Input on "restoring" an old cast table saw

[robs400]

A little back story - My great grandfather passed away in the late 90's. At that time I was still in H.S. and did not have a place of my own. So a few of his larger items that were in his basement shop ended up at my Uncles house for the past number of years. My Uncle was looking to get rid of some stuff to make room in his basement and let me know that if I wanted to take a look at anything to stop over.

I remembered seeing the saw as a kid and that it had neat frame on it. Although I knew I probably wasnt going to use it for an actual saw I went and took a look at it. I really liked how the frame looked and ended up taking it home with me thinking I would turn it into a table for inside the house.

Below are a few pictures I took. I was hoping the frame would clean up a bit nicer with soap and water, but there is some silver paint on a few areas that looks out of place. As I did some light cleaning/scrubbing I did notice that the letters were a gold-ish color.

Right now I am thinking I can either blast them entirely clean and powder coat them at work, or give them a light blast (much quicker) and give them a decent spray job with a few cans of spray paint. I wanted to keep the frames looking "vintage" however they are just a bit too beat up for my liking. Looking for some input.

I would also like to know if anyone has had any success painting letters on a cast frame...edges are not real clean. With paint I have seen some people spray a few coats of base, then the color of the letters, and then another coat of base. Once everything is dry, the high spots are them sanded "the letters" revealing the letter color but not sanding through the base.

Thanks for looking and for any input you may have!

 

[ratdoggy]

That is pretty damn cool

 

[robs400]

I am picturing the table ending up at the end of this hallway just to give you an idea of what type of house/surroundings it will be in.



The close-up picture of the lettering above shows a darker black frame which i think looks good, but thats only because it was just wiped and is still wet. The area to the right of the faded dull black to the right is an area that was cleaned and dried already...

I also have the top to the table which is a combination of wood and metal. That will be a separate project though. I want to try and get this part finished first before tackling the table top. Thanks again!

 

[robs400]

hmmm...now there is an idea! I will give that a try before lugging the frames into work. This thing was a bear to move when it was assembled.

 

[robs400]

I only looked at it quickly when I moved the table, but I believe the top is made of wood on the two outer surfaces, and then the surface down the center is metal. There is also some metal framework directly below the table top that holes the top together. i thought it would be cool to keep the top and clean it up a bit but I am def. open to other ideas.

 

[BrownEnterprises]

I would clean up and use as is. That is just too cool to cover up and re-paint. Maybe refinish the wood. Maybe a plexiglass top raised up abit so you can still see the blade and details. Cool piece either way!

 

[robs400]

This one does not look "too shiny" although it does look one consistent color so I'm guessing it has been painted. Looks like there are quite a few pieces that mine is missing as well, but for what I am using it for I don't need them. This old stuff is interesting to see how it worked.

This is a different piece of equipment, and is a bit glossier than what I am looking for. But I do like how the letters pop against the black. Not sure how I feel about the bolts though, I'm planning on cleaning up the square headed hardware that came off and painting them black as they are currently pretty rusty (I sheared 1 off during dissassembly).

 

[gungatim]

IMO, it would be a shame to turn that into a coffee table. should be put back to work. that top would clean up and look like new with just a little work. hand painting the letters is easy with a small artist brush; even with no talent (like me) you can slowly paint them and wipe off any over brush with qtips. I have also had success softening paint slightly with simple green and hot water, then scraping off the drips on the original paint if you would rather keep the original finish.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Here's just another idea...
There is a microbrewery in Traverse City, Michigan, called The Workshop Brewing Company. They have several table saws where they installed a glass top over the table saw top and use them as customer seating. I thought I had my own pictures, but can't find them.
Here's a link that will give you some idea.
https://untappd.com/user/Smal1Fry/checkin/147513376

Yeah that would look cool as hell just cleaned up,then have thick piece of plexi glass made to match the original top showing all the moving parts underneath.

 

[robs400]

Well I ended up sandblasting it and powder coating it here at work. I'm happy with how it came out. One thing I did not realize is that there are/were some 1/2 bushings located in 4 locations in the frame that originally housed a shaft with some mechanical components attached. One of them ended up melting when going through the oven but I chipped away the melted metal and put that side towards the wall and you can not even notice it.

I need to try sanding the existing table top and see how it cleans up. I'm planning on doing some type of wood accent wall behind the table/end of hallway with some small randomly placed shelves that I can put some of his old hand planes and drills on as well. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[steamup]

my preference would to keep the top slightly distressed looking.

Clean the cast iron with a scotch bright pad lubricated with mineral oil. Wipe off and re apply the oil frequently as you clean. When you get it bright,m wipe dry and coat it with Johnson's paste wax.

The wood will take another course. May be a light sanding and cleaning with a damp cloth. let dry and coat with polyurethane but leave nicks and marks in it to show it had worked in its life.

 

[yaidunno]

Said bearings were likely babbit/lead, which is why I would have opted for painting instead of powder coating.

It will certainly make for a great table, but that's all it will be now without some re engineering of the bushings.

I'm sure you will, but perhaps opt for a table top lamp in favor of the floor lamp? It looks a bit out of place. Nice floors BTW.

 

[robs400]

The existing frame will only be a table anyways as it was missing all the original gearing and hand powered mechanisms. My grandfather had an electric motor rigged up to it but nothing that was original so losing the bearing/bushing in the oven was not a big concern for me. I plan on lightly sanding the wood part of the table top and putting clear over it to see how it looks. There is a metal section on the top as well that I will sand to get rid of the surface rust.

Not sure what I will do on the lighting, Once some stuff is on the wall I was thinking that floor lamp might look better, ideally I would like some type of track lighting or some type of floor lighting with adjusted fixtures on it to highlight some specific areas.

Floors are bamboo...they came in the house...nothing I would ever recommend to anyone as they scratch way too easy.