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  1. #1
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    Default A tale of two Woodfast combination machines

    In 2015? I "acquired" 2 Woodfast combination machines.

    I took one to the mens shed. Of the myriad of attachments that are available for these machines this one only had the mortise attachment and the rollers that turns the planner into a thicknesser. Given its age the saw was in fair condition and only part of the lower blade shroud had been partially mangled by the saw blade but this was easily repaired. This saw was used for about two years in the mens shed before the shed committee decide for safety reasons to upgrade, and the saw was sold for next to nothing. I was away when the saw was sold and some time later I found the fence, mortise attachment and thicknesser roller adapter in the scrap metal pile at the back of the shed. I couldn't bear to see them chucked out so I grabbed them and have since been sitting in our carport at home slowly going rusty.

    The other machine had all the fruit including the bandsaw and lathe. I took this one to the tree loppers yard where I was occasionally milling timber with the view of using the saw as part of a timber processing facility. There was no room in the tree loppers sheds so I bought a very cheap sea container and stored it in there along with other machines. For variety of reasons the timber processing facility never got off the ground and the following winter I discovered the sea container had many leaks and the machines had all started to rust.

    I slathered the leaky sea container roof with bituminous paint which stopped the leaks and cleaned up the machines - should have put some oil or similar on them! Eventually I gave up on the idea of a "wood processing facility" and decided I would move the machines on as the tree looper was asking about getting the space back.

    I sold the Woodfast band saw attachment to a WWF member Bueller and he has done a beaut restore job on it. I wasn't interested in just selling but also finding the sort of buyer who had the skills to restore/recover/use the machines.

    In the last few days I finally found someone suitable to tackle the Woodfast combo and yesterday we went down to inspect it.
    The last time I had been inside the sea container was about 12 months ago but when opened up the container from the pools of water on the floor it was pretty obvious more leaks has developed which had turned the saw table top bright orange. I was a tad embarrassed but after inspecting the top the prospective owner was non-plussed - just a bit of surface rust he said.

    The only Woodfast attachment that looks beyond repair is the attachment the turns the planer into a thicknesser which was sitting in a pool of water where its rollers had turned to rust. However, fortunately I have the attachment from the other machine still in my carport! It's rusty but nowhere near as bad as the other.

    Then we had to get the bastard from the very back of the sea container (ie past all the other machines) into my van. Originally I had move that machine from my van to the back of the container by myself 5 years ago but there was no way I could have done it this time.
    Fortunately there was still room to able to back my van close to the open sea container, which is stilling on 300 mm high stumps, and using a pair of Karri planks to bridge the gap was able to get the machine on a sack trolley, and with the trolled laying down, wheeled it into the back of the van. We left the saw on the trolley and tied it down to 4 floor attachments points in the van with 2 ton ratchet straps.

    I'm very happy and confident that the new owner will get it back to a working machine and make good use of it. He's more of a metal worker than a woodworker but the beauty of this is if something is missing or not working he can easily make pretty well any parts for it,

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  3. #2
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    I'd love to get hold of a lathe & morticing attachment for mine. Let you friend know that the only place I could find that has the required 3/4" ID saw reducing bushes is Carbitool. I ordered some from another woodwork shop that were actually 20mm. They also have the blades for the planer head.
    Photo's of the restoration will be mandatory.

  4. #3
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    Oops, double post

  5. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by 62woollybugger View Post
    I'd love to get hold of a lathe & morticing attachment for mine. Let you friend know that the only place I could find that has the required 3/4" ID saw reducing bushes is Carbitool. I ordered some from another woodwork shop that were actually 20mm. They also have the blades for the planer head.
    Photo's of the restoration will be mandatory.
    Thanks WB. Said friend is a skilled Metal worker and will have no trouble making a reducing bush. Its one of the reasons I was happy that he take the machine

    On Saturday when I went to grab the thicknesser attachment from my driveway midden (a pile with all manner of metal and wood bits in it) for said friend I could not see the morticing attachment. I remember when I first got it from the mens shed scrap pile that it was very badly corroded and was missing most of its adjustment bits so it appears the blokes at the mens shed had cannibalised these parts. I will have another look but suspect I must have chucked it out when I had a pathetic attempt at cleaning up the midden about 18 month back

  6. #5
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    Bob didn't take photos but I did.

    IMG_20200717_151708729.jpg IMG_20200717_151619596.jpg IMG_20200717_170519995.jpg IMG_20200718_095241345.jpg IMG_20200718_114325066.jpg IMG_20200719_132749169.jpg IMG_20200719_151836863.jpg IMG_20200719_164441639.jpg IMG_20200719_152533802.jpg IMG_20200719_153426529 (1).jpg IMG_20200719_155251076.jpg IMG_20200719_155307975.jpg

    As Bob said I didn't think the table was as bad as I imagined a cast iron table subjected to a drip feed of rainwater would be. Five hours and half a dozen single sided razor blades later, most of the original machining marks were visible in a table that doesn't show signs of a lot of use. Some of the accessories haven't fared as well, probably the worst is the thicknesser attachment.

    If there is interest, maybe I can post photos of the hopeful resuscitation of the universal's accessories of which a few are shown.

    Bob.

  7. #6
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    This may or may not be of interest to anyone other than BobL....

    Other than the all too obvious water damage, I have only found one broken part. It is the cast bracket used to mount the fence's steel arm to the clamp body. The missing section would have provided needed support for the heavy fence and I thought it should be repaired.

    IMG_20200727_093449094.jpg IMG_20200727_093512866.jpg

    I milled away the damage and machined an 8mm thick piece of Flowcast 4E cast iron to suit the recess. Using a microscope for accurate positioning, I then drilled, tapped and countersunk/bored a pair of holes to suit modified M6 countersunk socket screws. The screw modification was simply to reduce the head diameter from 11.9mm to 10 to suit the counterbore. The outer screw was set lower to accommodate the casting's draft angle.

    IMG_20200727_101902749.jpg IMG_20200727_110747755.jpg IMG_20200727_131109789.jpg IMG_20200727_143022168.jpg IMG_20200727_151553186.jpg IMG_20200727_163245874.jpg
    IMG_20200728_144038581.jpg IMG_20200728_153541368.jpg

    After rough filing the insert to its approximate shape, I fixed it in place using Loctite RC635 Retaining Compound on the screw threads and a thin smear of Devcon Steel Putty on the vertical adjoining faces. Prior to assembly and using the lathe, I took a coarse cut across the face of the screws to provide a tooth for the Devcon I subsequently used as a concealing filler. Filled and primed it's ready for a coat of paint.

    IMG_20200729_092128904.jpg IMG_20200729_133503627.jpg IMG_20200729_133621587.jpg IMG_20200729_134124840.jpg

    Bob.

  8. #7
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    Great Photos Bob. Glad you got it sorted.

  9. #8
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    Thanks Bob,

    The next thing I need to make is the fence guide rail. I can make assumptions as to its length and means of attachment but actual dimensions would be handy. A couple of photos would probably do the job.

    Where in this labyrinth of forums and sub forums would I best ask for advice?

    Bob.

  10. #9
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    This might help.
    Your saw had longer fence rails , about 300mm longer and wooden table top on the RHS supported from underneath by that funny angled rod that attached to the OH guard socket.

    You can also see the dodgy fix (painted pale grey) I told you about on dust chute under the table.
    Behind it was teh wood fast dust extractor.
    WFTS.jpg

  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anorak Bob View Post
    Thanks Bob,

    The next thing I need to make is the fence guide rail. I can make assumptions as to its length and means of attachment but actual dimensions would be handy. A couple of photos would probably do the job.

    Where in this labyrinth of forums and sub forums would I best ask for advice?

    Bob.
    I'll try to remember to measure mine for you tomorrow. The mounting on one end is adjustable to enable it to be set square to the blade & mitre slots.

  12. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by 62woollybugger View Post
    I'll try to remember to measure mine for you tomorrow. The mounting on one end is adjustable to enable it to be set square to the blade & mitre slots.
    I would really appreciate that Woolly.

    Thank you
    Bob,

  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    This might help.
    Your saw had longer fence rails , about 300mm longer and wooden table top on the RHS supported from underneath by that funny angled rod that attached to the OH guard socket.

    You can also see the dodgy fix (painted pale grey) I told you about on dust chute under the table.
    Behind it was teh wood fast dust extractor.
    Thanks Bob,

    The photo shows a solid rail or possibly a capped rail. In other images I have found online the rail appears tubular. Any memory of whether it might have been one or the other?
    And if the rail was overlength could it have been a special?

    Subtle differences, your Universal with its variable pitch motor pulley has a cast access panel in front of the pulley. The fixed speed version in the photo has a flat sheetmetal cover.

    BT.

  14. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anorak Bob View Post
    Thanks Bob,

    The photo shows a solid rail or possibly a capped rail. In other images I have found online the rail appears tubular. Any memory of whether it might have been one or the other?
    And if the rail was overlength could it have been a special?
    Both machines had solid rails , your machine had a custom made extended length rails made to fit the added width of the custom made side table. I took the rail off yours to take to the mens shed to show them how they could improve their fence but the rail must have go lost in the process.

    Subtle differences, your Universal with its variable pitch motor pulley has a cast access panel in front of the pulley. The fixed speed version in the photo has a flat sheetmetal cover.
    Funny I never notice that.

  15. #14
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    Bob, here's the details of the guide rail. It's 1" diameter solid bar, 685mm long. The mounting hole on the jointer end is 75mm in from the end, with 468mm between the two, but check the spacing of the mounting holes on yours. The threaded mounting holes in the rail are counterbored to give the spacers a flat surface to sit on. The spacers are just ove 14mm diameter & position the guide around 14mm from the edge of the table.
    20200731_135825.jpg

    The spacer on the jointer end has a clearance hole for the screw, but the one on the saw end is threaded & has two spanner flats. I assumed that this is how the fence is set parallel with the mitre slots & blade. The spacer is adjusted along the mounting screw, only touching the table, not the rail, to move the end of the rail in & out. Once set up it's locked up with a lock nut.

    20200731_135817.jpg

    Let me know if you need any more help with the resto. Here's mine It Followed Me Home, Can I Keep It? - Woodfast Universal Woodworker

  16. #15
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    That is wonderful Woolly!

    My understanding of the adjuster based on your photos and description is this...a bolt ( set screw) presumably 3/8"BSW, with a locknut screwed up under the bolt's head, is inserted through the table's boss and then with the flatted threaded spacer screwed in place on the bolt, the bolt is then screwed tightly into the guide rail. Adjustment takes place against the table's boss. Easier that I thought it might have been.

    I purchased a metre of bright 1030 bar this morning in anticipation so I will hopefully tackle this tomorrow.

    Thank you very much for going to the trouble to take both the measurements and the photos and the time to post them here.

    Regards
    Bob.

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