Vintage Craftsman Tool Restorations

[Ecosta777]

Hi everyone,
Fairly new here and finally decided to share some of what I mostly do in my shop. My big thing is restoring machines, and I've been doing a lot of Craftsman tools for a client recently. I have three more lathes to do for him, and I hope to keep adding to this thread in the future as I do more machines. First off is a belt / disc sander I restored for myself - this was my first Craftsman resto. I made the table and belt tool rest from scratch, replaced the bearings, cleaned and painted the whole thing, and got the motor mount hardware off of an old bandsaw stand. I also wired a nice new start / stop switch (with relay in the box below)

I have way more pictures / info on my website as well
http://ecmanufacturing.weebly.com/woodworking-machines.html
-Eric

 

[Ecosta777]

Secondly is a 103 lathe I picked up at a flea market. I remade both the headstock spindle, and tailstock quill. The chrome was in good shape so I left it, made a faceplate since it only had the outboard side one. I also made a new tailstock locking mechanism since the original one was missing. The badges were in good shape so I left those alone as well.

 

[Ecosta777]

more of the lathe

 

[Ecosta777]

Next is a 103 table saw. I picked this up on CL, rebuilt the saw arbor, height / tilt knob, miter gauge lock knob, and replaced the bearings. I also made a new Craftsman badge since the old one was just a decal that had worn off. The engine finished plate had too many scratches and some oxidization to be salvageable, so I decided to paint it hammered grey. This machine was bought by the same gentleman who bought the previous lathe from me.

 

[Ecosta777]

More of the table saw

 

[twertsy]

Darn nice job(s). What did you make the label out of?

 

[Ecosta777]

And the last one I finished was a 103 drill press. I remade all the chrome parts since they were found to be pitted when sandblasted. I also remade the Craftsman logo, since the original band on the head had been tarnished and couldn't be saved. I polished and engine turn finished it, and bolted the new badge over it. When I tried to remove the chrome with acid on the depth stop holder, i accidentally destroyed it, and also had to make that part new as well. This machine was also bought by the gentleman who purchased the other two 103 machines from me.

 

[Ecosta777]

More of the drill press

 

[Ecosta777]

Darn nice job(s). What did you make the label out of?

The table saw badge is aluminum, then sandblasted and painted. The drill press badge was made from .06" steel and painted

 

[CKS1955]

How did you machine the parts that that you made?

Your results look great.

Jay

 

[jakemac]

Fantastic work.

What paint did you use for the Craftsman Power Bronze, Rustoleum Hammered Gold, or something else ?

 

[Ecosta777]

How did you machine the parts that that you made?

Your results look great.

Jay

The badges were done at work on a HAAS TM-1P, most of what I machine is done in my shop on an old Bridgeport and South Bend lathe, some of the more intricate things like the backsides of the handles / knobs I do either on the HAAS, or a Bridgeport retrofitted with accurite CNC controls, then for finishing work my way down to 1500 grit sandpaper and finish polish with Simichrome, to make it look like chrome plating.

 

[Ecosta777]

Fantastic work.

What paint did you use for the Craftsman Power Bronze, Rustoleum Hammered Gold, or something else ?

I used the Rustoleum hammered gold. I like it because it keeps the original color but spruces it up a bit

 

[SweetD]

Beautiful work, love the old school Craftsman stuff coming back to life. Welcome to the forum from a fellow New Englander!

Dave

 

[Sawdustmaker]

Beautiful work. I have an old Craftsman Table Saw and Drill Press (circa 1940) that belonged to my dad. I don't have the resources or know how that you do, but hope to refurbish both in the near future. Wish you lived closer. I'm in CA (Don't laugh, not everyone here is crazy).

 

[larry4406]

Very nice!

 

[danandmelrod]

Great job!!

 

[Pldbryan]

Here is a drill press I just finished. Actually I still need to put the stop mechanism back on once it is polished and need to find a proper handle assembly

 

[Ecosta777]

Thanks for all the comments everyone! heres another one I found some pictures of that I did a couple months ago. I got the toolbox full of whitworth tools when I bought my BSA a few years ago, and the set of sockets / wrench and handles came from a family member. The socket set had no home, and I put the whitworth wrenches in a larger toolbox, so I decided to restore both and put them together. Had to bang out some of the sheet metal on the box, stripped the old paint, and used grey hammertone paint. Touched up the badge by hand, and replaced all the hardware. Then tumbled the socket set, and sandblasted the wrenches.

 

[Ecosta777]

Just started working on the three 101 lathes this past weekend. Got them torn down, and cleaned up all the headstocks. New bushings installed and reamed, and wear from the spindles was faced off. next up is paint, then turning new spindles.

 

[Ecosta777]

Finished the three 101 lathes before Christmas last year, and currently working on a Craftsman bandsaw and scroll saw. Here's a few photos of the lathes. New bushings and thrust washers, turned new spindles, faced off the heads and used brass washers to eliminate wear on the heads. Made up new spindle lock pins, tailstock lock handles, and replaced the quill handles. Also made a 12" tool rest. Brand new badges I made up and painted, sandblasted any bare metal parts, and of course fresh paint.

 

[Ecosta777]

....

 

[Stuart in MN]

You do nice work!

 

[Corndoggeh]

Loving the work you do, do you sell the nameplates? I have a bunch of Craftsman restoration projects that need new nameplates.

 

[Ecosta777]

Loving the work you do, do you sell the nameplates? I have a bunch of Craftsman restoration projects that need new nameplates.

Yes I do, just sent you a PM

 

[Ecosta777]

You do nice work!

Thanks!

 

[dwall174]

Here's my Craftsman "40" jointer (103.20680) I rebuilt it a little while back.
It's got a 1HP 3PH Dayton motor on it, A bit of over-kill but I already had the motor.

Doug

 

[dwall174]

Here is a Craftsman (103.24300) 3-wheel band saw I recently finished.

Doug