Vintage Craftsman Table Saw Thread

[CKS1955]

Saw that Floor Model Table Saw listed on Facebook Marketplace, great price. If I didn’t already have one, I’d definitely would have bought that one for the price he had it listed. It was only about 20 minutes west of my location.

Jay

 

[Sub Dude]

Thanks Jay!
He did have the fence. It is quite different than any fence I've worked on. That is one part of the saw that I'll paint. The fence parts are all there but a lot of loose parts in the "head".
As I said, I have another Floor saw that is my main saw. Built like a tank. Not as easy to work on as some other brands but I seem to like the work.
Take care and have a good Christmas.

Where you at? I live north east of GR.
Mark

 

[CKS1955]

Good morning Mark,

Almost bought additional property near 5 Mile & Egypt Valley. Beautiful area over there.

Yes, the head of the fence can be a little tedious to work on and to keep parallel with the blade.

Enjoy the holidays as well.

Jay

 

[TexTJ209]

That's a great score! I misread at first and thought you got a blade guard and I was about to be real mad lol. Been looking for one for years.

Belt guard, I luckily found on eBay. Good luck with the project!

 

[Smokeshow69]

Picked up this NOS saw miter stop/ hold down mechanism off ebay for about $25 shipped. Slightly newer than what I would have liked but when I saw it was NOS, I couldnt resist. Booklet is dated '65 so probably could date to '66-'69??

 

[Smokeshow69]

In other sad news I walked into my local habit for humanity just as some guy was walking out with a very nice looking 10” crown top era saw on tool stand. Nice power bronze paint. I didn’t ask what he paid since it was a moot point but it was so nice if I had happened upon it I would most likely have bought it unless it was a stupid expensive price. Hopefully I’ll find a good one at an estate sale this year.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Question for you guys…. Both of my saws have the motor mount loops going under the slide bar but this puts the motor at an odd angle. Is this correct?

 

[Outlawmws]

That pivot bracket looks upside down to me.

 

[FrankLee]

Yeah, that's backwards. That bolt should not be there either. That bracket

 

[Smokeshow69]

Thanks guys. I figured as much but needed some confirmation

 

[Smokeshow69]

Hey does anyone have a motor prop rod like the one pictured? I need at least one for my keeper saw

 

[FrankLee]

EDIT: Sorry, I thought I had one, but I don't.

 

[Smokeshow69]

EDIT: Sorry, I thought I had one, but I don't.

No worries, hopefully someone else has one?

 

[Smokeshow69]

I did want to update this thread. The 103.23832 I picked up last year was able to be slightly rehabbed and is now in running shape. I cleaned the saw internals, lubricated the motor bearings , cleaned the tops of the table and put a new belt on it. I also fixed the position of the motor mount as it was incorrectly mounted when I got it. It could have used a full restoration but I sold it to a guy who will put it back to work. I’m still watching for a nice 10” saw but I’m the meantime I’ll fix my highly accessorized 8” and put it to work.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Question for you guys- how do the Long C 10" saws stack up to the heritage era saws? Dimensionally they look about the same in terms of table size. They certainly weigh a bit more being made of cast iron. Are they pretty difficult to source parts for? I'm just asking because I see a couple listed not too far away. These are not the tilting table saws, they are the tilting arbor saws....

 

[Outlawmws]

Smoke if it is the ones I'm thinking of, they were made by Atlas for Sears I have the 8" and the 10 is just bigger. Both have a "micrometer adjust fence. The thing with Atlas is their penchant for making these low speed gears from Zamak, so make sure they are not worn out there.

very wel made saws IMO.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Smoke if it is the ones I'm thinking of, they were made by Atlas for Sears I have the 8" and the 10 is just bigger. Both have a "micrometer adjust fence. The thing with Atlas is their penchant for making these low speed gears from Zamak, so make sure they are not worn out there.

very wel made saws IMO.

Yup that’s the one. I know atlas made some good stuff. Of course the Zamak gears issue isn’t privy to just this long c model, it’s continued into the newer heritage saw. How are these as compared to the heritage saws in terms of performance and parts availability?

 

[Outlawmws]

Yup that’s the one. I know atlas made some good stuff. Of course the Zamak gears issue isn’t privy to just this long c model, it’s continued into the newer heritage saw. How are these as compared to the heritage saws in terms of performance and parts availability?

To me performance is based on blade and motor/HP capacity. Either can make or break a saw. Some consider the fence to be "fiddly" but the same can be said of most factory fences, including the heritage saws. I had 2 of those (bolted together so one was an extension of the other dado in one, blade in the other...) and adapted the factory fence guides so they were continuous. Having a ball bearing arbor is of course a plus.

I've acquired the habit of first making sure the blade is paralleled to the table edges and guides (setup of the saw), then verifying both ends of the fence are the same distance to a known edge with a tape before committing to any cut.

I do consider my 8" Atlas fence to be better than the Heritage fence system personally.

Safety guards and such are all 80 years old designs, so... But I try to treat any powered tool as "guardless" at all times in use still have all my digits and both eyes...

But my "day to day" T saw is still the little 7" Craftsman/Companion tilting table saw...

 

[Smokeshow69]

To me performance is based on blade and motor/HP capacity. Either can make or break a saw. Some consider the fence to be "fiddly" but the same can be said of most factory fences, including the heritage saws. I had 2 of those (bolted together so one was an extension of the other dado in one, blade in the other...) and adapted the factory fence guides so they were continuous. Having a ball bearing arbor is of course a plus.

I've acquired the habit of first making sure the blade is paralleled to the table edges and guides (setup of the saw), then verifying both ends of the fence are the same distance to a known edge with a tape before committing to any cut.

I do consider my 8" Atlas fence to be better than the Heritage fence system personally.

Safety guards and such are all 80 years old designs, so... But I try to treat any powered tool as "guardless" at all times in use still have all my digits and both eyes...

But my "day to day" T saw is still the little 7" Craftsman/Companion tilting table saw...

Oh for sure. Either saw has it’s own challenges and even a lot of
The modern saws do unless you buy an expensive aftermarket fence. I was just checking to see if the long c and heritage saws are somewhere in the same neighborhood of function and features for a casual user

 

[Outlawmws]

If I were on the market for a 10" TS again I would take a Long C Atlas in a heartbeat, esp if its complete on the fence assembly. a missing miter is no big deal to find.

 

[40Lasalle]

Has anyone out there actually used for woodworking the Craftsman 1951 model 80 8 inch table saw with 3/4 HP motor? Model number 103.23834. One knob for both blade height and blade tilt. The motor on this saw does not tilt when the blade is tilted and the belt just twists. That is the way it is designed. There is no mechanism to lock the blade height or the blade tilt. This design lasted throughout the 1950's. Can you do good work with this saw or are the design quirks fatal flaws?

I have had a 1951 Craftsman table saw model 100 for a long time and it is excellent. I can do good work with it. The only limitation is it is an 8 inch. It has separate knobs for blade height and blade tilt and a locking mechanism for each. Somebody gave me the model 80 mentioned above. When I got it it, it was rusted up and inoperative. I fixed the motor. I disassembled the whole thing and soaked it in Evapo Rust. The whole thing is together now and tuned and adjusted. New blade and belt. Everything works like it should. After all that work, I am leery of the weird motor mount/blade tilt mechanism and lack of ability to lock blade height and tilt. Will the belt tension pull and change the blade tilt setting? I was going to give this one to my son.

 

[Outlawmws]

Has anyone out there actually used for woodworking the Craftsman 1951 model 80 8 inch table saw with 3/4 HP motor? Model number 103.23834. One knob for both blade height and blade tilt. The motor on this saw does not tilt when the blade is tilted and the belt just twists. That is the way it is designed. There is no mechanism to lock the blade height or the blade tilt. This design lasted throughout the 1950's. Can you do good work with this saw or are the design quirks fatal flaws?

I have had a 1951 Craftsman table saw model 100 for a long time and it is excellent. I can do good work with it. The only limitation is it is an 8 inch. It has separate knobs for blade height and blade tilt and a locking mechanism for each. Somebody gave me the model 80 mentioned above. When I got it it, it was rusted up and inoperative. I fixed the motor. I disassembled the whole thing and soaked it in Evapo Rust. The whole thing is together now and tuned and adjusted. New blade and belt. Everything works like it should. After all that work, I am leery of the weird motor mount/blade tilt mechanism and lack of ability to lock blade height and tilt. Will the belt tension pull and change the blade tilt setting? I was going to give this one to my son.

If you have a 100, why are you even considering the 80?

 

[40Lasalle]

I am keeping the 100. Someone offered the 80 to me and I took it with the intention of giving it to my son. I did not realize how quirky it was until I got it restored and working.

 

[40Lasalle]

Does anyone out there use the 1950's Craftsman model 80 8 inch table saw for wood working? One knob for height and tilt.
There is no provision to lock the blade height and blade tilt on this saw. Can you do good work with it?

 

[CKS1955]

There are three issues with this saw:

1) The gear that handles the duty for raising the blade and tilting the blade can be stripped. You have to make sure it’s engaged completely in either the raising position or tilt position, in between the gear overtime will get stripped.

2) It’s harder to find 8” blades.

3) Some have a 1/2” arbor. Either you need to find a blade that’s for that size or use a spacer.

Jay

 

[40Lasalle]

Thanks for your reply.

There is some wear on the gear but it still works fine. I guess they get chewed up if it is engaged while the blade is still spinning.
I got an 8" blade from Freud.
This saw has a 1/2" arbor. Freud sells a bushing for this situation.

Does the tension on the belt pull the blade tilt setting off?