No, it’s not ‘dating old fools’ although some here are probably guilty of such. A friend gave me an old Craftsman router that was his fathers (friend is +/- 60) and I’m curious about it’s age. It’s all metal with a black knob on one side of the base and a metal pistol grip on the other…not like a d-handle, more like a joy-stick. Only 9 A (at 115 V AC/DC) so that makes it about 1 Hp I guess. Separate data plates for the motor and base, but with matching serial nos. “Craftsman Industrial Rated Power Unit Model No 315.25051” and “Router Base 315.25056″Has a nice (but slightly rusty) metal case. Router shows built-up sawdust deposit on the inside of the base, like the bit was flinging pine chips, but runs real well…smooth, no noises, no sparks. Any ideas, or any web sites that I can check?
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Take a close look at that handle . . . is it attached to the router with what looks like a dovetail joint? If it does, it should slide off the router (to be easily accessible with table use is my guess). If this is the case, I have one very similar or just like it. I'm thinking early to mid-1950's.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
A fancy restaurant is a good place to start :)
but seriously http://www.oldwwmachines.com might have some of the information your looking for. sears might be able to trace the model # for you if they have it in their computers.
Old fools are OK most of the time but old tools that not grounded will take out old fools and young fools. If it ain't got three wires or double insulated throw it away after you make it unusable. It's not worth the risk. Be safe.
God Bless and Good Luck
les
Yes, the joy stick handle is held on with a sliding dovetail, fastened with a knurled knob. And the sub-base is a piece of shiny metal, not plastic. The power cord, which seems to be original, is three wire, and the outside of the cord has those fine ridges and is a little stiff. Thanks for the info, I'll check the site.
When I figured out that the handle (and switch) came off, and looked at that sliding dovetail arrangement, I was absolutely enchanted with the idea. It is so slick!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Since you have the model # go to sears.com and branch off into their parts ordering department. Amazingly they sometimes have manuals and parts for some of their old tools. Sometimes they don't know nothing.
Still don't get why you'd want to date tools. Tools are easy just give em a little juice once in a while, and they'll let you just live with them. Way cheaper then dating.
Why does everyone think it's all going to be on the web? Old Sears catalogs would probablya good bet. Ephemera auctions and perhaps e-bay. Sometimes just poking around at flea markets will turn up more. Don't forget those old Popular Mechanics magazine in the forgotten library stacks. Personally I don't think it's worth spending the time if it's more than ten minutes. As usual if you pursue other things and sort of keep an eye peeled you might stumble on something sooner or later. In the mean time date someone your own age!!!!
Rick
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