Page 3 of 7 FirstFirst 1234567 LastLast
Results 31 to 45 of 97
  1. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Isle of Man
    Posts
    1

    Question Saphire Drill

    I have a Wolf Saphire Drill model 3926 that has given great service.Does anyone know where i can obtain an operating switch as this has developed a fault. Regards Eric.

  2. # ADS
    Google Adsense Advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Posts
    Many





     
  3. #32
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    Hi Eric,

    the original Wolf Pioneer Works in Hanger Lane, London, ceased to exist in the 80's. Kango from Peterborough took over the brand and inventory, continued to make part of the original Wolf program in red livery, labeled as Kango-Wolf and later as Kango. Kango itself was bought by Atlas Copco in the latter 90's. Atlas also bought AEG, that explains a lot of former Kango models (like the 900KV hammer) and AEG models (saws, grinders, drills, battery tools) in the Atlas-Copco tool catalogue. Around 2003 Atlas-Copco decided to return to its core business of compressors, air tools and mining equipment and sold Kango and AEG to the Hong Kong firm TI.

    AEG is again its own firm, about Kango i'm not sure. Chances are slim that there are still Wolf or Kango-Wolf spare parts around. The 3926 was already discontinued when Kango bought Wolf and should there be any old parts inventory left, these last remnants will probably have gotten rid off during the takeover by TI.

    So your best bet is to get an identical machine second hand and look out for it on a regular basis in typical channels like Ebay. Look in regularly, since there aren't many of these machines around any more. Should you get hold of a decent one you will also gain spare gears, motor parts, the odd original nuts & bolts, etc.

    Some vintage Wolf models are still built in India by Stark (see one of the posts below), but even when the 3926 should have been copied by them, chances are high that electrical components and castings may have undergone improvements or cost cutting design changes and may no longer fit in the original machines. I can help you watch out for a used original, since i'm a regular Ebay customer. Your biggest chance will be in ebay.co.uk.

    Regards

    gerhard

  4. #33
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    Hi Eric,

    i forgot to mention the original switch manufacturers (Burgess, English Electric, Crompton, Eaton, Honeywell, Shallco and such), which may also have some deadstock left or the odd switch model you can use vital parts from. I did this with German Marquardt switches on several occasion, to repair broken off broken off rockers or burnt contacts. Several Marquardt switches share the same components, like the same switching unit underneath the rocker type lever in many German routers or a trigger type in many German angle grinders. I also adapted an existing electronic switch once, to fit a Hilti TE22 hammer, since no parts are available anymore for that drill type either. With a bit of Frankenstein patchwork and a Dremel, this can be a rewarding challenge.

    Good luck!

    gerhard

  5. #34
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Florida, US
    Posts
    1

    Exclamation Wolf Electric Tools, LTD Item Pounces onto Ebay

    That is interesting and valuable information to share, about possible crossovers that could be made. Thank you.

    I also wanted to let you and others in Woodwork Forums to find out that my fiance just recently put up an old Wolf Electric Tools, LTD circular saw onto ebay. The serial number is 156, and is spectacular. It was on a top shelf, in her barn. I invite everyone here to look at the pics, if nothing else. This Woodworking Forum thread is the best place I could find knowledge about Wolf. I regret to inform you that the films site you referred us to had none of the clips I tried to watch available. Maybe I was doing something incorrectly there. I don't know.

    I greatly appreciate all that you taught me about Wolf, gerhard, and what others here have shared, as well. My fiance' used a little bit about what you taught in her ad, sure to credit you with the name you use on this site. I also name-dropped Woodwork Forums. If you have any hesitations or reservations about this, then please let me know.

    I don't think that anyone will have a problem finding the saw on ebay or ebay.uk. Just enter "wolf circular saw. My fiance is the only one in the world I know of who has this model in top running condition, right now. If there is anyone else who does, then we'd sure like to know.

    Thanks again, everyone,

    sawdusty

  6. #35
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    Hi Sawdusty,

    it is indeed a rare machine. Firstly because this model was not made in huge numbers, like today's Makita or Hitachi or Bosch saws. Furthermore, machines like this were typical "consumables", like jeeps were in the army. They were just used up and worn out in daily construction work, thrown out and replaced. In such cases, surviving machines are often the ones that were allowed to take home for private use when the employer had written them off, and those machines ended up in some shed or attick when the user abandoned his hobby or just grew old. Or these saws were no longer used in the construction company and were laid aside and forgotten for some reason. Odd discoveries often see the light when old and forgotten stock of firms are cleared after mergers or liquidation or the moving off to other quarters.

    The 50's and 60's were also sober and no-nonsense times: collecting these things was no hobby or fashion in those days.

    A Royal Seal of Approval for a firm comes across as pompous and important, but it is not a very big deal in Europe. We also have it in Holland. When a firm has had the honour of catering to the Royal Court and the goods were of decent standard, then such firm can ask permission to claim a subtitle of "Supplier to the Court". In Holland this is called "Hofleverancier" and there are curently 390 firms with the permission to carry this claim, including firms making trivial stuff like sweet spreads and chocolate flakes to put on sandwiches. The Dutch register of these firms is shown below:

    http://www.hofleverancier.com/register.html

    It's no problem to use my name in your auction, though i'm glad the text was not made up in HTML. I hope people read the entire thread when they have decided to look it up on invitation of your item description, because down the line i made some corrections on dates and such that i mentioned in previous posts, often because the knowledge i had at the time, appeared to be lacking later on. Continuous updating seems to be necessary. Somewhere up, for instance, i said that AEG was again a firm on its own. I learned a while ago that they have never really escaped being the property of TechTronics Industries of Hong Kong, after Atlas Copco got out of the merger.

    The film link displaying Wolf factory footage, is indeed also dead and no longer of much value. The web changes constantly.

    As for your machine on auction, i hope you fetch the price you obviously hope for, but i think the chances are slim. The times are not right and the overall appearance of the machine has suffered too much to warrant the "Buy right now" price, for instance.

    To further update the info on S. Wolf Electric Tools Ltd., i've visited the former factory site in West-London last May. Apart from a few remaining details, like some pieces of perimeter gate, all has gone for at least two decades now. There is still the Fox and Goose pub though, were many factory employees must have sunk a pint when the works were still there. I spoke to some people living in the area, and they all vividly remembered the works and in all occasions also mentioned the pub, if only for a landmark, since it is in the same block, near the roundabout and Hanger Lane Underground station. The pub also has a hotel, and its own website. I may stay there later this August, when i'm again traveling to England. I'm sure the London council of Ealing must have some interesting archive material on the Wolf works. Maybe they can give me some pointers or permission to let me have a look at old photographs and documents.

    success and regards

    gerhard

  7. #36
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Gloucestershire, UK
    Posts
    17

    Default

    I've recently acquired a Wolf BS3B belt sander, in the style of the Porter-Cable models of yore. Instead of a chain final drive it sports a gear train, packed in rather dry, bright yellow grease which has been whipped to a stiff consistency such that it manages to avoid contact with any moving parts! Having read a post on this forum mentioning chains and oil baths, I wondered if the grease was a user modification? Especially as the steel cover over the gears is bent and its gasket has disintegrated.
    The machine is basically sound, but I have been singularly ineffective in finding any info on the net, or anywhere else for that matter, about it, in order that I can restore it to proper working order.
    If anyone has any info at all about this model I would be very grateful indeed.

  8. #37
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    5,773

    Default

    I have never seen a simple hand held power tool with any form of oil bath.

    But one thing I can guarantee, any wolf power tool, by now the grease will most likley have dried out.

    If this tool is reasonably clean and has not been horribly abused....given a good clean, a change of bearings, may be some new brushes and a polish of the comutator and some fresh grease, it should last for ever in domestic use.

    It may be a little noisy compared to belt drive machines though.
    Oh and the weight....just feel the quality.... puff whease

    cheers
    Any thing with sharp teeth eats meat.
    Most powertools have sharp teeth.
    People are made of meat.
    Abrasives can be just as dangerous as a blade.....and 10 times more painfull.

  9. #38
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    About to move
    Posts
    243

    Default Way back when...

    ... I was an apprentice in the very late 1970's I bought two new Wolf cream/aqua angle grinders, a 100mm and a 230mm. The 100mm was a one hander with no side handle capability at all and a handy clutch to avoid overload; an ideal single handed machine. The big 230mm was a 2300 watt heavyweight monster. With a new grinding disk installed, it gave a powerful warning kick when turned on to let you know to be careful. What always amazed me was the forces this thing displayed when moved around. I didn't know what gyroscopic precession was until a few years later and have treated it with utmost respect ever since. One can't afford to frig around with this baby but she can remove an awful lot of metal in a very short time. Over 30 years later and they are both ready for use at a moments notice. My only gripe with them when I compare them to the modern stuff is that neither have a transmission lock when changing wheels, something that even the cheapest of the modern stuff has today.

  10. #39
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    5,773

    Default

    I may have mentioned the big bad 9" wolf earlier....yep they were a formidable machine at the time......nothing had anything like the power.
    More power than a cheap lawn mower or a small outboard.

    and back then.....they thaught that such a machine deserved two hand...both to operate and for spanners

    cheers
    Any thing with sharp teeth eats meat.
    Most powertools have sharp teeth.
    People are made of meat.
    Abrasives can be just as dangerous as a blade.....and 10 times more painfull.

  11. #40
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    About to move
    Posts
    243

    Default

    "it has enough torque to break your arm!"
    "did a few laps around the shed once or twice"
    "and back then.....they thaught that such a machine deserved two hands"

    ... Indeed, whilst in his 70's, my father also did a lap or two inside the shed in a similar fashion breaking his forearm and enjoyed the company of a plaster cast for many weeks. Those auxillary handles are there for a reason. My big Wolf grinder has never had it's handle off, it would be unusable.

  12. #41
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Gloucestershire, UK
    Posts
    17

    Default Grease is the word

    Thanks to Soundman for his advice. You were spot-on concerning the Grease/Oil question, one which has puzzled so many philosophers down the ages!
    I stripped down the primary gearbox, it too was filled with bright yellow grease, and I am sure as I can be that no one else has visited that spot in the last 50 odd years.
    After another long search of the Interweb, I found in the 1956 edition of the Builder's & Decorator's Reference Book (one helluva read) that this particular sander was launched as the 'Wolf Sand-Easi".
    Armed with this new information, I found that Morawa District Historical Society WA. has a copy of the manual online...

    MORAWA DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM - TOOL MANUALS

    or rather, had... the person responsible for that service had died,and therefore the service had been suspended or had ceased.. its not entirely clear.
    So...if anyone has any info on the Sand-Easi 'the outcome of many years of research into sanding problems' as Wolf put it! I would still be grateful.

  13. #42
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    Hi Chas,

    i read your post a few ago already, but only now did i find time to retrieve my own BS3B from my storage stockpile of tools, where i knew i could find it relatively easy on top of the heap. I bought it from a jumble sale a few years ago and because it needs a lot of work to get back into good nick, i gave way to more interesting tools, needing less grunt to restore and left this machine the way it was for now. So in the pics you see it as i have bought and stored it for years, without any work having been done on it. It used to belong to a large furniture factory, where it probably belonged to the standard inventory of production hall 25 or smething, as the remnants of large white adhesive numbers, once stuck on the motor housing, would suggest.

    The BS3B indeed has gears, like the Metabo 6100. It is a small machine (3 inch belt) and Wolf probably thought it too finnicky to use a chain, whereas the larger model i was talking about had a chain of a single row type (like on bikes) in oil. The Porter Cable 503 and 504 (the last two generation of this design; Black & Decker scratched them from the program for being too expensive to make after they purchased P-C in 2004) are also 3 inch machines, but P-C applied a double row chain type to enable such a small chain size to cope with the torquey forces needed for a belt sander.
    Soundman's comment made me less sure of my assumption that the P-C also had oil lubricated chains. Since the first reduction gear step is a worm drive, i knew for sure that these models had oil lube. Therefore i assumed that the chain drive made use of the same oil fill, since oil penetrates all chain links and bush axles in a much better way and rinses away ground metal particles (that could act as abrasives), as it does in worm drives. And since belt sanders with such weight are seldomly used overhead, these metal particles could conveniently sink to the bottom of the combined drive case, as in any upright oilfilled mechanism. But i was surprised to find that these last generation P-C belt sanders use a separate fill of chain grease. The oil (# 803443) and grease (# 875914) for these machines are clearly specified in the spare part lists. So i stand corrected, it teaches me to double check on assumptions, even those i seemed so sure about. One obviously never stops learning. Though oil filled chain cabinets in power tools do exist! I hope to find a pic of the large belt sander i was talking about, but it was more than 30 years ago that i saw it lying opened up in a repair workshop.

    I've added pics of several other oil filled tools, which were more common some decades ago than they are today. Nowadays grease fill is favoured because of less intricate sealing and the cost saving of needing less components and assembly time.

    Now for the BS3B. Yes, of course i'll be glad to help you out. The sander i bought didn't have a bag either and i do alas not have any pics of its original shape and appearance. I believe its finish was uncoloured linen with black or red print, or burgundy or black linen with white print.
    I've already opened the gear case for you to have a look inside. A bright yellow grease colour would indeed hint at the original factory fill. From the 70's on the standard Wolf gear grease was a darker syrupy colour. The bright opaque grease type from some decades ago indeed has a tendency to dry up and solidify a bit, with little beneficial effect left for the components it was meant to service. This is also a peculiarity of grease fills in vintage ball bearings, which then -by the way- were made from better steel than today.

    Just mention what you would like to check and i will dismantle the machine to answer your questions.

    greetings

    gerhard

  14. #43
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Gloucestershire, UK
    Posts
    17

    Default Bs3b

    Hi Gerhard,
    Many thanks for your reply. I've enclosed a few pics, First concerning the platen, mine seems a little longer and has a cork sheet underneath (yours may well have too, I couldn't see). Second, mine has the thick felt strip at the rear. neatly attached with screws & plastic spacers (possibly original?) Also the sacrificial belt guide, a piece of strip 1/8" thick, some sort of steel alloy, not particularly hard... what's yours like?
    As you can see, the ninety degree turn is accomplished with a pair of spiral bevel gears, roughly equal numbers of teeth, so no massive worm reduction there! As for the armature, not bad for 55 or so.
    Also, on your pics, the outlet pipe has some sort of fitment, possibly a coupler that was originally part of the bag, if it is I wouldn't mind a few details.

    As for the Ralliwolf stuff, it seems to be correct, don't know where Stark fits in though!

    Capital/revenue divide: intellectual property: transfer of know-how: to overseas companies

    Regards, Chas
    Last edited by ChasWolf; 27th August 2010 at 03:38 PM. Reason: missed pictures

  15. #44
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    Hi Chas,

    at last an answer. It was a busy week, we moved one of our offices (i'm in facility management, so i'm the one to prepare things like that and to see them through to the end without hickups), therefore there was little spare time left for the pc. We spent the weekend at our dad's place, who is now alone and 88 years old, he deserves quality time solely dedicated to him.

    Your sander is in superb shape compared to mine. The one i got from the furniture factory has seen a lot of use and has obviously been repaired several time, even with makeshift replacement parts, possibly made by the factory people themselves.

    The platen in my sander is not original, though the choice of steel with a high nickel content was a good one. But the trailing end is not even cut off at a proper 90 degree angle. Underneath is some brownish stuff that looks like leather rather than cork. The little plate that was screwed-on behind the rear roller, is also home-made. It is made from aluminium with some coating, probably meant to prevent it from making scratchmarks on the workpiece. Typical crossmarks marking the right spot for drilling the four holes hint toward a one-off handmade solution. Wolf itself would have stamped such parts in series production, i very much doubt that they would go through the trouble of measuring, marking and drilling every single piece by hand. Underneath this plate some brown felt was glued, but there are no signs of any fine adjustments or means to achieve it.

    The phosphorised steel bush that was once part of the dust bag, is original. It has a bajonet slot, but the screw in the dust ejector spout that was meant to fit that slot, is missing. Some sort of rivet was popped in a drilled second hole, but the rivet's head diameter is too big to fit the slot. This hints towards another tinkering session. The other side of the bush once held a steel stiffening rib, meant to give the bag its shape. This rib was a length of steel rod/wire, with a diameter of approx. 3 mms. and it was either spot welded or soldered to the bush. The joint has broken and it looks like there has been a sloppy second soldering attempt. I will make you a sketch of the bush next week, with all measurements and details.

    The sacrificial belt buffer plate on my machine is the same as on yours, but it has been cut in half. Deep traces of the belt having eaten in the machine housing are present.

    I didn't thank you for your marvellous find of the Ralli Wolf brand ! Great, i never knew of its existence, though the brand seems to have been established already in 1958, in close cooperation with Wolf London. So, thank you very much indeed for this wonderful find, it brings back a lot of memories of vintage Wolf tool models. Amongst it i found a pic of the monster angle grinder that was mentioned in some posts above. The pic shows the 7" version, but the 9" machine has the same gearbox and motor housing sizes. The version of this 9"version i have at home, even carries a carrying ring on top, meant for connecting to a spring loaded balancer that takes part of the weight. The original machines were 1700 and 1900 Watts, the present Ralli Wolf version is rated at 2200 Watts.

    Got to go again, till next time!

    greetings

    gerhard

  16. #45
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    Hi Chas,

    at long last, the promised dustbag fiting sketch. Also my apologies for the substandard pics which were far from sharp. I do have an extensive SLR camera set, but it's not yet digital. I took the pics with a Nokia N95 phone's camera, which has an okay lens and picture chip, but i obviously didn't respect the device's out-of-focus warnings.

    The Ralli Wolf was a brilliant find, i haven't yet found the time to find out how and where Stark fits into the story. Several websites seem to agree on the statement that Ralli Wolf was founded in India with full cooperation and joined funds of Wolf Power Tools of London, UK, in 1958. It's probably the same effort as was undertaken by Anglo-Dutch Shell in "our overseas dominion"Surinam, where Shell erected a refining plant as it did near Rotterdam.

    During browsing, i noticed a spot of controversy around Ralli Wolf. The writer of this entry was categorised as a liar for publishing it:

    http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/ralliwolf-india-limited-c263215.html

    But upon searching deeper, i stumbled on this article, which seems to indaicate that he may have had a point after all:
    http://www.mid-day.com/metro/2003/sep/64977.htm
    In short: the Wolf story remains an interesting one and is apparently not told to the full in this forums yet.

    I also stumbled across the very nice vintage NWB blower. Like many other beautiful Wolf models, this machine too seems to have been made by Ralli Wolf to the orignal yesteryear specs and livery. Up to nifty details like the all metal switch! Absolutely fabulous that today factories still make this possible. Water drips from my mouth by already watching the pics. When i would have had enough cash, i think i would have sent for the entire range from India. Sorry about that, but that's how daft collectors are.
    I also found some attachments that can be ordered to go with the NWB. A dustbag fitting resembling the one for the BS3B can be spotted here. The bag itself is rather symmetrical, like a rubber hot water bottle with it's screw cap in the middle. Just think away one flap and you have an idea of the original belt sander dustbag shape. Like on many belt sanders, the the BS3B's bag cloth just hung from a bent steel rod, as drawn in the sketch.

    greetings

    gerhard

Page 3 of 7 FirstFirst 1234567 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •