Thread: Pimping my 12" C.B. Rogers & Co. Jointer - Picture Heavy

Good job Stinky, well done indeed! They may have had OH&S issues with the lack of dust control, and more particularly with the exposed belts that would take a hand off in a flash.

Sir Stinky

Well done. Those old jointers are amazing machines and well worth the effort. Thanks for posting the pix.

Regards
Paul

Hi Michael,
That sure was a nice job you did on that Planer, & yes, I remember just how heavy it was getting it out of The Geelong College.
As I recall, we all guessed wrong on the Weight of it. We thought it wood have been about 750 - 850 Kilos, but in fact it was well over The Tonne.
Photos of Young E were Great, Thank you.

Stinky,

Great job, looks like a hefty machine. I often use the word restoration with a lot of poetic license, and always wait for someone to correct me on it.

Cheers,

Camo

Sir Stinkalot,

This old girl is a long way from where it was made, and an early machine as well, C.B Rogers was one of the eleven makers that joined to form the American Wood Working Machinery Co in 1898.
I think this would have to make your Jointer a late 1800's machine, that and the "wedge style" bed also shows this.
It is definitely a rare machine even in America, so to own one in Australia is extraordinary.

Thank you for showing such a beautifully restored machine, American machines like that are a real treat for me !!

Melbourne Matty.

A really impressive machine. Well worth the TLC.
Regards
John

Thank you all for the positive feedback.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

They may have had OH&S issues with the lack of dust control, and more particularly with the exposed belts that would take a hand off in a flash.

To be fair they did have a guard fabricated for the belts. It was a combination of timber and sheet metal and I took the effort of sanding back the timber and giving it a paint of coat, it was looking really good and I was looking forward to putting it back on. Unfortunately with the new motor it doesn't fit. Whilst I am the only one ever in my shop I still plan on making up a new belt guard to be safe. The dust control on the other hand was a little lacking. The sheet metal they fabricated does help direct the shavings out of the machine body but again I would like to improve this.I had purchased a big boy dust hood that I was hoping may fit up into the machine but it doesn't quite work so I will need to look at another option.

Originally Posted by issatree

As I recall, we all guessed wrong on the Weight of it. We thought it wood have been about 750 - 850 Kilos, but in fact it was well over The Tonne.

Yep ..... the removalist company that dragged it over here to Adelaide arranged for a separate crane truck to drop it off. When the guy was swinging it off he mentioned that it weighed 1.2t. Whilst I am not 100% certain that it would be that heavy it is the best I have to work on. Taking off the old motor has helped reduce the weight somewhat. I am now experienced at lifting and moving it and during the last move I did it all single handled with just the engine hoist and a trailer!

Originally Posted by L.S.Barker1970

This old girl is a long way from where it was made, and an early machine as well, C.B Rogers was one of the eleven makers that joined to form the American Wood Working Machinery Co in 1898.
I think this would have to make your Jointer a late 1800's machine, that and the "wedge style" bed also shows this.
It is definitely a rare machine even in America, so to own one in Australia is extraordinary.

Shortly after posting on here I also posted on Vintage Machinery .org. Given that I had used this resource earlier to try and get some information on its history I thought it only fitting to put the information that I had up in case somebody else was trying to search for something similar in the future. The site makes mention of C.B. Rogers and the merger with the American Wood Working Machinery Co. The other examples of C.B. Rogers jointers are similar but mine does not have the small access door in the base of the machine. The wedge style bed seemed to be very common with C.B. Rogers, however the bases used when it was merged with AWWM seem to have changed, which would lead me to believe that mine was manufactured prior to the merge.

Within moments of posting on VM I got the following email from one of their members who was able to provide a little more detail on the machines history. I will post it here with his consent:

"Michael--

I've just seen your jointer here on vmdotorg--to which I've been a long time contributor--and like it very well. You asked for some history, you do know you can look up Rodgers on this site, don't you? Made in Connecticutt, a really well known, very early firm, absorbed in 1897 into a large consolidated firm.

On the vmdotorg site, under Rodgers, you can a similar see one of these I submittred a few years ago. I used this jointer in a shop I worked in in the 1970's. Here is the link to that:

Photo Index - C. B. Rogers & Co. - Jointer labeled both 'American' & 'C.B. Rogers' | VintageMachinery.org

Yours isn't marked 'AMerican' in any way?

I suspect yours has had a nice cutterhead and bearing update as the rpound hound was not used until after Rodgers shut down and was absorbed into American. I think though I can't rewally tell, that your machine also has ball bearings, which, like the round cutterhead, would have been used later than the Rodghers name.

I'm quite certain that a look at American Wood Working Machinery early catalogs (there are many) on this site would show this jointer by name.

Best, and thanks,

Robert Bernstein
Bristol, Vermont"

Nice work

It's good to see an old machine get a new lease on life.
Even better when you get a history lesson to go with it.

Cheers

Andrew

Originally Posted by Sir Stinkalot

Shortly after posting on here I also posted on Vintage Machinery .org. Given that I had used this resource earlier to try and get some information on its history I thought it only fitting to put the information that I had up in case somebody else was trying to search for something similar in the future. The site makes mention of C.B. Rogers and the merger with the American Wood Working Machinery Co. The other examples of C.B. Rogers jointers are similar but mine does not have the small access door in the base of the machine. The wedge style bed seemed to be very common with C.B. Rogers, however the bases used when it was merged with AWWM seem to have changed, which would lead me to believe that mine was manufactured prior to the merge.

Within moments of posting on VM I got the following email from one of their members who was able to provide a little more detail on the machines history.

Micheal,
I did have a bit to do with vintage machinery for a few years, and also some correspondence with Robert Bernstein in regard to history and Woodworking machinery Catalogs, he is an absolute Gentleman, and very knowledgeable on the subject of early history of American machinery.
Looking on the C.B.Rogers section at Vintage machinery, this jointer looks very similar to your Machine.

Photo Index - C. B. Rogers & Co. - Jointer | VintageMachinery.org

As for Catalog cuts, I do have some very early C.B.Rogers material, but Vintage Machinery has a closer 1888 General line catalogs and page 12 looks similar to your jointer also, and is worth a look.

C. B. Rogers & Co. - Publication Reprints - C.B. Rogers & Company Wood Working Machinery | VintageMachinery.org

The 1898 American Wood Working Machinery Catalog I have in front of me shows only jointers by Rowley & Hermance, Williamsport Machine Co, and F. H. Clement.
No sigh of a C.B. Rogers machine.

Melbourne Matty.