Saved a cold saw from being tossed in the trash!

[dwall174]

I picked up a older Italian made 9" cold saw from a C/L add about a year ago. The add was for a shop that was closing & they were selling several items, But I mainly went their to look at a drill press that I was interested in.

Looking through the other items for sale I seen this old cold saw & I asked the guy what he wanted for it. He really wasn't sure & said that there was a list up front with the receptionist. He went & got the list & there was a "Chop-Saw" listed for $25 Priced that low I asked if it ran! He wasn't sure, But said that there was an outlet just a few feet away. We plugged it in & it didn't do anything, At that point the guy said how about $10 since it didn't run & would just probably end up in the dumpster

Needless to say for $10 I took it! (don't think they really knew what it was)
Even if the motor was bad I could have probably found one to replace it.
To my surprise all it needed was a new switch & the motor/gear-box worked fine.

I disassembled it & gave it a good cleaning, Then wire-brushed the loose paint/rust then primed & repainted it. I still need to build a base/coolant-tray for it & come up with a new coolant pump!
The old coolant pump was just a small rubber diaphragm that mounted on the bottom-right side of the gear box.

 

[ADSR]

You did great! 10 bucks? Nice work, man.

 

[dwall174]

You did great! 10 bucks? Nice work

Thanks!

Still wounder if they just had no idea of what it really was? Or me just being in the right place at the right time! But I'm glad things worked out.

Doug

 

[WhiffySpark]

They probably didn’t care. A lot of people don’t fix things. I’m one of them

 

[bcradio]

Where did you find a new switch at? Seems that would be hard to source for an older rare tool like that.

Nice find

 

[TMcCay]

I'll be the first to give you a "You ****" for $10. That is a great buy and super save.

 

[dwall174]

A lot of people don’t fix things.

Yeah it has a Italian made motor with a odd looking motor plate, Which had me curious at first. But it runs on 115 V. & 60 Hz. so I figured it wasn't an odd voltage or current.

Doug

 

[LXCam]

Oh ya you **** alright, whatta a score!

 

[dwall174]

Where did you find a new switch at? Seems that would be hard to source for an older rare tool like that.

Luckily I have a electronics supply store near me that carries a lot electronic/hobby items. http://www.abelelectronics.com/about_us.html

Doug

 

[dwall174]

I'll be the first to give you a "You ****" for $10. That is a great buy and super save.

Thanks!
I think that's my very first "You ****" here on GJ

Doug

 

[dwall174]

Oh ya you **** alright, whatta a score!

Thanks!

I really didn't realize how good of a deal it was until I got home & started to do some checking round on it! The best match I was able to find is a Hydmech P-225 which retails for about a grand
http://www.hydmech.com/products/p225/

Besides being a great deal, I'm just glad I was able to save it!
Just the thought of it ending up in the trash is mind blowing.

Doug

 

[ADSR]

Are the blades going to be hard to find?

 

[dwall174]

Are the blades going to be hard to find?

Yeah the 225mm or 9" blades are a little less used, But I managed to still find some here

Doug

 

[dwall174]

The item I haven't been able to find yet is the little rubber diaphragm that pumps the coolant up to the blade guard.

I managed to find an owners/parts manual for a Hydmech P-225 & it looks like the part# for the diaphragm/pump is 028.0005, But I haven't been able to locate on yet.

It's not a big deal if I can't find that little diaphragm/pump, I can always just use a regular small coolant pump & Wire it to the on-off switch.

Here's some pic's of the old diaphragm/pump.

Doug

 

[KnurledNut]

Wow, man! Awesome find and great job getting it going.

 

[dwall174]

Awesome find and great job getting it going

Thanks!

I was a little confused at first with the blade direction, It rotates toward you instead of back like a regular chop saw. I first thought I had wired the new switch wrong! But looking at the guard it shows the forward direction. Also the blade only runs at 54-RPM so there's not really any flying pieces coming at you like a chop saw. I did notice that the new models have a rubber flap in the front, Probably to help the coolant from coming at you. I may want to do something like that once i figure out what type of pump to use.

Here's a before pic of the guard the shows a arrow for the direction.

Doug

 

[bsg1]

nice find and great save.

 

[dwall174]

nice find and great save.

Thanks!

I think the fact that I probably saved it from the trash is almost as exciting as the great deal.

Doug

 

[ADSR]

Thanks!

I was a little confused at first with the blade direction, It rotates toward you instead of back like a regular chop saw. I first thought I had wired the new switch wrong! But looking at the guard it shows the forward direction. Also the blade only runs at 54-RPM so there's not really any flying pieces coming at you like a chop saw. I did notice that the new models have a rubber flap in the front, Probably to help the coolant from coming at you. I may want to do something like that once i figure out what type of pump to use.

Here's a before pic of the guard the shows a arrow for the direction.

Doug

That's a little odd. Most saws rotate or pull the material towards the back of the machine when cutting. You're saying this one pushes it towards the front?

 

[dwall174]

That's a little odd. Most saws rotate or pull the material towards the back of the machine when cutting.

Yeah that's what confused me at first

You're saying this one pushes it towards the front?

Yep the blade's teeth face forward & the counterclockwise cutting direction forces the stock towards the front (moving) part of the clamp.

The front sliding part of the clamp is a lot beefier than the back end, And it has beveled machined ways on each side of the clamp so there's no side movement. Judging by the pivot angle of the head & the center-line of the blade, I'm guessing it was designed this way to reduce the possibility of the blade binding?

Doug

 

[customh]

https://benchmarkabrasives.com/collections/cutting-tools-tct-blades-for-metal/products/9-48-tooth-tct-saw-blade-for-steel-metal
Is this the right size arbor?

 

[quattro_sinko]

That's a little odd. Most saws rotate or pull the material towards the back of the machine when cutting. You're saying this one pushes it towards the front?

I am puzzled by this also. I wonder f the arrow on the guard is supposed to indicate the travel of the guard only. I don't own one, so I'm just speculating. I wonder if there are any videos on theYouTube to verify by?

 

[dwall174]

I am puzzled by this also. I wonder f the arrow on the guard is supposed to indicate the travel of the guard only.

I was also confused, But then that's too hard of a job for me.

I wonder if there are any videos on the You-Tube to verify by?

Here's a You-Tube Link hope it works?

Doug

 

[ADSR]

I was also confused, But then that's too hard of a job for me.



Here's a You-Tube Link hope it works?

Doug

Well that clears that up. It's strange, but it works no problem.

 

[dwall174]

Is this the right size arbor?

Thanks for the link, But that's not the size of the arbor.

As far as I know the cold saw blades do not have carbide tips, And are made from M-42 or cobalt steel. They have a 32mm arbor with a guild/lock pin.

Doug

 

[dwall174]

Well that clears that up. It's strange, but it works no problem.

Looking through several You-Tube videos, It seems that the 9"~10" saws run forward & the 12" & over run towards the back as we figure it should. I'm guessing it has something to do with the blade size & vise/clamp location?

As is with any machine, Knowing it's operation is key to running it correctly & safely.

Doug

 

[BukitCase]

Doug, thanks for the PM; and yeah, you DO **** :=)

I probably shoulda called what I'm looking for a "dry cut", IOW one of the EVO-saw 380's or similar - I sometimes cut up to 10" channel, 4x4 tube, etc, so I want a big blade and I don't mind the shower of metal particles much, I've gotten so I usually wear full leathers doing metal work, keeps me from forgetting NOT to do something WITHOUT 'em, like UV burns on bare arms, blisters grabbing something I just got done grinding on, etc...

The thing I CAN'T stand is taking forever to do a 45* that turns out to be 41* - I keep even my little HF saws tuned up to a perfect 90, +- 0.1 degree when I can, in BOTH axes... Steve

 

[dwall174]

I probably shoulda called what I'm looking for a "dry cut", IOW one of the EVO-saw 380's or similar - I sometimes cut up to 10" channel, 4x4 tube, etc,

Yeah the capacity of this little 9" saw is only about 2-1/2" X 2-1/2" & is really meant for thin-wall (1/4" & under) angle iron & square/round tubing.

I think 10" channel, 4x4 tube would probably be too big even for a 14" dry-cut?
The 4x4 tube could always be filliped over, But the 10" channel probably wouldn't fit in the vise/clamp.

One of my other projects has been rebuilding a old Kalamazoo 816 band saw.
With a 8" X 16" capacity it should be bigger than I'll ever need.
It's about 80% restored & I just finished repairing the drive axle & replacing the bearings in the gear-box, But I still need to install it.

Doug

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, 10" channel's a bit big (unless your dry cut saw's a radial or a sliding miter saw :=) - One of my band saws is the Jet HVBS-7MW - they only claim 7" x 8-1/2" rectangle, but if you move the fixed jaw to a second set of tapped holes it'll cut 10" channel.

Depending on how the motor is set up on a 14" blade, it MIGHT cut a full 4x4 square tube, not sure - my old Craftsman Commercial 12" radial saw will cut 2x4 wood (actual 3-1/2") on edge, and its motor is a flat bottomed case direct drive.

Here's the spec sheet on the EVO380, presumably with the 15" blade it DOESN'T come with - a 14" would only reduce cut by 1/2", so it should cut 4x4 tube OK -

As you said though, there's always flipping if necessary.

I also found it kinda interesting that the little "4x6" band saws, are NOT that - I had a piece of scrap 4x6 tube one time and discovered that those saws are REALLY EITHER 4" or 6", but NOT both simultaniously - when you try that, the blade guides won't move far enough out NOT to hit the workpiece...

I see the "master of subject drift" has struck again, sorry... Steve

 

[tarbellb]

Nice job on the restore and... you ****.

Ive been eyeballing new, used, and destined for dumpster cold saws for years now.
One of these days I will be in the right place and time for one.

Totally surprised by that blade direction, that would have thrown me for a loop as well.

 

[dwall174]

Nice job on the restore

Thanks for the complement!

One of these days I will be in the right place and time for one.

Yeah I check this find off to a "Right Place & Time" deal.
I also don't think they really knew the true value of the saw! I was even shocked to find out that new they cost around a grand.

Totally surprised by that blade direction, that would have thrown me for a loop as well.

It still seems a little awkward to me, But there must be a reason for it?

Doug

 

[Dingleburry]

That thing looks beefy as ****. Nice one!

 

[dwall174]

That thing looks beefy as ****.

Yeah it's mostly cast-iron & probably weighs close to 90lbs.

Nice one!

Thanks!

Doug