I came across an old Sears, Roebuck and Co. table saw. The motor hangs out the rear like a contractors saw, cast iron top with two cast iron wings and the base is at least 16 gauge steel, Model # 113.27520, original motor sounds great.
How old is this thing and how will it preform? thanks a lot!!!
Replies
These were good but not great saws with a mediocre rip fence. They had the same basic design as contractor's saws so they aren't great at staying lined up and they are a pain to adjust to get the blade parallel to the miter groove. It was built in the 50's probably. The short head on the fence made it very easy to lock down the fence out of alignment.
John White, Shop manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
Chauncey, I am thinking more than 10 years old with the113.# possibly made by Emerson Electric. Mine is a 315.# by Ryobi. These saws can run real fine with the 1 1/2 hp. pushing it and a up grade kit of a link belt with the 1/4" larger pully at the blade. Use a thin kerf quality blade to not burden the motor and don't try to rip 4" hard maple.
Call sears parts and see if they still have a parts & instructions sheet, check the motor tag to check hp. and voltage. You should clean and lubricate all of the under the table hardware that adjusts the blade and the trunnions it rides on, then fine tune all the alignments as described in the table saw book by Taunton. Good luck, Pat
It does appear to be built in the 50's.....looks alot like a saw a friend of mine has. His has a 3/4hp motor and a lousy fence, but it ruggedly built. Here's a link to some info and a pic.
http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=147
Edited 6/7/2006 6:32 am ET by Scotty_
I wouldn't pay over about $100 bucks for it.Regards, Scooter"I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow." WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
The Sears (Craftsman) website should help you determine the age of the saw based on the model number - and they may still have the manuals and parts for it.
Those old Craftsman saws were sorta so-so and probalby got more people into woodworking than any other tool. Lots of them are still in use and lots more are collecting dust in someone's basement or garage - eventually showing up in a garage sale - lol.
With some careful work, they can be upgraded into a pretty decent shop tool. About 6-7 years ago, I tore mine down and rebuilt it. I spent a few hours getting the arbor square to the table miter slots, and replaced the V-belt and cast pulleys with a link belt and machined pulleys. I upgraded the fence and tossed the old miter gauge in the trash. I made a cutoff sled and zero-clearance throat plates for my blades, stacked dado cutter, etc.
I also set my saw on a cabinet with a dust collection box tied to my dust collection system. It collects most of the sawdust and only needs cleaned out every week, or so.
I use mine daily and it does a good job. Not as good as a real cabinet saw, but the cuts are square and true.
I used one for 30+ years before the top sagged beyond the point of acceptable tolerances (1/16+"). The fence is truly one of the worse every designed and it should be replaced. The link belt helps a lot. The blade angle crank mechanism is mounted to the sheet metal side and extreme angles can cause some deflection that in turn throws off the angle as indicated by the dial. I mounted a 2 hp motor on mine and it handled it very well. If it hadn't been for the top, not to mention my wife taking over a portion of the shop for her glass work, I would have kept the saw as a dedicated dado'er and for thin kerf ripping.
Edited 6/7/2006 2:51 pm by DougF
I never use any "built-in" indicator since they're almost always off somehow. For common angles (30*, 45*, 60*, 90*), I use my old drafting triangles to set the blade. For everything else, I make a jig using my Incra miter gauge.
Nor do I except when "close is good enough". My point was a caution against relying on the built-in angle settings even if you think they are dialed-in due to the construction of the crank mechanism.
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