Thread: Unidentified 4" Cast Iron Jointer.

I'm thinking it may be a Gilbro 41/2 inch made by the Gill Brothers in Preston in the 60's and 70's. Colour is wrong, but it might have been repainted, and it's missing the 'lambchop' guard over the cutter (the only part that had the Gilbro name on it. Check the mounting bolts holding it to the frame/benchtop, Gilbro's had two bolts at one end and a single central bolt bolt at the other.

Gilbro made a range of machines including a 10inch tilting table saw, and supplied the basic machine, the machine mounted on a pressed metal stand with a GMF Cadet motor, and a combo set of jointer and table saw in a larger pressed metal stand with a double ended Cadet motor to drive the saw or the jointer from opposite ends of the motor, selected by mounting the drive belt to the desired machine. I have a combo machine that works well that I acquired from a neighbour who purchased it new.

Other Aussie made units in the size range are Ezy Cut and Artisan which are still seen occasionally on ebay, gumtree, or facebook marketplace. One of these looks similar to the Gilbro at a casual glance, but uses a mounting bolt in each corner, rather than the 2+1 pattern of the Gilbro.

I had a similar unit slightly different base. The motor looks like an old washing machine unit? Changing the wiring out was a wise move. blades will probably be standard 3mm or so thick plain blades clamped in, and replacements readily available. Re sharpening best left to professional equipment unless you have something set up for them - not your 2 wheel bench grinder -too hard to keep the grind straight. Other maintenance should be common sense - lube/tighten as needed.

Thank you - looks like it's a Gilbro!

I just made a quick dash to the shed with phone and head torch for a hasty photography session and the attached pic clearly shows 3 mounting points.
Thank you for your help with that response and background.
Really appreciated - good to flesh out its history a bit.

Makes sense that the lamb-chop would have had all the branding on it, next thing will be to try and track down one of them - at least now I know what I'm looking for!

I don't know what colour it may have been otherwise, but the paint that's there looks like it's been there a while.
But if we are looking at this as a 60s/70s unit......anything could have happened over the past 0-60 years....

I wonder if the motor might have been double ended at one point?
Looks like some fabricated end plates on the non-pulley end...absolutely NO markings of any kind on the motor itself.

Thanks again - images 8050-53 attached for reference

Thanks - not sure about anything much about the motor, apart from the fact that it still hums away and its bloody heavy.
I didn't want to do anything much with it until i'd replaced the crumbling wiring and the old round bakelite switch - looked like an old domestic light switch.
Going by the blanking plates fasioned and fitted onto the non-pulley end I'm wondering whether this might have been a double ended job for one of the old jointer/table saw combo units.

Malb has very helpfully identified it as a Gilbro and it all seems to line up.
I just uploaded some additional pics in my response to malb - you might find interesting.

Thanks for the sharpening tips - yep, definitely not a bench grinder job. I was looking at a manual for an old Sears Roebuck #103 jointer during my googling in the past few days, they spoke of a process where you adjusted the tables in such a way that you could use a flat stone to sharpen the blades in situ (with a piece of paper under the stone where it sat on the table). Might work, might be too good to be true.
More research ahead I think.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Is this the video you saw or similar? As he says, it's only for honing the blades and when they become too worn they still need to be removed for proper shapening.
This video may help with your resto too. There is also a part 2 and part 3 as I thought he had come to an end without finishing it.
Post #3 in this thread may help with some info if they still exist after all this time.

Originally Posted by Farmer John

Thank you - looks like it's a Gilbro!

I just made a quick dash to the shed with phone and head torch for a hasty photography session and the attached pic clearly shows 3 mounting points.
Thank you for your help with that response and background.
Really appreciated - good to flesh out its history a bit.

Makes sense that the lamb-chop would have had all the branding on it, next thing will be to try and track down one of them - at least now I know what I'm looking for!

I don't know what colour it may have been otherwise, but the paint that's there looks like it's been there a while.
But if we are looking at this as a 60s/70s unit......anything could have happened over the past 0-60 years....

I wonder if the motor might have been double ended at one point?
Looks like some fabricated end plates on the non-pulley end...absolutely NO markings of any kind on the motor itself.

Thanks again - images 8050-53 attached for reference

I used to have an Ezycut combo with a 4 1/2'' jointer. That had a double ended motor. It was all still working when I passed it on just over a year ago. Likely about the same vintage and Aussie made. Did not use the saw much but the jointer was a little gem and did me for about 15 years.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Is this the video you saw or similar? As he says, it's only for honing the blades and when they become too worn they still need to be removed for proper shapening.
This video may help with your resto too. There is also a part 2 and part 3 as I thought he had come to an end without finishing it.
Post #3 in this thread may help with some info if they still exist after all this time.

Thanks for this - sorry for delayed reply.
The first video you linked is the process I was referring to, but I saw it set out in an Instruction Manual for a 1950 Sears Roebuck 'Craftsman Jointer'.
Will try and attach a .pdf copy.

I hadn't seen all 3 of the restoration video - thanks.
Now I'm lusting after the lambchop/safety guard as shown in that 3 part video. As mentioned earlier, its the only part of the Gilbro that carries any branding.
Long gone from my machine I'm afraid, can't imagine where i would track one down.

Unfortunately the store in Preston mentioned in the 2011 post in in your last link, is (according to Google) 'Permanently Closed'
No idea when, but going by the number of references that come up in a search, I'm guessing it was only relatively recently.
Shame - perhaps he might have had a lambchop for me!

Thanks again
John

Originally Posted by Farmer John

Shame - perhaps he might have had a lambchop for me!

You'll never know, but it's coming up to Australia Day so you could be lucky
Assuming that is you that has put the inquiry on the vid comments, hopefully he will still see it and help you out.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

You'll never know, but it's coming up to Australia Day so you could be lucky
Assuming that is you that has put the inquiry on the vid comments, hopefully he will still see it and help you out.

Yep - that's me.
Also added the same question to the other two YouTube clips, not much more I can do I think.
Fingers crossed!

A shame that the son's business in Preston has closed down, I guess we're all getting long in the tooth.