A Day of Adventure
Today was the day to pick up the Craftsman cabinet saw that some fine folks in our local OWWM group
ever so kindly pointed out to me (BIG thanks to Nancy and Brandon [
edit: corrected with accurate name! Sorry bout that Brandon!]!). So I headed off on an adventure.
The drive took me up north. Since it was a ways away, I wanted to take the Honda, since it gets about 45mpg avg, versus the 4runner which gets about 1/2 that. Good call? Bad call? How do you fit a full size cabinet (goes all the way to the floor) saw in a Honda? After seeing an OWWM member cart around multi-hundred pound table saws using a bicycle, I realized anything is possible.
(photos for reference)
Actually, I kind of cheated, I used my recently painted Atlas saw cabinet and 'pretended' to throw it in the car and it seemed to work okay, so the car it was.
The drive took me out to the plains...
And here was what awaited me:
The pictures on the listing looked pretty good, and I was not disappointed.
Everything checked out. Un-mutilated cabinet sheet metal? Check.
Engine turned/jeweled faceplate? Check.
2x unbroken blade elevation/tilting handles? Check.
Fence and rails? Check.
Sweet Cutler-Hammer art deco on/off switch? Check.
The only thing missing was, well...the motor, the motor mount, the belt cover. You know, none of the important stuff (remember, this is an adventure).
So I got it all apart, and this was, somehow, the next step:
Okay, so throw the table + guts in the trunk:
And the cabinet gets to ride shotgun:
So, I got it home, cleaned up most of the sheet metal, put the table + internals back on the cabinet myself (note: will NEVER do this alone again), get everything all back together and here is how she sits:
Ooohhhhh yeah...
This is why I love vintage Craftsman (and vintage tools in general):
Just look at that. Again. Just look. When was the last time tools ever looked so good? Why do all these tools today try so hard to be hyper-'tough' with all their rough plastic edges and over-the-top masculine advertising? What ever happened to elegant?
There was a time when we didn't have to be convinced that only real, burly men used the tools of the day simply because the tools were excellent and stood on their own merits.
In any case, I was very blessed by my OWWM friends and now a quest item is checked off the list. This will be a forever saw, meaning that it has a permanent place in the 1950s Craftsman Garage (the irony in all this is that the manufacturers code is 113, designating it an Emerson, which means that more than likely it is a 1960s saw,
but I digress
).
But, I have even cooler news than picking up the saw.
I was put in contact with a gentleman on the OWWM forums that actually has a spare motor mount for this saw!!! This is HUGE, and on the same day that I pick it up
I will be working out the details with him soon, but the saw is one step closer to getting up and running. I could have been waiting a long, long, LONG time for this part to come around. How cool and amazing that one shows up
the same day I pick up the saw.
Wow.
In any case, I hope you've enjoy the most recent tool adventure.
Rest assured, there will be more to come (after I sell a bunch of them!!!!
)
If my wife is reading this, I love you hunny! You are the best wife I could have ever asked for. Thanks for putting up with me
I have parts strewn all over the garage and vague memories of taking everything apart. The problem isn't so much how to get it back together, it is remembering which parts are which and whether or not I can find them
