restoring oldies

[Daddy3x]

Now am the next generation caretaker of my grandfather's bandsaw and drill press. Both are delta/milwaukee, and run like a dream. nearest i can tell, they are from about 1930, all original, except the plugs and four bearings. problem is, upon using these machines, i have been bitten by the urge to start hunting down "new" old goodies and bring them to their old glory. any suggestions on what a newbie might try his hand at? i really would like something with a larger resaw capacity, but maybe bandsaws are not a good place to start learning rehab. if im in the wrong forum, let me know :doh:

[Woodlee]

I reckon you are in the right forum.

Cant really help you as far as your choice of machines for restoration as I don't know what skills and other equipment you have at your disposal.

I have a background in engineering (metalwork) and have a lathe and a milling machine which are very useful in making and repairing parts for old broken machines.

My last restoration was a 500KG power hacksaw I bought from a scrap dealer for $70.00.took me over a year to get it to working condition .I am using it now but still have a small job to do on it to completely finish it.
My next restoration to do is my 1940's vintage Edgwick tool room lathe ,which I don't expect to start any time soon as I have a some other things that are of amore important nature to do .
I think you call them "honey do" tasks .
Just find some thing like an old jointer or planer and start on that ,some thing that will be useful to you.

There is one member on this forum who is in the US that has restored an old bandsaw and a planer ( cant recall what his Id is though)


Kev.

[joe greiner]

Hunting down a rare beast could be an exercise in futility. Better to let serendipity do the hard part, and you do the fun part of restoration. By pure chance, a co-worker some years ago was headed for the dump with an old TomLee tilt-top table saw, and asked me if I wanted it; of course I did.

For more deliberate search, flea markets and garage sales are great. Grab whatever suits your fancy at the time.

I can't recall his ID either, but I thought it was a jointer. IIRC, he also participates on Old Woodworking Machines ( Old Wood-Working Machines (OWWM) - Welcome (http://www.owwm.com/) ), which is a great source of documents.

Cheers,
Joe