THE WALKER-TURNER THREAD - Post your Walker-Turner pics

[Hoorn]

With the loyal following Walker-Turner machines have, its time to roll out a Walker-Turner thread where GJ members can share pics and knowledge of their prized W-T possessions.

Sometime between 1927-29 Ernest Walker and William Turner formed the Walker-Turner Company, Inc. in Jersey City, New Jersey. During these early years, W-T tools were sold primarily through department stores and geared for the homeowner. Prior to Sears creation of the Craftsman brand, they sold Walker-Turner tools and machines. Once the Craftsman line rolled out, Sears used re-branded W-T tools and sold them as Craftsman. If you have a Craftsman tool with the serial number prefix of 102., that was made by Walker-Turner.

In 1931 Walker-Turner moved to Plainfield, New Jersey and occupied a much larger plant, employing some 200 workers.

During the early 1940s, Walker-Turner was beset by labor issues, work stoppages and strikes to the point that the National War Labor Board had to intervene. During these war years, a large percentage of Walker-Turner's production was directed toward the overall war effort. By 1948 Walker-Turner was sold to Milwaukee machine tool maker Kearney & Trecker and became the "Walker-Turner Division of Kearney & Trecker", and by 1956 was resold again to Rockwell, becoming the "Walker-Turner Division of Rockwell Manufacturing". Within a year, Rockwell would close down production of the Plainfield, NJ plant entirely.

I'll get this party started and post two W-T machines I grabbed during the course of the week.

Here is a mid 40s 900 series drill press with the Slo-speed attachment.



Here is the ad i responded to. Yes, when I got there this was at the edge of the garage, facing the street, with a sign on it that said "drill press $75".



A closer pic of the Slo-speed attachment.



A couple images of how this DP appeared in the 1946 Walker-Turner catalog:





Here is a mid 1940s 14" bandsaw with a metal cutting gearbox and it has a Century motor! I will have better pictures of this bandsaw soon. My son-in-law grabbed this for me in San Diego after I saw the ad. The price was so low I could not delay and wait the few days I would be able to drive from LA county to San Diego, so he grabbed it for me. Note it has the elusive original blade guard.







Nice little touch. On the upper wheel arm, this 1940s LA based supplier "Frey Industrial Supply Co."



And here is Frey's circa 1938 where this bandsaw was first sold. I am only the third owner; grandfather was first, and I bought it from the grandson.



Alright guys, lets see your Walker-Turner machines!!

 

[Maui]

In addition to machines and vises, I restore and sell a variety of vintage motors. And the Walker Turner motors are some of the most sought after. Here’s an example of one. Once I get back home I can post some pics of the Walker Turner machines I currently have.

Maui

 

[Hoorn]

@Maui nice motor, can't wait to see the remaining. Those Kingston-Conley made W-T motors are solid.

 

[trents99]

Here's my DP I put back together a few years ago. DP1040 on the base, no serial number on the head. Had an older Westinghouse motor that burned up a few months ago. I have an old Dunlap to put on it at some point.

 

[Hoorn]

@trents99 nice DP! Did you blue the spindle and other various hardware or is that just the lighting?

 

[Erik The Red]

Wow great thread to start, thanks @Hoorn ! I'll start off with this beauty I found locally for $150, no parts missing and it has the most perfect hum when it starts, takes forever for stop! Badge rated at 1/2 HP this thing weighs 88 lbs and is double the size of my 1/2 HP Craftsman mailbox, the amount of copper in this motor is crazy.

 

[trents99]

@trents99 nice DP! Did you blue the spindle and other various hardware or is that just the lighting?

Probably lighting. I knocked all the rust off originally with a wire wheel then sprayed it with Fluid Film.

 

[Hoorn]

Wow great thread to start, thanks @Hoorn ! I'll start off with this beauty I found locally for $150, no parts missing and it has the most perfect hum when it starts, takes forever for stop! Badge rated at 1/2 HP this thing weighs 88 lbs and is double the size of my 1/2 HP Craftsman mailbox, the amount of copper in this motor is crazy.

Awesome grinder! And in such great shape. Kingston-Conley made those grinders for W-T right up until Rockwell bought the company. You've got quite the lineup Erik with the Craftsman and Baldor grinders waiting in the wings.

 

[Tarnished]

I was really surprised that there has never been a thread for GJ'ers to post their Walker -Turner. I searched as far back as 2015.

You've done it again Hoorn. Amazing catch on those two, might be in the You **** range! Love the slow speed on the DP. And the band saw, I'm looking forward to you working your magic on that baby! Nice going.

 

[Tarnished]

Wow great thread to start, thanks @Hoorn ! I'll start off with this beauty I found locally for $150, no parts missing and it has the most perfect hum when it starts, takes forever for stop! Badge rated at 1/2 HP this thing weighs 88 lbs and is double the size of my 1/2 HP Craftsman mailbox, the amount of copper in this motor is crazy.

Erik: Great grinder. Really liking the eye shields on that great looking survivor.

 

[Hoorn]

Cleaned up the slo-speed attachment. The design is so different than other traditional column mount pulleys it's worthy of highlighting here.



Notice the bearing cover is pinned in place and the post and bearing can not be removed.



It's actually quite adjustable. Note once the acme threaded rod is placed into the cast iron post protruding from the motor mount, it can be moved forward or back and locked in placed with the two large, circular knurled locking nuts. The height of the pulley itself can be raised or lowered by half an inch or so in either direction and locked in place with the set screw.

 

[Hoorn]

I picked up this pair of 14" WT bandsaws in the San Diego area for $200 (white) and $300 (gray). Both are fully intact, with unbroken trunnions, running motors, all knobs and screws accounted for. I partially disassembled both to lighten the load going in and out of my car.

The gray Walker Turner with the metal cutting gearbox was picked up a few days earlier by my son-in-law and we took it from the back of his pickup and put it in my SUV. As an added bonus this had an outstanding condition 1/2 HP Century motor.

The white BS I grabbed from a fabricating shop with a fully intact, crack and chip-free cast iron base and a very nice running driver series motor.



Of note in this picture is the original blade guard. On Walker Turner band saws these are almost always missing.







The gray BS had a pretty stout welded up angle iron and plate steel base that I had a lot of "fun" having to disassemble to get the Century motor out. We've all seen some pretty odd things, but this motor was essentially built in to the base.

Here it is once I got it out.



A few pictures of the disassembly process.







As you can see by the pictures, this does not turn on ball bearings but rides in bronze sleeves. The last patent on the motor badge is 1915, and by the mid 1920s most motors had transitioned to ball bearings. I would date this as "after 1915" to early 20s motor. Note both end bells have two oil ports.



Rule of thumb on these bronze sleeve motors is keep them oiled! Properly maintained these bronze sleeves will outlive sealed bearings.

Here is a close up picture of the metal cutting gearbox without the top cast iron cover in place.
These gearboxes reduce the blade speed considerably. When engaged the drive shaft will only turn one revolution for every 10 revolutions of the pulley. Wood cutting is a direct one-to-one ratio.
As found, and seen in this picture, it is currently in the wood cutting position. Two things must occur to engage the 10:1 ratio.

There is a cast iron warning sign in the vertical position, along the right side of the gearbox. Among other things it says, "Do not force into gear"

There is a ball lever behind the warning sign that needs to be moved to the left end of the sign for the large gears within the box to engage. As seen, the lever is to the right side of the sign and the gears are not engaged.

The plunger, seen as a circular knob on the edge of the hub on the smallest sheave, must be withdrawn. In this position metal cutting capabilities are engaged.

Fully mechanical, reliable and quite reduced, these are prized possessions for WT bandsaw owners.

 

[36truck]

Surprised there is no Radial arm saw yet. I don't have a picture of my Dad's W-T radial arm saw. Way better than the Craftsmen Radial arm that the W-T replaced.

 

[Mintgrun]

There is a Driver Line 3/4 HP 3450 double arbor motor on a Delta Homecraft table saw at a local Habitat store for $50. The sign says "needs new motor." Today I was talking to the guy that prices things, intending to ask if they'd sell the "bad" motor separately and before I got around to asking, he volunteered that a guy had tried to buy just the motor and he'd said no. So I told him he answered my question before I managed to ask it. That's okay. I don't need another project and it isn't the motor I'd want to put on the little 10" WT bandsaw I bought last winter. I do have a motor here that I can use with it, but haven't gotten around to setting it up. Here's that saw in "as found" condition.



Here it is cleaned up a little bit. I like the blue-greenish-grey paint. It does have the thin aluminum blade cover, as seen in the first photo. Those sure are delicate. No wonder they're often missing.



The blade tensioner was frozen up, so I took it off and got it working. I made a couple of sticks of wood, to sight down and align the two wheels, but I have the top wheel set back about a tenth of an inch too far, so I'll loosen it up again and move it forward.





Does the Patent Pending mark help date this saw? I'm guessing mid/late thirties?



I sure like the DRIVER Line domed badges.



I'm happy with how the table surface cleaned up using a razor blade. I'm not going to try to fully restore it.





I wiped the front of the wheels down with WD-40, but have not washed the back of the tool yet. I'm still enjoying the original dirt.



Tom

 

[isb cornbinder]

I bought this WALKER TURNER bandsaw blade welder and I have never used it. I did try a test weld and it works.
I will be putting it on CL.

 

[Hoorn]

@Mintgrun great workshop you've got there, and I love the color of that band saw. Here is the last appearance, the 1938 Walker Turner catalog. The following year that style bandsaw was a 12-in.

 

[Hoorn]

@isb cornbinder super niche item there. A Walker Turner bandsaw blade welder, who knew!? How did the weld come out?

 

[isb cornbinder]

@isb cornbinder super niche item there. A Walker Turner bandsaw blade welder, who knew!? How did the weld come out?

The weld looked really good, after a few hours of repairing the welder.
The eBay seller I bought the welder from said he had tested the welder and it was like new. He lied to me. This welder looked like new and there were no signs of it ever having been used. It became obvious that this welder was not working and most likely had not been tested, as the seller suggested.
I got an electric shock when I first turned the welder on. The grinder function did not work.
When I opened the unit to have a look, most of the internal wires had the insulation missing and the insulation was laying in the bottom of the cabinet.
The built in grinder motor wires were bare beyond the point where the wires entered the motor case. I took the motor apart and soldered in new wire.
Where possible, I cut out and replaced wires. Where this was not possible, I used heat-shrink.
I was able to contact the seller and send him a few pictures. He went total jerk, so I called eBay and reported him. I do not know any of the internal workings of eBay, but, within a day, I had a full refund.
I had thought of offering the seller half of what I paid, but, I thought, I have about 6 hours of repairs into this machine, so we were even.
I have welded a few bi-metal bandsaw blades where the blade jammed and broke. I am pleased with the way the WT works.
I seldom have a blade break, when they are in good working shape. If the blades are worn, I toss them in the scrap bin.
I am not actively trying to sell this Walker Turner welder, but, if someone offered the right price, the welder will go

 

[Hoorn]

@isb cornbinder I'd say you handled that about as well as it could have been handled. Nice job, and on your repairs as well.

 

[isb cornbinder]

While this is not related to WT, I think it is worth mentioning, here.
I bid on a MAC pall-drive 3/8" ratchet, on eBay. The time ran out and I was the only bidder at $20. The seller contacted me to say he had a warehouse fire and everything was lost. I was suspicious and I called the fire department, in that city and explained my situation. The Fire department person said they had a very quiet weekend and not one call to any fires. I contacted eBay security and in a few days the MAC air ratchet arrived in the mail. The system works. Don't give up.

 

[Tarnished]

Hoorn: Just have 1 Walker Turner to add to the mix. This is one I just couldn't get rid of since it is a great original condition survivor. My Delta's treat it as an adopted orphan. LOL.

 

[Jwallace1]

Here is my 20" drill press before and after. Kind of unique with the power down feed. Went through the whole thing and replaced the bearings and she runs like a top

 

[Hoorn]

@Jwallace1 you're not getting off that easy brother, that thing is AWESOME! You need to show a few more pics including profile shots. Terrific DP.
How does it perform, the power feed?

 

[Jwallace1]

@Jwallace1 you're not getting off that easy brother, that thing is AWESOME! You need to show a few more pics including profile shots. Terrific DP.
How does it perform, the power feed?

Thanks man. Here is some addition pictures. Didn't come with a belt guard but I was able to source one on OWWM. The power feed works great although I rarely use it, its a cool feature. I still need to make a third pulley to be able to run it slower. Or have thought about using a VFD to control speed and slow it down

 

[bmwrd0]

Mintgrun, I have that same bandsaw tucked away in the back of my storage garage. It needs a new lower wheel, but I have yet to find one of the weird sheet metal wheels that I need for it.

I do have this:

It is in regular use in my basement shop. Great press, I got it from my father who picked it up from his AG shop foreman.

 

[Hoorn]

@Jwallace1 thank you sir! That is such a cool looking DP with those pulleys running through the middle of the headframe. Great resto on that.

@bmwrd0 nice DP brother, and a Pressweld tucked away in there!

 

[Hoorn]

I picked up my very first lathe today. It is a Walker Turner L751 Driver line Gap Bed Lathe. Here is a pic right after I dragged it out of my car.





And as it appeared in the 1938 Catalog.



That $34.65 price tag is roughly $700 today, and that's without a motor.
It is mostly intact and the price was definitely right. Of interest is the motor which i consider to be very uncommon, and they don't appear beyond any 1935 catalog. A WT "Green Band Registered" Driver motor. Rather than the typical all black color scheme, this has the WT green bell caps with a black band. As with other WT motors, this one was also made by Kingston-Conley.









Try as I might, I could not find the exact match for this motor in any 1930s WT catalog. Almost surely it is a split phase motor, anything close was not outfitted with a "Green Band" badge but a "DeLuxe Driver" badge. Since the actual motor band is black, the green band reference is just for the band on the badge. Anyway, it looks cool and it sounds even better than it looks, it literally purrs. Quietest motor I own and I own a lot.

 

[csp]

I pulled this one out of a field after a new owner of a property was getting rid of the hoard that came with 40 acres and a shop he had purchased. My intention was to use the base, table and post to mount my mag drill on as I already have a floor standing drill press from the 1940s, a 15" Sprunger Brothers.

If anyone in the Denver area wants the head of this they are welcome to it. The spindle is free and pretty smooth and the quill moves up and down freely. The return spring is intact.

 

[TexTJ209]

Here's a couple of my rarer WT goodies. Flex Shaft grinder and a drill press with slow speed and foot pedal.

 

[consti2tion]

I was helping my dad cleanout a storage unit last night and saw this sitting in the corner, my brother had told me I could have it a few years back and I had forgotten about it. he didn't know what kind brand lathe it was but after looking through about 100 different photos on google I determined it's a Walker Turner 5110. It is in sad sad shape, I'm not even sure it's worth fooling with, the tailstock has been poorly repaired at some point, there's no table or motor mount. I figured I will see what I can find for it and go from there. The motors that were sitting with it are not what came with it, one appears to be a Craftsman and the other is a Delco Remy. I have a brand new Dayton I could put on it when I build a stand and find an appropriate pulley. Here's a couple pictures for now.

 

[tombell572]

My liking for Walker Turner machines developed unintentionally when I found a Driver Line grinder about 20 years ago. the quality was obvious and a small accumulation developed from that point. I don't do a great deal of wood work, mostly occasional restoration of wood truck components, but a 6" jointer and belt & disc sander would be added and eventually a machine that I always thought would be out of my reach--their radial drill. The estate sale company hadn't done their homework on this and I paid $250. Note that the large tool rest on the left side of the grinder is my modification and the cast iron base under the drill is from a W/T two-head gang drill found at a shop clean-out sale.

Tom B.

 

[Hoorn]

@tombell572 You ****!!! Outstanding deal on the radial. The few I see periodically pop up now and again start at $2k.

Your entire collection is in fantastic shape, lots of paint left on that grinder driver badge. Nice wooden machinist boxes as well.

 

[Pexto]

That radial is a thing of beauty! And I like the phone, it's a nice touch.

 

[tombell572]

Thanks, Hoorn, the complete and functioning slow speed set-up on your D/P is a rare and excellent device and the price deserves your own YOU ****. Your W/T band saw is probably one of the nicest made.

Ha! Pexto, I put the phone in when I bought the house in 1975. It came out of the kitchen because my wife wanted something more modern. I have a few more land line extensions still in the house but no one answers them since its virtually always a cold sales or scam all.

Tom B.

 

[Tarnished]

Beautiful restorations tombell572. Have admired and wanted one of they're radial drill's for years, but can have only so many toys. LOl. Thanks for showing us yours.

 

[Hoorn]

I finished my lathe project. I had several outstanding examples of original Walker Turner paint from behind badges and inward facing parts to get a good color match of the WT green-gray paint. I sprayed two coats of red oxide primer, then three coats of Benjamin Moore satin alkyd enamel from an HVLP.

 

[consti2tion]

I finished my lathe project. I had several outstanding examples of original Walker Turner paint from behind badges and inward facing parts to get a good color match of the WT green-gray paint. I sprayed two coats of red oxide primer, then three coats of Benjamin Moore satin alkyd enamel from an HVLP.

That turned out fantastic. Great work! Are you going to build a stand for it or bench mount it?

 

[Hoorn]

@consti2tion thank you. Yes I am. It will take a while as I intend to make a mobile work bench where the table top can be pivoted, to rotate the lathe upside down and have a smooth usable surface for projects.

 

[consti2tion]

@Hoorn that's a great idea, so it limits the space that it consumes. Please document the bench you build for it.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Here is a WT SM 900 belt / disc combo machine. I may get around to getting it set up for use one of these days but for now it is in my archive attic. A couple of the pics are from OWWM photo index which the PO put there before I bought it. That wooden "box" under the motor just kept it balanced on a bench when not bolted down. I think these were only around a couple years, maybe 37' to 38', but I'm not completely positive of that. Belt is 4" by around 46" and disc is 10". Brochure shows it is a quite versatile sander but resolution is not good. Ed.