Finally got us a DoAll bandsaw!

[Cryptic1911]

We found a DoAll bandsaw for sale on ebay, and it was local, so we worked a deal to go look at it, and ended up buying it outside of ebay. It's a 1942 Metalmaster, and seems pretty complete. It's a 220 single phase setup, but was listed as 3phase.. works for us, since we can save a few hundred bucks on a vfd. We gave it the once over, and it all looks pretty nice, nothing really to report other than the edge of the top wheel has a few chips out of it. The rest of the machine seems to be in good working order. The motor is an old GE motor, the air compressor is still there, the tach / sfm gauge is hooked up, but I forgot to check if it worked, the bakelite drive pulleys seem to be ok without any big chunks missing, etc.

The guy said he has used that machine daily at the shop since he started there in 1982.. and it's name is Irma. He did mention that he didn't think the chain pull worked, but that he hasn't used it probably 20 years.. it's all there from what I can tell? I'll investigate that later, since we don't really need it anyways. I was able to borrow a rack truck from work, and they loaded it onto a pallet, banded it, and then loaded it on the truck for us, and we made the journey home without issues

 

[Cryptic1911]

Ok, fixed the pics.. apparently imgur doesn't work. Had to upload them to picasaweb

 

[dr_clyde]

Very well done. Do-All makes a top of the line saw, and it should serve you well. Congratulations.

 

[shortykorte]

 

[Cryptic1911]

Anyone know where to get a manual for one of these?

 

[jabberwoki]

Yep Doall. I picked up a 1975 Doall about 2 years ago, ****** fantastic machines.
There is a extension on the Doall phone system that takes you to an old guy, I`ve forgotten his name but he`s been with them for ever and is a wealth of knowledge, I think his name is Ed.
You can buy all the schematics from them.
Also keep an eye on flea bay tons of spares and accessories pop up there all the time.
I`ll look up my email and see if I can find his direct addy.
PM me to remind me.
http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=23114.0

 

[Cryptic1911]

We got fired up today, had to go buy a 220 plug since theirs was connected to a 4 wire plug. Everything worked well, although the blade welder didn't seem to want to weld an old broken blade from a portable bandsaw. It pops sparks and seems to only want to weld out near the teeth. I'm wondering if it doesnt like the blade since maybe it's bi-metal? I read that some say bimetal doesn't weld well

The grinder fires right up and is smooth, the air compressor blows a lot of air, the annealer seems to work ok, the variable speed drive adjusts up and down. I did change from high gear to low gear while the machine was off, and it seemed to get stuck in neutral. I opened the case and turned the wheel backwards slightly and it went into the gear after that. I was surprised that the plate on the gear lever said to only change at low speed? I always read to never do that.. and to only change it with the machine off. It didn't make any horrible noises or anything, so I'm thinking it's fine.

I did a few test cuts, but the blade on it is like a 6 tpi blade, so its a bit gnarly for some of the thinner stuff I was goofing around with, but it cuts nicely

 

[Ign]

Yeah, it's probably not worth your time overall but I'll haul it off for free.

Seriously, nice!

 

[General Geoff]

OK correct me if I'm wrong here, but that small hole with the label "ETCHING PENCIL" on it... is that seriously a pencil sharpener?

 

[jabberwoki]

No it`s and electric pencil for engraving things, does it with a small arc I think.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I have used a similar machine at work daily for 27 years with no issues. They are good machines.

 

[cgrutt]

Nice, congrats! How much does something like that weigh? How did you get it on and off the truck? Forklift?

 

[General Geoff]

No it`s and electric pencil for engraving things, does it with a small arc I think.

Thank you for clarifying!

 

[930dreamer]

Very nice, I was going to ask about the "etching pencil" too.

 

[Citation]

OK, I'm fascinated by this thing. So I grew up using a Powermatic 14" bandsaw with a 2 speed gearbox plus moving belts. What does a saw like this bring to the table? I assume more power for thicker material and a deeper throat. I get the welder. What else?

I ask out of interest and ignorance (not the "why bother with truck brand vs Cman" trouble stirring).

 

[jabberwoki]

If you ever get the chance to use one or just to have a real good look up close you`d understand.

 

[Cryptic1911]

Nice, congrats! How much does something like that weigh? How did you get it on and off the truck? Forklift?

Yeah, they had a forklift at the shop. They put the two forks close together and picked it up under the top section of the wheel house? I guess you would call it. Basically above the table, between the blade and the column.. don't be a dummy and pick it up under the table and break the brackets like a lot of people do . The truck was actually a lift gate rack body truck that I borrowed from work, but I just popped the rack sides off the truck and had them load it right in. Wheeled it off with a pallet jack at the house

OK, I'm fascinated by this thing. So I grew up using a Powermatic 14" bandsaw with a 2 speed gearbox plus moving belts. What does a saw like this bring to the table? I assume more power for thicker material and a deeper throat. I get the welder. What else?

I ask out of interest and ignorance (not the "why bother with truck brand vs Cman" trouble stirring).

It's just a huge beefy machine.. much longer blade, so it should last longer, plus they can be much wider blades as well, It's got a larger table than most smaller units, more hp on the motor, more speeds + basically infinite blade speed adjustability between I think 50 and 1600 sfm because of the conical variable speed pulleys. It's just a behemoth of a machine.. kinda like moving from a table top mill-drill to a bridgeport mill, or something even larger. We had a really nice 1939 delta 14" bandsaw that we sold last year, but that thing was a toy compared to this. I think the delta was probably a few hundred pounds, and this I'm guessing is like 1000-1200 lbs

 

[cgrutt]

Nice. It looks heavy, LOL. Good luck with it!

 

[A_Pmech]

Nice!

It can be shifted between high and low while running at it's lowest speed.

 

[Cryptic1911]

Nice!

It can be shifted between high and low while running at it's lowest speed.

Ah, cool! Do you have to wait in neutral for a sec? or just go right from + to -? I was just afraid of it making scary gear crunching sounds

Did you happen to see my comment about the welder? I saw you did quite a bit of rebuilding on your doall

 

[A_Pmech]

Ah, cool! Do you have to wait in neutral for a sec? or just go right from + to -? I was just afraid of it making scary gear crunching sounds

Did you happen to see my comment about the welder? I saw you did quite a bit of rebuilding on your doall

You can flip it straight from high to low. There won't be any crunching, just a "clunk" as the dog slides from one side of the shaft to the other. The dogs only have three teeth a side, which is why it's hard to shift when it's turned off - it takes 120 degrees of rotation to find a position where they will line up.

The first thing to check on the welder is make sure the moving jaw slides smooth as silk and that you have the width setting correct. If it's gunked up and slides slowly, the weld will start and immediately fall out in a shower of sparks.

 

[Evilunclegrimace]

Nice find! We had one of those at my Dads plastic shop when I was a kid. The speed adjustability makes some jobs easier. on the welder make sure that the blade clamps are clean and practice on some scrap and make notes for blade width to power settings.

 

[Cryptic1911]

You can flip it straight from high to low. There won't be any crunching, just a "clunk" as the dog slides from one side of the shaft to the other. The dogs only have three teeth a side, which is why it's hard to shift when it's turned off - it takes 120 degrees of rotation to find a position where they will line up.

The first thing to check on the welder is make sure the moving jaw slides smooth as silk and that you have the width setting correct. If it's gunked up and slides slowly, the weld will start and immediately fall out in a shower of sparks.

I'll give the gearbox shift a try later when I get home

Your comment on the welder sounds exactly like what mine is doing. It does seem a little slow, and it shoots out a shower of sparks with just a tiny spot weld near the outer edge

I'll probably pick your brain some more about this thing at some point if you don't mind

 

[OccupantRJ]

In case you don't know this, when preparing a blade for welding, twist the ends of the blades opposite each other, then grind the ends together on a bench grinder, keeping the alignment of the blade edges. When the blade is released, the ends will automatically be aligned to each other for welding. This eliminates an irregular gap for better upset welding. After welding, the blade is annealed by releasing the welding clamps into a relaxed position, then pushing the button to heat the weld to anneal. I have better success afterwards by removing the blade and further annealing about a 2 inch area of the weld with a small butane torch. I have not had a blade break initially after installation by doing this.

 

[OccupantRJ]

The blade welder also allows you to cut a blade, insert it through a starting hole in a piece of metal for making an interior cut, then weld the blade back together. After the cut, the blade is once again cut and welded for reuse.

 

[Steve from Socal]

I don't think that welder is suitable for bi-metal stock. Are you placing the blades teeth in or out? The teeth should be in towards the saw when you weld. I always use a smooth mill file on the jaws before I weld and make sure the blade is tightly clamped. The welder will have a shower of sparks while welding,that is normal.

Steve

 

[Cryptic1911]

I was thinking the same thing.. I looked online, and it seemed about 50/50 whether they weld bimetal or have issues with it. As for the teeth direction, I had them facing out. It probably does need a good scrubbing though

 

[Steve from Socal]

What is the KVA of the transformer? The welder on my saw is 8KVA, it is rated to weld up to an .025 x 1/2 bi-metal blade. It is imperative to have a good clean surface on the jaws for both alignment and electrical contact. Also; usually a blade will need to be cut about a quarter inch back on each side of a previous weld. If you have a missfire grind the ends before trying again.

You may want to confirm the transformer is tapped correctly for the voltage in use. It also would be good to go over the connections to the jaws from the transformer. The welder will slide out the front of the machine to access these areas.

Steve

 

[Cryptic1911]

No idea on that one.. I believe its the dbw-1 model that appears to be original to the unit. I looked at the manual for that, but it doesn't say. I'll have to take a look at it if I end up disassembling it

 

[04chase]

Very nice machine , i just scored a new china saw but similar in function and size but no where near quality . Im glad i read a bot before purchasing blades. Ill try and stray from bi metal as mine requires a 140" blade and intended to buy bulk 100' blade stock. I have no experience with blade welding . Very cool fine, might you share what something like this sells for and specs as for table size and max width , cut, etc?

Congrats on the beauty!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[Cryptic1911]

Very nice machine , i just scored a new china saw but similar in function and size but no where near quality . Im glad i read a bot before purchasing blades. Ill try and stray from bi metal as mine requires a 140" blade and intended to buy bulk 100' blade stock. I have no experience with blade welding . Very cool fine, might you share what something like this sells for and specs as for table size and max width , cut, etc?

Congrats on the beauty!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

We paid $900 for it. I think the table size is 24x24, and it's got a 16" throat depth