1940's Craftsman 8" Table Saw - Spit n' Polish

[CecilTheTurtle]

Just picked up a Craftsman 8" table saw (model 103.0213) from a friend's newly purchased house. The price was right: FREE. It came out of a house owned by a doctor who died recently. He'd lived there since about 1946 and I'm pretty sure he bought the saw new. It seems to have been lightly used, as the paint is pretty much perfect and it's still got the original motor. I'm planning to just clean it up a little and get it back to perfect working condition. I'll be taking lots of pictures and documenting the process on here.

Here's how it looked when I brought it home

It's got all the bits and pieces except for the fence and the little detent on the miter that helps set it to exactly 90/45/etc degrees. Really bummed not to have the fence, but glad the blade guard was there.

So right now there's only two major problems. The arbor seems to be pretty well frozen up and there's a lot of surface rust on the deck. The blade will spin when you turn on the motor, but very slowly. The motor runs fine when it's not connected to the saw. The deck has enough light rust so that the miter can't slide through it's groove.

So my questions at the moment are:
1. Where can I find a fence for this saw, and the little piece of the miter?
2. What's the best way to clean the rust off the deck without damaging it?
3. Figure out how to remove the arbor and replace/upgrade it. Maybe go to a 5/8" arbor for modern blades.

More (and better) pics later in the week as I document its current state and begin to take it apart.

 

[geologist]

You can clean the table in 1 of 3 ways:

1.) Electrolysis - this would require unbolting it and finding a large enough rubbermade container to fully submerge the part.

2.) Scotchbrite pads / or a Scotchbrite wheel and WD40.

3.) A chemical rust remover like Evapo-Rust.

When you're done, buff the table with Johnson's Paste Wax once every 4 to 6 months, depending on how much you use it.

 

[lzenglish]

Nice saw! I have one pretty close to just like it! I cleaned mine like I clean a rusty hand saw. I poured a film of evaporust on the bed, and work it around with a single edged razor blade, and let it sit a few minutes. I Periodically wipe the rust residue off with a rag, or paper towels, and repeat the process. Then I used W-D 40, and steel wool, and finished it off with a lite coat of wax. I need the bed extensions for mine, and hope to find them one day.

Wayne

 

[venturesomerite]

nice saw, I actually will be getting a simmilar one soon as well. Does anyone have an idea s to it's aprox value?

Keep us posted on the resto

 

[lzenglish]

nice saw, I actually will be getting a simmilar one soon as well. Does anyone have an idea s to it's aprox value?

Depending on the extas, if any, and condition, the 100 dollar range, plus or minus. At least this is what I paid for mine, in decent condition, and a few extra blades.

Wayne

 

[Outlawmws]

Depending on the extas, if any, and condition, the 100 dollar range, plus or minus. At least this is what I paid for mine, in decent condition, and a few extra blades.

Wayne

I strongly doubt a saw that small could reliably demand $100

If the OP's saw is the one I think it is, it is one of the smallest T saws Craftsman ever made. The main table is about 11 wide (Without extensions) and 14 long. I'm not at all sure it will take an 8" blade, maybe 7"?

I have all the major parts of one of those (picked up free with the thought I could convert it into a Router table...), and got no interest at all when I tried to sell it.

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

It takes an 8" blade. As for value, most of the one's I've seen for sale are more in the $50 range, depending on condition.

Outlaw, you don't still have those parts, do you? I need the fence.

More pics coming up!

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

Reference Photos

So here's a bunch of reference photos of how the saw looked when I got it. I blew out a ton of sawdust, but this is the saw basically untouched.

The saw itself:

The underside:

The motor:

Some of the parts and other stuff I found with the saw:
The miter. Missing the small detent at the end of the flat rail.

The blade guard. I have no idea how this works, so if anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it. It may have come unsprung.

Some booklets

Some saw blades. The Ace looks fairly new. It's a 7.25" blade with a 5/8" arbor. The others are 8" with a 1/2" arbor

Close ups of the older blades. One looks like the original from '48 and the other looks to be more of a 60's vintage

Next up: Clean up and some disassembly!

 

[Outlawmws]

It takes an 8" blade. As for value, most of the one's I've seen for sale are more in the $50 range, depending on condition.

Outlaw, you don't still have those parts, do you? I need the fence.

More pics coming up!

I might. When you do pics get a good clear side shot of the fence rail, and some dimensions, (and then I need to dig out the pile odd fences I have...)

 

[Outlawmws]

That blade guard gets mounted exactly in line with the blade from the rear. The support is supposed to keep the wood from closing; the spike fingers are supposed to keep the board from flying forwards in the event of kick back; and the guard itself is simply in the way of seeing what the hell is going on...

 

[Outlawmws]

OK round bar fence guide. Let me know what it's Diameter is, and I'll try to see if I have a match.

 

[Outlawmws]

Last comment on the blades. I don't care for blades without carbide inserts. IMO the inserts and the kerf they leave do a lot more tom prevent kick back that the blade guard splitter will. Stick with a carbide tipped blade.

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

OK round bar fence guide. Let me know what it's Diameter is, and I'll try to see if I have a match.

Here's link over to VintageMachinery for pics of what the fence should look like.
http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=7657

The bar is 3/4" in diameter. Please do NOT hurry. I'm not cutting anything with this saw for a while.

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

Some cleanup and disassembly

So the first thing I did was use StevenBiar's suggestion of Scotchbrite and WD-40 on the light surface rust on the table. 30 min of elbow grease later and the table is MUCH better. I didn't want to over polish the deck as I'm not trying to make this saw look new, just get it into good operating condition. I want it to LOOK like a 70 year old saw! :

Here's the after, without the extensions. MUCH better.

More pics without the extensions. It looks like such a tiny saw without them. The UMD looks HUGE!

Then I took the deck off to get better access to the internals. There's a lot of caked on sawdust. It's rock hard. Not sure how I'm going to get it off. Probably soak it with something until it falls off.

And one last pic of the arbor. It looks to be in good shape, but it doesn't spin freely. What's the best way to free it up? Can I add grease somehow? Should I just hook up the motor and run it for a while and see if it loosens up, or should I just go try and find a replacement? Many things to ponder...

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

Last comment on the blades. I don't care for blades without carbide inserts. IMO the inserts and the kerf they leave do a lot more tom prevent kick back that the blade guard splitter will. Stick with a carbide tipped blade.

Yah, I won't be using any of these blades. They all look pretty used up. I'll keep them with the saw for historical reasons, but I'll be buying a nice new Freud blade for this little guy.

 

[Rust]

Nice saw, But you may have to change the bearings.
But once you do,That saw will last the rest of your wood cutting life.
100$ well spent with all the extras.
Definately carbide tipped blades, Freud will be an excellent choice.

Love the paint, almost pristine.
Shine up all the moving parts and brush coat them with a mix of parafin wax and mineral spirits.

Get some parafin wax and shave some off into a jar of mineral spirits. Let it sit overnight before applying. Alot of paste wax has silicone in it and it will discolor wood if you were to apply stains. Parafin dosent attract sawdust and leaves all the moving parts nicely lubricated after the mineral spirits evaporates. Especially the worm gear adjustments.

 

[Outlawmws]

Here's link over to VintageMachinery for pics of what the fence should look like.
http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=7657

The bar is 3/4" in diameter. Please do NOT hurry. I'm not cutting anything with this saw for a while.

Thanks for the link, It saved me digging. Sorry to say, none of the fences I have look like that fence. They are all bar/tube stock class fences.

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

Thanks for the link, It saved me digging. Sorry to say, none of the fences I have look like that fence. They are all bar/tube stock class fences.

Ahh, well. Thanks for checking anyway. Much appreciated!

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

Cleaned up a few more of the internal parts so the tilt top and blade lift both work smoothly now. I also spun the arbor enough that it's freed itself up a lot. Still a little sticky but it spins nicely with the motor hooked up and running.

I couldn't help myself, so I put it back together just enough to cut some wood. I popped one of the arbor bushings out of the old saw blades and put it in the newer Ace blade. Fired the old guy up and cut some test 2x4s! It actually cuts really nicely. I was impressed.

Things to do:
1. Clean up the rest of the parts and put the whole thing back together.
2. New drive belt.
3. Get new 8" blade. Having a hard time finding a Freud online. Anyone have any good links?
4. Find a rip fence for it. Probably post over on OWWM.org and see if anyone there has something.

 

[chris fresh]

nice saw,i'de go a hundred on that no problem.i love old stuff.

 

[Brad54]

I don't know that I'd be cutting 4x8 sheets of plywood with that little saw, but I'd make it eat a hell of a lot of 2x4s and other small lumber for a lot of projects I have around the house.

Nice score! And what's really nice is that it's compact enough that you can stash it under a bench or something when you aren't using it.

I think I'm going to start hunting for one!

-Brad

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

Here's a pic of the two side panels. The upper one is the one with the blade height gauge and the lower one is the other panel that I guess most people don't have.

The before and after for the metal bars that hold on part of the extensions.

Figured out how the blade guard gets attached, so I cleaned it up and put it on. Not sure if I'll keep it on the saw, but I'm definitely keeping it around.

Cleaned up the miter gauge. Still need to find the little detent that goes on the end.

Picked up an 8" Freud blade at Home Despot. Fired it up last night. MAN that thing cuts nicely....

Nest step: finish cleaning the extensions and put everything back together.

 

[jeff schroeder]

I have a Craftsman tilting table saw (103.0213) that I just dug out of a corner of the garage, came inside to go on the internet and see if I could find out more about it. It has the original fence which you seem to be missing, raising the blade and tilting the table is very smooth, everything seems in very good condition, there is no significant rust though it has very little paint left on it. I would be interested in selling it. I just joined the forum but will likely not check it unless I am looking for something. My e-mail address is [email protected]. I can send photos if you are interested.

 

[camarotoolman]

imo without a fence its scap metal, unless you have a machine shop to make a new one. Motor is worth $20p to 30. You could rig up a fence with an angle iron and 2 c-clamps.

 

[brianh]

I grew up using one of those, I think my brother has it now set up as a disc sander.

 

[SpecialK007]

I spent the holidays cleaning out my shed/workshop and was about to toss one of those saws. Googled it to see what it's worth and found this thread.
The motor on mine weighs about 1000 pounds (seems like it anyway) and is very old.
I'll sell you the fence on mine if you want it and any other parts you want.
Let me know if you're interested and/or want see any pictures.

 

[CecilTheTurtle]

Thanks for the offer, but I picked up a fence from the BOYD thread over on OWWM.org.

Apologies for not finishing the thread. I got everything put back together and used the saw for most of 2012. Did it's job extremely well. I've now passed this saw on to a friend as I've refurbed a 50's era saw and am using that instead.

 

[dbernier]

hey just saw the post, im looking for the miter gauge, might you still have it?