Kalamazoo 7AD Horizontal Bandsaw

[Farmall450]

Good afternoon,

I wanted to show off this oldy I picked up last night from marketplace.



If anyone else has one, is your motor canted? The brkt looks original and isn't all wallered out - I'm not sure if this is intentional or not. Can't tell from the parts book either.



Looks like my lowering cylinder needs some work - I'll dig into that next week when it warms up.

Thanks,

 

[The Cobbler]

nice find...
the motor sure looks cocked in the picture. how does the belt alignment look?
something not looking right with the adjuster to me

 

[Farmall450]

nice find...
the motor sure looks cocked in the picture. how does the belt alignment look?
something not looking right with the adjuster to me

It's equally crooked. The legs of the brkt show (the 2 90 degree flanges the motor pivots on) are of different length. It seems too nicely made to be wrong...but why would it not be square?

The adjuster is odd. It's just gravity tensioned.

 

[Farmall450]

Maybe I'll tweak it to square it up. Impossible to tell where the holes are in this, but perhaps it should be square (plus my OCD would appreciate that).

 

[Beerhippie]

Just run it. If the belt is out of alignment, it'll pop right off. Then you'll know it needs fixin'.

 

[gregs]

I have one at work that I can check in the next day or two.

 

[e015475]

I had this Kalamazoo saw in my shop for quite a few years. Unless it had a pretty new blade in it, it had a hard time cutting a straight line with it. My shop wasn't big and this saw had a pretty big footprint. I sold it and bought a portaband and a SWAG table and never looked back

 

[MushCreek]

That motor doesn't look right to me. I can't imagine a reason for it to be like that on purpose. I have an ancient 824 (yes, 24"!) that still does the job. It's a big beast, but I have a slot where it fits, and I have it on casters so it stays parked unless needed. These old bandsaws seem to sell cheap in recent years. I paid $100 for mine, but it needed new guide bearings.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The motor looks crooked to me. I think I would look deeper at it and try to figure out why.

 

[Farmall450]

I had this Kalamazoo saw in my shop for quite a few years. Unless it had a pretty new blade in it, it had a hard time cutting a straight line with it. My shop wasn't big and this saw had a pretty big footprint. I sold it and bought a portaband and a SWAG table and never looked back

You're the first person I've heard say that. These old Kalamazoos are really well regarded, which is part of the reason I've been looking for one. If they're cutting crooked you need to adjust the wheel cant.

 

[Farmall450]

The motor looks crooked to me. I think I would look deeper at it and try to figure out why.

Just run it. If the belt is out of alignment, it'll pop right off. Then you'll know it needs fixin'.

I don't have anything I need to cut right this moment, so I'm going to dig deeper. PO used it for years like this but was selling his shop.

I have one at work that I can check in the next day or two.

Thanks!

That motor doesn't look right to me. I can't imagine a reason for it to be like that on purpose. I have an ancient 824 (yes, 24"!) that still does the job. It's a big beast, but I have a slot where it fits, and I have it on casters so it stays parked unless needed. These old bandsaws seem to sell cheap in recent years. I paid $100 for mine, but it needed new guide bearings.

Easy enough to make a new brkt if I can't shim or adjust it straight. It's basically a drill press setup for the 3 speeds, and those are always square.

 

[JSGAuto]

Mine is too, weird, never noticed. Is mine upside down, or yours?

I've had it 4-5 years?, cut a lot of material with it. (hobbyist machinist). Still has the blade that came with it. It's all about feed and speeds.

It was worth the $100, and 2 mile trip to get it.

 

[Farmall450]

Mine is too, weird, never noticed. Is mine upside down, or yours?

I've had it 4-5 years?, cut a lot of material with it. (hobbyist machinist). Still has the blade that came with it. It's all about feed and speeds.

It was worth the $100, and 2 mile trip to get it.

Looks like ours are both angled the same way. Are they both upside down, lol?

Mine's a 7AD. I'll go mess with it later today or Monday.

Lucky SOB, I had to pay $200 and go an hour away, but I do think I'll repurpose the homemade base on mine to also fit the cutoff saw.

 

[JSGAuto]

Looks like ours are both angled the same way. Are they both upside down, lol?

Mine's a 7AD. I'll go mess with it later today or Monday.

Lucky SOB, I had to pay $200 and go an hour away, but I do think I'll repurpose the homemade base on mine to also fit the cutoff saw.

I like the base yours has, mine didn't come with one, and the legs were wobbly. I welded together a base on some casters. Also did a crappy overspray paint job, just so it felt nicer to use.

They are great little machines. You will enjoy using it.

 

[Farmall450]

I like the base yours has, mine didn't come with one, and the legs were wobbly. I welded together a base on some casters. Also did a crappy overspray paint job, just so it felt nicer to use.

They are great little machines. You will enjoy using it.

Yeah, by repurpose I mean I'll keep this base on it, but add some rollers or blocks the same height as the "bed" on my old Makita chop saw. So I could kneel there and run stuff through it while catching most of the sparks/junk.

It's a little tweaked tho - that might take a 6x6 and a loader tractor to flex out.

 

[Farmall450]

I'm thinking the motor brkt is just blown out. Apparently 50 years of use will do that (it appears the motor date code is a 1971).

I think I can just size all 4 holes up a size and toss a bolt in there. Should last another 50 years, unless I find a pipe the same ID and weld it into the u brkt - then it'll last 100 years

 

[gregs]

I'm thinking the motor brkt is just blown out. Apparently 50 years of use will do that (it appears the motor date code is a 1971).

I think I can just size all 4 holes up a size and toss a bolt in there. Should last another 50 years, unless I find a pipe the same ID and weld it into the u brkt - then it'll last 100 years

Finally remembered to check the saw at work. Motor looks pretty square to the frame.

 

[Farmall450]

Finally remembered to check the saw at work. Motor looks pretty square to the frame.

Thank you! Is your auto shut off still hooked up?

 

[Whitworth]

Motor is crooked.
Also looks like you're missing the chip pan.
And the stock stop.

 

[gregs]

Thank you! Is your auto shut off still hooked up?

It is but it’s kinda hinky. It’s not a saw we use a lot.

The saw didn’t have a chip pan when we got it. Doesnt really make much of a difference.

And the motor is very square to the upper frame, but the camera doesn’t look like it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Now that I'm looking at this on the PC rather than my phone, the issue for the OP may be as simple as running the jam nut back up to the bracket.

Op's bent motor,

@gregs ksaw

 

[Farmall450]

Now that I'm looking at this on the PC rather than my phone, the issue for the OP may be as simple as running the jam nut back up to the bracket.

Op's bent motor,

@gregs ksaw

Good observation. I plan on messing with it some today, but I still think I need to mess with the mount and pin, they're blown out from years of running like this

 

[Farmall450]

It is but it’s kinda hinky. It’s not a saw we use a lot.

The saw didn’t have a chip pan when we got it. Doesnt really make much of a difference.

And the motor is very square to the upper frame, but the camera doesn’t look like it.

Thanks, I envisioned something like that. Mine just has like a light/toggle switch in the box, but I saw another one online someone put an allen key on the switch to have auto-off. Obviously it's meant for it with the way the switch box is mounted.

 

[gregs]

The manuals are on the old wood working machines site I believe if you haven’t already looked.

 

[Farmall450]

The manuals are on the old wood working machines site I believe if you haven’t already looked.

I found a PDF from Clausing. Thanks!