Tools from September 8th 2007

I went to a really unusual estate sale on the 8th - the basement was full of old tools that had belonged to the home owner's father. Amongst them where the following:

Walker Turner tabletop Drill Press
Delta tilt-table Table Saw
Craftsman 1/2" shaper (unusual, cast iron round table and guard)
Boise Crane snowflake Bandsaw (looked to be 12 inch) table top model
Walker Turner bench grinder
Walker Turner Sanding Machine setup

There were also several work benches, bits and pieces, hand tools, etc. there was also an assortment of small old motors and many threading taps. Looking over everything - the pricing seem pretty close to what I would expect collectible retail to be - for instance the bandsaw was priced at $400 - the drill press had already sold so I'm not sure what it ended up going for. The table saw was priced at $350, etc. The sanding machine setup was the thing that interested me, as I had never seen anything like it - it had $350 on it and apparently I was the only one interested as I'm to pick it up the following week for $200. It came with what looked like most if not all the parts plus two original WT wrenches (and the dust collector underneath)

More images from the original CL post:




This is what I ended up bringing home:


Includes the two tables (one mounted with the sander), the WT sander, the Craftsman Shaper and a box of handtools, sand paper and bits.

Detail Pics of the Sander:

It turns out that the sander is a Walker Turner SM900 and is actually pretty rare. It came with a little vacuum and bag that hangs underneath (the bag is ripped though - dry rotted) - you can see it in one of the photos of all the parts. It also originally had a sliding table (I've got the two rails) to make it into a stroke sander - I think the table was in the basement stacked on some other things. The "stroking block" might have also been amongst all the bits but I wouldn't have known it was part of this setup.

The Craftsman Shaper is also unusual. It appears to predate most of the numbered tools you usually see produced by Sears. It's entirely made of cast iron, stand, table and fence. The base has "Craftsman" "14" Bearing" and the "Patent Number 1893080" I looked up the patent and it was assigned to C.A. Roberts in 1932. The blue paint looks to be original.

Turns out that this is a Craftsman branded Herbert's Shaper. Patent Link: http://www.google.com/patents?id=w3s_AAAAEBAJ&dq=1893080

-- John

Some tools I acquired on 9/12

Figured I should do an update - I picked up a few items on 9/12:

There was a gentlemen down in Florida that posted looking for a home for a Dewalt RAS - he was looking for someone who would appreciate it as he didn't have it in him to restore or even use it - the price was "free." When I saw the post I PMed him and told him if he couldn't find a new home for it, I had a friend that didn't live to far from Vero Beach (where he lived) and I thought he wouldn't mind picking it up for me. I was contacted a while later as no one else offered to take the saw - he also pitched an old Drill Press he wanted $50 for - a Champion Blower and Forge 50E (there's a couple of images on OWWM.com) - I thought it was interesting and hey - anything that looks kinda like a sewing machine couldn't be all bad. My friend Joe Black picked up the tools some time ago and came to visit during that weekend - how's that for a Rucker from someone who doesn't know what that means?

Dewalt MMB-23 - complete/working with wrench. Has some rust but nothing a little electrolysis can't fix I don't think:


Champion Blower and Forge 50E - interesting old DP - has an old working GE motor, probably from the same era:

Second set of tools came from an Atlanta CL ad - it showed a blurry picture of a mess of tools on a table - I could make out a small Delta Jointer and figured I couldn't go wrong for $50.

Included were:

• Dayton 14" DP Model 3Z305
• Delta Rockwell Homecraft 4" Jointer with an old Serial Number tag F-4768 working w/motor
• Craftsman Lathe 103.23881 with rests, original CMan Motor and turning tools
• Couple of cheapie grinders, oak mallet and an old metal hand drill:
  

-- John

A couple of new Arn finds

It's been a while since I've posted - been caught up in a few other projects (restoring the Robert Green site over at ModusModern, working on my broke truck, and others to name a few). I did pick up a couple of new "old" woodworking tools that might be of interest though. These are from the week of August 13th, 2007 so I've had a little time to look them over (pics were taken the day I got the shaper though).

Saw an ad Monday (8/13) for the Jointer for $50 and picked it up on Tuesday. It's a bit unusual and not exactly the same as those similar models on the OWWM Mothership - I think it's pretty early by the serial number tag and it's missing some bits (crank handles). It spins up well on that crappy 2x4 homemade stand and the Dayton motor works (even though it sparks a bit). The table is a bit rusty but doesn't look pitted and the rest is in pretty decent shape. Shouldn't take too much to get it right.









Saw an ad for the Craftsman Shaper on Thursday (8/16) and picked it up on the way home from work - $100 with 27 cutters, wrenches, etc. He threw in the Rockwell miter gage since he didn't have the original, optional Craftsman one. I like the original stand - also the serial numbers are slightly different from those on the OWWM Mothership so I think this is a new entry.

I've been told those cutters go for $5 a piece so I basically got the Shaper for free. It's neat and ready to go - I'll probably do a bit of clean up and tweek it some but otherwise it's ready to profile some wood! The miter gauge I'm addingi to my Unisaw.

-- John

Creating Modern Furniture Book

Posted on one of my other blogs about my latest interesting woodworking book find: Creating Modern Furniture:
http://johnnyapollo.blogspot.com/2007/07/modern-woodworking-book.html

-- John

So what's modern about this?

OK - so the title is a bit misleading. It reflects my interest in modern furniture - my interest in tools is just the opposite - the older the better. I like old iron (or Arn) powered tools that were built from the turn of the century up to the 60's. Those heavier, cast-iron tools just run so smoothly that they are a wonder to use. I also like hand tools - old planes, spoke shaves, chisels and saws. There's something about the tactile sensation of using hand tools that are a decided break for me. I'm not sure where that's from (probably got it from my dad).

In any case, I'm still working on moving my shop around so I haven't been good about restoring the Unisaw - I have been busy acquiring new arn, however:

Rockwell Motorized Miter Box Model 34-010

The base and lower swing arm are painted iron, with an aluminum fence and motor housing. Looks almost like they took an aluminum 10" circular saw and changed the housing to fit the swing (could be wrong - I used to work with a vintage circular saw and the handle was more in a top position). It runs great - currently has the blade it came with mounted and needs a thorough cleaning. Pics below:

I got this from a Danish guy who worked for House of Denmark and Dansk for many years. He would bring home the broken floor pieces that were headed for the trash and fix them up in his shop - nice double-viced handtool bench in there (that he was keeping or it would have come home with me). Most of the wood he had was some type of discolored white oak - almost looked like reclaimed lumber or possibly barn wood so I passed - (however I did end up going back for it and picked up an old Bang and Olufsen stereo as well).

Dewalt RAS MBC Rel. 22 Serial #140358

This one comes with the original paint in pretty decent condition and it appears complete and runs sweet. The guy who had it was given it by an old neighbor whose husband had passed away - seems he was the original owner and bought the saw new. I walked away with it for $75 (his asking price).

After I loaded up I asked if he had any of the dirty paper or the arbor wrench - he said no and I about drove off when he said "I do have a Dado set that was given to me with saw" - he threw it in for free. Thought it might be of interest - I've never seen a box that had to be renailed shut like this one - still has the original oil paper:


Delta 6-in. Dado Head No. 33




No idea where I'm gonna put this saw yet - it joins my 790 and 7730. I really don't have room or need for 3 saws - man the slope is slippery indeed.

-- John