Thread: Wadkin DH restoration

I was looking to see if anything of the belt shifter was still there, when I noticed this.

DH2.jpg

It looks like that's the motor, built into the base.


I didn't realise that was an option (I thought the DH was too old for that ).

Looking more carefully at the text, I see it was an option.

DH1.jpg

Very nice! What RPM does that motor do?

Cheers, Vann.

It says any speed from 800 to 1600rpm is available, I dont know what this one is, I havent found a tag. I did wire it up briefly and it looked quite slow

Time to strip the motor, that doesnt look very wadkin





the grease was very black which isn't a good sign.











I think it might have spun





It has a roller bearing on the wheel side














I'm going to take it to my motor guy to get the leads done better and maybe put some varnish on the windings, the bitumen is cracking a bit.

Not telling you anything you don't already know regarding the wheel speed but take a look at: Wadkin DN Bandsaw Restore - Early 1900s

I have it's bigger brother the DN looks very similar. Surprised this weighs 635kg gross weight!

I found the pics of when I went to collect this, I had to reverse 30m








I'm not sure if the business was their before the houses





Just around the corner was the site of wadkins original factory. I reckon that could be the original chimney.




.


Anyway I digress. This is the bracket that holds the top wheel. Its seen a bit of action and had a repair








The bearings have been changed, they came out a bit too easy so I will reinstall with some compound





The spindle has a bit ware








The castings on this are really nice with very little fettling





The evaporust is getting a bit old, but still working














This cheap little ROS has earned its keep, it has been hammered for a few years now and still performs.
I bought a new bosch and it is pants compared to this. I think it was £35 from b&q

Just noticed there was no pic of the cheapo ROS,





I wasnt sure what to do about the wheels, if I fettled and filled them they would need balancing. I suppose I could take them to a tyre place. I decided to leave them as is. The vulcanised rubber is in good condition. It doesn't appear to be crowned either.





The covers are in good condition, the hammerite paint came off easily with a chisel.





The side is fixed with little rivets, peened over.








Time to chuck some primer about











I laid it on pretty thick so I can wet sand it





These dont look very wadkin

Originally Posted by wallace1973

...These dont look very wadkin

That guide is Chaco - a Swiss company that still makes bandsaw guides. I have Chaco guides on my Preston (Canada) bandsaw and bought replacement plastic/resin guide bushes from Switerland a couple of years ago. They were very good to deal with, but not cheap.

Scrit reckoned they were the best guides available (shame he hasn't posted for 10 or more years). I don't have enough experience to judge.

Cheers, Vann.

A bit more done, I got my motor chap to put some new leads on, he also checked it with a mega and found the reading out so stuck it in the oven to dry out. He also noticed the rotor had been rubbing on the stator making a groove. Probably because of the bearings.





The end bell got a bit filler





I managed to find new old stock bearings which didn't cost the earth, £107 for both of them.





This is one of those rocky horse poo items, I've had it stashed in my junk store for years waiting untill I found my holy grail bandsaw.








A clean and coating of smchoo








Then primer

Now if you want to get really silly about paint you wet sand and prime again





The table is in decent condition and still has alot of its original machining marks, but it does have the usual tea cup circles and some heavy staining. I was going to get it ground but I doubt its worth the effort and expense.





The fence I have is designed to go to the left of the blade, this table only has fixing holes on the right so I will need to drill and tap the table.





This paint drys to a nice soft sheen





All this prep for 20 seconds with a spray gun

Got the fence assembled





The saw was missing its tag but I have a few in my stash. The eagle eyed will notice some rivets, they came from fred dibnahs place when the contents of his workshop were being auctioned off.






































I still need to put a brush on the bracket for the bottom wheel and their are brackets that look like they hold a guard that covers the blade between the wheels. Other than that its onto the next one.

Outstanding as always. Love that fence. Should you happen to find one I'd consider shipping it to Brisbane here in Australia

I know where one is.
But it’s not available at this point in time
H.

Henry - let me know should your contact ever want to part with it

Originally Posted by clear out

I know where one is...

Me too - but also not available.

DH 163.jpg

Clear out, can we have some photos?

Cheers, Vann.