Old Macson table saw - anyone heard of them?

**Woodo58** · 8th June 2020, 08:59 PM

Hi
I have just picked up an old table saw from an old feller that has had to give up his workshop and move into care. He has been making breadboards and serving trays for the last 20 odd years (really nice work) and I scored his router table and thicknesser and a few other things as well but that's another story.
The saw has Macson on the belt cover but has Mcpherson Australia on a plate on the saw body. I have done some searching on the internet but cant find out much about them. It has been in a fairly dirty environment for a long time and while he has been using it up until a few weeks ago it is pretty ancient and I am planning to strip it down and clean it up and make some mods before using it. My experience is all on Triton workbenches and a brief wonderful exposure to state of the art equipment at the Sturt Woodworking school in Mittagong several years ago when I did a 12 week basic woodworking course.
This old beast adjusts the table up and down rather than the saw and while it is a bit grubby doesn't seem too rusty . I removed the table from the frame today and everything
It has a small 1/2 HP motor with a GMF Cadet plate on it. I suspect that might need upgrading to something with a little more grunt. Any ideas?
There is no switch to turn it on and off. It appears that it is just plugged in and turned on at the wall so I'd like to install a switch on the frame perhaps with a kick switch. Also looking for ideas how to do that and what kind of switch I need to buy.
It appears to have had a table extension that is missing so I'd be keen to hear ideas on how to replace that.
Love to hear from anyone who can help guide me through this restoration....hope the pics help

**Mountain Ash** · 9th June 2020, 08:41 AM

Hi Woodo. I'm not much help but the saw looks fantastic. Good luck with the resto. Keep posting photos. Much nicer to look at than my table saw

**Gaza58** · 9th June 2020, 12:34 PM

Macson was McPhersons own Brand..... I have been through the McPhersons Catalogues that I have and can't find that particular saw. The legs on it are very much like those found on many of the Hyco machines which in turn were copied off Walker Turner in the US. Certainly is a nice little saw and worth the effort to restore. Hope someone can help with dating it as I have never seen one like that.

Walker Turner from 1936
Walker Turn 10 In Saw Bench 1936 001-1.jpg

**Chas** · 9th June 2020, 10:44 PM

The saw is certainly older than the motor illustrated. You didn't state the size of the blade, so it is hard to comment on its' power. It is common to have 1 HP for an 8" blade, 1 1/2 HP for a 10" blade, and 2 HP for a 12" blade. Perhaps the previous owner had some special requirement for a low power motor?

Chas.

**Charlie_6ft** · 10th June 2020, 09:54 AM

Interestingly I have a vary small motor on my saw (Wolfenden) I am busy fixing up too. It's also a low RPM. The am note sure if I would call this saw industrial grade but it was a 3 phase machine in a past life (switch gear is all 3 phase) so the motor it came with is definitely not original.

20200607_092341_resized.jpg 20200607_092405_resized.jpg

I'll be looking at replacing the motor with a 3HP 2800rpm motor which with the pulley's I have will give me about 3,450rpm. That will give me heaps of power and closer to the correct speed.

**Chas** · 10th June 2020, 04:10 PM

The photo of the motor contactor shows that the range of current would be for a 415v 3p motor of either 1 1/2 HP or 2 HP. Unless you are planning for a blade larger than 12" diameter, a 3 HP motor might be overkill. Of course, if you already have such a motor, then that's a different story.

Chas.

**Charlie_6ft** · 10th June 2020, 05:29 PM

Yes it is overkill, I don't have a 3HP motor but a friend has one at a good price so will go with that. I can run a 12" blade on my Wolfenden but will probably run a 10" blade.

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