacity? But the option is there, if the stability issue is not a problem.

Thanks for any help. Sonny

[Lew Hodgett]

Bearings, belts and insulation are all items that do not age gracefully.

Pick a tool from this collection, then replace all bearings, belts and electrical wiring,

After that expense, are you still interested in re-habing the tool?

I suspect you already know the answer before doing the exercise.

Lew

[Puckdropper]

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in news:B34mk.251$EL2.12 @trnddc01:

*snip*

Funny thing... that happens in math classes sometimes. Those three annoying four letter words make it a whole lot harder: "SHOW YOUR WORK." ;-)

Puckdropper

[Morris Dovey]

If the answer is "no" I'd be pleased to save you the trouble of having 'em hauled away to the landfill. :-)

[Lew Hodgett]

There is something to be said for "Old Iron"; however it ain't cheap.

My guess is that re-hab cost will be 35%-50% of new replacement equipment.

Lew

[Bob AZ]

But the option is there, if the

Sonny

You don't say where you are but why not donate everything to a school or a non-profit. Like Habitat for Humanity, and have them keep the proceeds. From the sound of things it appears that the cost of rehab will exceed the proceeds.

Were they mine to do with I would do the rehab since it is not at all difficult for me. Then I would sell them off. Perhaps donate the proceeds to Habitat for Humanity.

Bob AZ

[Pat Barber]

You need to go over to

group is MUCH more knowledgeable about rehab of old machines.

They can be VERY helpful in restoration work, and electrical reworks.

S> A friend's BIL, Tom, passed away and my friend gave me Tom's

[Frank Boettcher]

Not familiar with that model number, but most cabinet shapers have a spindle cartridge which fits into the cast iron carriage that raises and lowers.

If the bearings in the cartridge are bad there is no lubricating them they are sealed, permanenetly lubricated bearings. If they are bad you will have to replace them and depending on the type of spindle you may need a repair kit which has spacers, bearings, and preload washers. You might take it to a Delta sevice center as there is a technique for setting the preload on the cartridge.

Getting parts may be difficult. I fought diligently to keep the repair kits available for service and lost. Different philosophy, old Delta, PC transition, then B & D. Old Delta believed that a lifetime machine should be serviced for life. Others more interested on inventory turns......

If you have a dial indicator, slip a good spindle in there and indicate it to see if the runnout is excessive or you can feel play. Also the belt may have taken a set, so replace it and see if it doesn't quiet down.

And it could be just some loose sheet metal sounding off. Or slop in the raise/lower mechanism. Or an issue with the motor.

Frank

[Jack Stein]

My entire shop is old Rockwell/Delta iron from around 1952-54 era. This includes a lathe, table saw, jointer, jig saw, band saw. Also a Craftsman drill press and a newer shaper. All this stuff has the original belts, original motors, with some wiring replaced. Everything runs about as smooth as the day it was made, except the craftsman drill press has some issues with slop, but good enough for anything I've done with it.

My guess is all his stuff is better than most stuff you buy today other than very expensive industrial equipment. If it were me, I'd use it until something breaks, then worry about it. If the shaper is making noise, it's probably the bearings but unless they are screaming at him, I wouldn't worry too much about it until he knew it was the bearings making noise. Usually you can tell a bearing is going bad from the neighbors house:-)

As for the two lathes, I'd sell one, one lathe is usually enough. I also have an OLD 10' Rockwell lathe that I restored 20 years ago and was going to set it up some day if I ever needed a 10' lathe... so far, it's still sitting in pieces in my shed. I paid I think $3 for the thing at a house sale/auction. I didn't need or even want it but for $3 I've been tripping over it for 20 years...