Greetings:
Anyone out there still using old / vintage hand power tools?
I have an old power saw that I really like and don't want to part with for something newer but the cord is getting frayed.
How hard is it to install a new cord and upgrade to a grounded plug?
Any on-line 'how-to' links for this procedure?
Any on-line sources for cords / parts like this?
Thanks!
Japhy Lex, KY
You want to get a cord with a proper strain relief. If the strain relief is good, use the appropriate gage from the home center. You'll find it cheaper to buy an extension cord with molded plug than a plug and a cord. Just keep them short like the originals, don't be tempted to use the 15'.
If it is already double-insulated, it needs no grounding. Might choose wrong and "ground" to the part of the tool which is powered by the hot lead.
Better change like for like. What I mean is that if it's a two wire cord, replace with a two wire cord with conductors of same gage and length. I wouldn't try to retrofit a 3 wire (grounded) cord onto an old product because you may not know what would be the proper place to attached the grounding wire.
Is the product UL listed? If so, it's been tested to be safe for the vintage of it's manufacture with a two wire cord.
And if the tool is double insulated, you probably wouldn't want or need the three wire cord.
Personally, I get a direct replacement part for a damaged cord or I get a new tool. No screwing around with trying to modify something I didn't design.
All this is my opinion, nothing said here should be construed as me saying to any of that or none of that. Buyer Beware. Ceveat Emptor YMMV. Do at your own risk.
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Best to stay w/ original...others have addressed.
If you need them, you're in over your head...just put it back the way it was.
DigiKey may although they're more electronics...Grainger is another good possibility. Google for "molded cord set" will undoubtedly find millions from which to winnow your way down...
Your local electric supply may help as well.
I've had some success, depending on the style and vintage, in salvaging the molded strain relief and threading a new cord through it. Particularly if the mold was added later, the cord can be often be destructively removed and a new one inserted. I have even managed to "freeze" one in particular I was particularly fond of and saw a slot on the bandsaw and then epoxy it back together...having a LPG tank is sometimes of more use than simply filling up the tractor! :)
LOL. Now there is an idea to make you drill as portable as a cordless. A drill with an orange 100' power cord.
If it's old enough to have a metal case then the gound point is obvious. If it's not a metal case then the ground issue is equally obvious.
This is only true to a point. Plenty of stuff was UL approved before better ways become common practice. If your assertion were true then we'd never have seen the evolution to grounded plugs or double insulated designs. Lots of those trusty old tools of old with metal cases have been known to impart a shocking experience on the user - and they were UL approved. The purpose of putting the ground on is to add a measure of safety if something goes wrong. Not a bad idea for a tool with a metal case.
True.
Oh, c'mon - you're not giving yourself enough credit...
You forgot - "operators are standing by to take your order now..." and "offer not available in stores..."
psssssttttt... Leon - I think everyone went to yellow now...
My drywall screwgun has a 50' extension cord replacement for the original 6' cord. I like cords that are long enough to use in the shop without an extension cord, so 12' - 25' is good for a lot of tools. If you use them on construction jobs you may find (as I did with the screwgun) that an even longer cord is nice.
There really isn't any reason for keeping the cord short as long as you use reasonable caution not to walk/drive/set heavy stuff on it.
Tim Douglass
Why not? I and many others have added a 100' cord to our Mag77 saws. It much easier if the connection is (twist locked) stable and not being dragged around walls and such.
Although, this is the only application I would extend a cord to that length.
Dave
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Actually L. was more correct than you. Underwriters Laboratories doesn't *approve* anything. They perform tests on products to verify that they conform to requirements established by insurance companies (the "Underwriters" in UL) and place them on a list of products that conform. That is why it is correct to say "UL listed" and not correct to say "UL approved."
Your chronology point embedded in the technical misfire, however, is well taken.
- - LRod
Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite
Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999
Yes. Really no worse than plugging your drill or what ever into a 50' or
100' extension cord.
I stand corrected. I even knew that UL does not approve anything - really, I did. It was a slip.
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