Thread: Power Hacksaw pics.

That saw is looking great just don't use it, it will spoil the finnish

Great WIP Kev, I have enjoyed each post on it

Allan

Eventually found my Parkanson brochures from when I was considering buying a new one back in the early 1980's.

Manufacturer's details are:

Theo Park & Son Pty Ltd
Manufacturers of Parkanson Power Hacksaws
"Precise, Strong and Reliable"
10-12 Teton Court, Highett. Victoria. 3190.

The brochure says:

"Thirty years of Power Hacksaw manufacturing experience have gone into producing and designing this machine which we have proved to be a product of quality and capable of competing in the cost field of any market in the world."

Their products ranged from the Econi 6" up to the Heavy Duty 12" - prices from $1300 to over $2000. Factory colour at that time was a mid blue with red lettering.

The machines pictured were more modern looking versions than yours - a picture of a similar machine to yours is in the State Library of Victoria along with 3 other pictures taken by a commercial photographer.

http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictoria/a/5/0/im/a50299.jpg

How lucky that old machine was when it fell into your hands rather than being broken up for scrap. I've really enjoyed your posts on this restoration.

Originally Posted by Quasimodo

Eventually found my Parkanson brochures from when I was considering buying a new one back in the early 1980's.

Manufacturer's details are:

Theo Park & Son Pty Ltd
Manufacturers of Parkanson Power Hacksaws
"Precise, Strong and Reliable"
10-12 Teton Court, Highett. Victoria. 3190.

The brochure says:

"Thirty years of Power Hacksaw manufacturing experience have gone into producing and designing this machine which we have proved to be a product of quality and capable of competing in the cost field of any market in the world."

Their products ranged from the Econi 6" up to the Heavy Duty 12" - prices from $1300 to over $2000. Factory colour at that time was a mid blue with red lettering.

The machines pictured were more modern looking versions than yours - a picture of a similar machine to yours is in the State Library of Victoria along with 3 other pictures taken by a commercial photographer.

http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictoria/a/5/0/im/a50299.jpg

How lucky that old machine was when it fell into your hands rather than being broken up for scrap. I've really enjoyed your posts on this restoration.

Quasi ,
Thanks for the info , there are a couple of minor differences between the one in the link and the one I have ,but nothing drastic.
It would have been criminal to break that machine up for scrap ,basically there was not much wrong with it mechanically .Just needed some tlc and some bearings and seals .
I will admit that the bearings would have lasted for many years as they were.
I am amazed that the coolant fixture is still on mine and it looks exactly identical to the picture.
The guard for the drive belts and gear has become a major head ache ,it is a lot of work to repair what is left of it .I scarfed out all of the cracks and cut the broken edges straight ,and was going to cut some 6mm plate to fit ,but trying to get compound curves on 6mm plate is going to be very difficult with out lots of heat and cutting ,welding and grinding .
I have decided to make a complete new one from 3.2 mm aluminium sheet .
I did some drawings and took it to the local sheetie and he quoted me over $500.00 to make it.
I am going to buy the sheet and cut it all out myself and then take it to him so he can weld it together to keep the cost down.
I see on the pic that the machine had oil cups for the top slide lubrication ,I have been surfing the net looking for some .
I will probably make some from brass bar on the lathe and install woollen felt wicks in them.The previous owner had removed the oiler cups and installed grease nipples and went crazy with the grease.I reckoned I've cleaned 50 kilos of grease from the machine.

Thanks again for the info .

Kev.

Originally Posted by China

That saw is looking great just don't use it, it will spoil the finnish

It's already got a coupla scratches on it

Kev.

Well its been just over a year of working on the saw , with interruptions in between with long breaks away from it but I finally have it running to the point where it will cut steel.
I took a video of it operating yesterday and after a long upload (9 hours) got the video loaded onto youtube ,so here is the [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSV2O7-Stnk"]link[/ame] .
I still have a few things to complete , like the coolant pump , the outer guard needs fitting on hinges and a length stop made for repeatable cutting .
Most of all I need to find space for it.

A couple of pics of the motor and electrical bits attached .I used the original on /off switch as it was set up for the auto cut out rod and is still working ok.

Over all I'm very happy with the outcome ,it runs nicely and does what it was made for.It's going to save me a lot of hard work cutting heavier stock for machining.

Kev.

Wow Kev looks great well done excellent restore

Fantastic restoration there Woodlee.

Thanks Ray ,
I'm quite proud of my self and I've impressed the Missus,,,
Quote " well you've actually finished something you started".Unquote
Sarcastic woman she is.
My Parents were here for a few weeks and my Father helped me fit the motor ,once I had my neighbour (electrician ) wire it up we had a bit of a ceremony in the workshop,
Missus , Dad and Mum and the dog came down to see it cut its' first piece of stock in many years.
It's going to take a lot of pressure off the friction saw and my mandraulic hacksaw.

Kev.

Woodlee
Congatulations on a job thoroughly well done. I love seeing these old machines brought back from the dead, and restored for future generations. You must have got huge satisfaction in finishing this off.

Regards

Well done with that one Kev - I've got a few more old machines waiting here if you get bored now that you've nearly finished the Parkanson.

Sad isn't it how we could once build something of that quality and now we can't even make toothbrushes in this country anymore.

Yes have to agree .We used to a make good solid machinery in years past ie Woodfast , Hercus , Macson etc.
Seems I may have made a slight error and the machine is not running in the correct rotation .
Apparently the crank arm should pull rearward when it is at the bottom of the crank wheel rotation .
I'm doing some research and cutting time tests to see if It cuts faster in the other direction.
It still works like it is but I would much rather prefer it was right.

I'm looking for a shaper now ,wouldn't have one of those ?
I like the one in the forsale ,I would really like to buy that baby, but it would cost near as much as he's asking to transport it up here.

Kev.

I'm pretty sure my hacksaw cuts on the backstroke and lifts on the forward stroke - if that's what you mean.

No shaper but I can see how they would be useful.

In any event, I am all out of room for any more stuff at the moment.

I am very jealous of the people who live in Victoria and NSW as that's where all the Ebay bargains seem to reside.

Woodlee

It is a long time ago, since I last used one of these machines but from what I remember they definitely cut on the pull stroke, & I suspect this was mainly because this was where most of the resistance was on the vice. On the push stroke, if I recall correctly, on the machines I used the Frame was lifted slightly so that the cutting teeth were not dragged backwards over the metal which would increase the blade wear.

Regards