Thread: Robinson TD - E 30 Inch Bandsaw

What a ripper Zac. Robinson gear is the best. Its number 770 saw of the TD-E type. Theres at least another 669 of them out there somewhere.
Where did you find that and how did you get it on and off that trailer?

Rob

It looks like some more pictures are in order. This is really the first time going over it. I didn't give it a proper inspection when I bought it. Really just wanted to see if anything major was broken and see it running. It's like opening a Christmas present to see what I got.

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From The machine from the front ; Top Door Open ; Bottom Door Open ; Top Blade Guides ; Bottom Blade Guides ; Remains of Bottom Wheel Brush ; Cracking Rubber Tyres ; Table Tilt Machanism ; Strange 3 Phase Motor ; Dust Collection Port 5" ; GK Chesteron's Fence in real life.

The story behind the machine is that a Scotsman emigrated to WA from Rhodesia, bringing the machines with him. He wanted to set up at York making propellors for Tiger Moth airplanes, probably sometime just after WW2. The machines included a set of Robinson machines including this bandsaw and a jointer. Shortly after setting up at York, the man's business partner won lottery and didn't have to work anymore, somewhat hindering the business plan. So the machines sat in a hangar in rural WA until purchased by a joiner in Perth, who then sold the bandsaw to me. He still has the large Robinson jointer.

The saw was put on the trailer by means of the steel rollers you can see its currently sitting on, and a winch. It was taken off the trailer by rollers and ratchet straps. Once on the ground safely (I did have a heart attack when it lurched off the flat of the trailer bed down onto the ramps) it is easily moved along the steel rollers. I don't know what I'm going to do long term. It's hard to imagine a mobile base or castors strong enough to support it, or how I would get it on there.

The motor appears to be a strange one. When we turned it on at the Seller's workshop, it is turned on in 'start mode' then the lever is switched to 'work mode' once it gets going. No big deal really, it doesn't take long to get going.

Another thing is the rubber on the tyres is cracking around the edges. This was pointed out to me at the time of sale, but it actually still runs smoothly so I figure I can replace the tyres if and when I need to.

Any idea if the bottom guides (timber) are original? Also does anyone know when this machine might have been made?

Thanks again. More to come soon.

Zac.

Edit: GK Chesterton's fence parable can be paraphrased as 'don't remove something if you don't know what it does'. I removed the bolt holding that strap in place, not realising it was in tension. Now it has shrunk and I'll have a hard time putting it back. Live and learn I guess. Now can anyone tell me what the strap was doing?

Thanks again, Zac.

To get it on and off rollers you need leverage and wood blocks .
Get a long bar like this .
Cyclone 1650 x 25mm Hex Fencing Bar - Bunnings Australia

I have a few . Some of them I bent the ends to different angles with the forge and anvil and they work better but straight will work as long as you have the room to lay it down to get it under.
It's probably obvious from that what you do with it but here is what I was shown .
You put a wood block up close and lever the bar over that and lift the machine to pull out the bars and lower it onto lower wood blocks one side at a time. Take it down in steps . I made pallets for my machines so at any time I can shift them with the pallet jack . Another story . But I got the machines up on the pallets 120 mm with the bars. You can walk machines from one pallet to another with bars .
A good thing to also have is a wedge or two . Wood will do but steel log splitting wedges are great. You need them for when a machine is flat on the concrete . The sharp end of a bar can sometimes only just get under a little and you lift the machine a few mm and stick a wedge in under to hold it there to get a second go .

The chunk out of the rubber tyre could be patched with a bit of rubber glued in to a fresh cut dovetailed hole maybe ? If theses only one or two . I had a chunk break off mine and glued it back down with Poly glue I think .



"GK Chesterton's fence parable" Never heard of it Ill look it up.
That strap and round thing is the return spring to help lift the weight of the sliding post that holds the upper guides. They get fixed on after being wound up so you will have to nut out how to do that. There must be a spring inside the wheel as well like the Wadkin bandsaws have.

Its probably made between 1945 to 1960 with a very rough guess. Some Robinsons have the year on the Badge . I don't know when they did that . Ive got some Robinson catalogs somewhere ill see if i can find it .

A mate in Saskatoon has a Saw like this in his shop.
Nice machine built like a proverbial
H.

Hey Zac,

Take a look at this guy over in NSW: Andyloveswoodwork on Instagram: "Dressing the top wheel on the #Wadkin DR bandsaw. Took a bit to mount the jig on top but it worked out well. The tire was not as bad as the bottom so I decided to keep it. I hooked up the drill to get the wheel to spin.
#kutzall #woodworking #bandsaw #wood #timber #woodwork" he did a new tire on he''s Wadkin DR30. He used Cyberbond 2008 glue to stick on neoprene rubber 50mm wide x 6mm thick for a cost of $12 (AUD) per meter (NOTE: The rubber is not as firm as vulcanised tires but way cheaper).

Andy mentioned to me the vulcanised rubber has a hardness of shore 75A. He's thinking was the rubber from Clarke Rubber is shore 65A.

Originally Posted by auscab

What a ripper Zac. Robinson gear is the best. Its number 770 saw of the TD-E type. Theres at least another 669 of them out there somewhere.
Where did you find that and how did you get it on and off that trailer?

Rob

Rob, Your maths are out a bit 769

Hi Zac,

That's a great story regarding the machines custodian's and it's also really great that you have taken on such a large Bandsaw, it dwarf's your wood lathe sitting next to it.

That is exactly the type of machine I would love to own.

Cheers Nigel

Hey Nigel,

Did you see this one:

Screen Shot 2022-09-01 at 9.09.40 am.jpg

No I've not seen that one, but not sure I would want to take that one on, the Robinson that Zac bought is a nice design, the twin opening wheel doors are really cool.

Originally Posted by Camelot

Rob, Your maths are out a bit 769

It could be a typo on Rob's part, or it could be that he knows something - maybe Robinson (like Wadkin) didn't start their serial numbers at #1. Wadkin started theirs at #105.

Cheers, Vann.

Originally Posted by Fergiz01

...Any idea if the bottom guides (timber) are original?...

I don't know for sure that this model had timber guides - but timber guides were common. Whether those are the originals, I wooden know (pun ), but I doubt it. Possibly the best timber to make new guides out of is lignum vitae - it's self lubricating (and was often used for prop shaft bearings in boats because of that). if you have any wooden bowling balls laying around they're usually lignum vitae. Failing that, there must be suitable Aussie timbers...

Work out a good shape - or work out what shape the existing ones might have been before years of wear. They look a bit long to me. I would have thought that 50mm long would be enough with a suitable timber. If you can orientate them so it's end grain against the blade, that would be better - but not if it weakens the timber too much.

HTH.

Cheers, Vann.

That's a MEM isolating switch.

MEM 700.jpg

I have one on my Preston bandsaw.

This is what they look like inside:

MEM Pres1.jpg With ceramic arc chutes removed - during strip-down.

MEM Pres2.jpg With ceramic arc chutes fitted - during reassembly.

Check that all the unused knock-outs are in place and block off any that are missing to keep dust out.
Check that the ceramic arc chutes and bases are secure (don't pivot). The arc chute is held on by a slotted head screw (BA thread if I remember correctly so don't lose any). The ceramic base is held on by a hex head set screw. DON'T over-tighten either screw as the ceramic pieces are fragile and almost irreplacable. Firm, but not tight.

Also ensure the six 'blades' that pivot into the arc shutes aren't bent out of shape. These switches are 'serviceable' so if in good condition (or returned to good condition by you) they will last for many more years. These blades can be cleaned up with very fine abrasives (I use a fibreglass 'pen' I bought specifically for that purpose).

If you decide to completely refurbish the switch, be aware that the material under the ceramic base may contain asbestos. In some of my switches I've 'painted' the asbestos with a water/PVA glue 'paint' to lock the asbestos fibres in place. Water is your friend as airbourne asbestos fibres may eventually kill you. Water keeps them safe (use very damp rages to wipe up any dust then place in zip lock bags).

Again I HTH.

Cheers, Vann.

Looked in my catalogs but they are to early .

Found this online .

https://www.scosarg.com/media/leafle...type%20TDE.pdf



Product Leaflets | Scott+Sargeant UK

Thanks to Auscab for putting up the link to the Robinson pamphlet. From that you can get a better idea of what those bottom guides should look like.

Rather than this shape...

Guides lower.jpg

...they should look like this.

Guide lower.png

Rectangular, with a slot at one end and cut at 45 degrees at the other. Thickness: whatever the screws will take I suppose.

This confirms they should be hardwood.

Guide guff.png

Cheers, Vann.