Thread: F.W. Reynolds & Co, "The Empress" bandsaw

Originally Posted by LanceC

Sooo close! I had a look at an old Dawn G clamp I’ve got. Square thread, 6 tpi, but the wrong diameter. I did allow myself to get excited for a bit.

I had the same thought, looked at an old G Clamp I have, not 3/4". Perhaps the Tool Preservation group may have some clues on availability of spares or clamps that might use the same thread.

Hi Lance, Rob Brown asked if l had any information on F.W.Reynolds. As it turns out I do ...


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Melbourne Matty.

Oh wow! Thanks Matt. A hand cranked bandsaw.

The hand crank explains the mounting studs on the back edge of the casting too.

20inches at 250 RPM = 1300 FPM - not too shabby for a hand cranked thing.

Maintaining the power and a moderate cutting speed in wood thicker than about 6mm is another matter but otherwise it would be fine.

Originally Posted by LanceC

Oh wow! Thanks Matt. A hand cranked bandsaw.

The hand crank explains the mounting studs on the back edge of the casting too.

Lance

I would not have picked it as hand operated. Treadle scroll saws, yes, but hand cranked bandsaws?

I can see a 2HP motor sitting in that curvature at the back. You may have to refer to the Fireball Tools video posted by AJ. Also keep on the lookout for a vintage water jet cutter.

Regards
Paul

Ha, hand cranked ! That's a rare thing.

In Matty's catalogue pic it looks like the other side of the machine to the blade wheel may be a big fly wheel ?

What have you got there now , A pulley ?

I restored a Melbourne made A.A Tyson Band saw years ago and fitted the motor by screwing the bandsaw down to some large 100 x 100 hardwood bearers which spread the footprint and raised the working height . They extended out the back and also gave me a place to screw a couple of sliding vintage ways down which the motor was fitted to . That way I also had a way to tension the belts. I made a box to cover that which gives a place to hold the scrap off cut wood box on the out feed side . This was before I got more involved developing my metal working skills . Its still going fine and will last forever I think . If I had to do it again that way Id space the bearers so a pallet jack could fit around them or build it as a custom pallet . Ive just added custom pallets under every machine so that bandsaw as well as everything else went up another 140mm .

If you don't have the metal adjustment ways you could do them in wood to . Just some beefy sliding dovetails in 50mm Hardwood fitted across the bearers would do the job . If your table saw blade tilts you can cut them on that . I can take some pics of my basic motor mount later .

Rob

Here is the base and motor mount I did years ago . Pretty basic and has worked well ever since. The timber guards over the doors were supposed to be temporary. Ive ended up sticking memorable off cuts to it . Maybe I will do them again in metal one day.

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Rob

The hand crank does answer a couple of questions I had about it. I was certainly perplexed as to the function of the flat section in the casting on the spine with two threaded holes. It came with two two-ended threaded rods screwed in, so am wondering if this particular unit was supplied with the hand crank. I may try and trace the machine back a bit in the hopes that someone has the hand crank sitting on a shelf somewhere. It would certainly add a whole new level of interest to the machine.

It's also interesting to note the catalogue image I posted shows a belt drive drum on the back of the lower wheel. I wonder if they were concurrent offerings or a progression. Matty, does your catalogue have a date on it?

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At some point in its history, someone fitted a cast aluminium pully wheel to the back of the lower wheel and drilled four holes in the casting to which a motor mount was bolted. The mount is pretty agricultural, and despite me thinking that it's not the strongest mounting position, judging by the age of the 1.5 HP motor, it has held for a very long time. It's an incredibly heavy motor too. I do like the idea of mounting the motor in the lower back's arch as Paul suggested. I could even use the hand crank mounting bolts as the attachment point for the custom bracket.

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The other tit-bit garnered from Matty's images shows that the assembly of the bottom wheel shaft is incorrect. The spur gear is currently mounted to the back of the saw, but should be in front to accept the hand crank chain. Perhaps this will also resolve the current free play in the shaft which allows an inch or so of sliding fore and aft (pushed aft in the photo).

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Rob, I had planned on mounting the saw on a base to add some height. Your idea of orienting and spacing the bearers to accept forklift/palate jack tines is brilliant, thanks.

First cab off the rank is getting the tensioning wheel and screw rod fixed.

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Trying to find a suitable pre-made rod of 3/4" at 6 tpi was a fools errand, so the research and preparation was underway to cut a new one. Talking it over with my Dad who is a retired toolmaker, he offered the suggestion that as the whole rod doesn't need to be threaded, why not just turn up an extension between the handle and a piece of remaining thread. It seemed rather obvious after he's suggested it, the hallmark of a good idea.

The first order of business was to extract the piece of thread from the handle. I had assumed it was threaded in there, but my Dad suggested it was just a press fit, and could be extracted with a press. With a little bit of trepidation we mounted it, and with several pumps of the hydraulic press, it budged, then pushed out without incident. Phew!

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Given that the top half already had the tenon and was longer overall, it was chosen as the candidate for the transplant. As a consequence of the accident, the part was slightly bent however. I learned that despite toolmakers working to tolerances which us woodworkers have little concept of, they still use large hammers to achieve accuracy! It was straightened out, the broken end cleaned up and the tenon length trimmed.

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Then onto turning an extension with a mortice in one end to accept the screw, and a tenon in the other for the handle. I never got any photos of the process, but it turned out rather nicely! The intension was to secure the joints with grub screws, but in the end a lovely press fit was achieved negating the need.

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So with the most daunting job done, the remaining to-do list consists of:

• Braze the crack in the tensioning hand wheel's spoke.
• Braze the crack in the bottom wheel's spoke.
• Mount the motor.
• Sort out the guides.

P.S. Do metalworkers refer to "mortice" and "tenon", or is everything just "male" and "female"? Somehow "mortice" and "tenon" feels less rude when having to refer to the bits over and over again.

Lance

Your resto is going well. Your father sounds very practical. I would be keeping him handy, on a retainer at least (free meals etc..)

As to male and female, I think it implies an intimacy that is both comforting and unequivocally descriptive at the same time. I don't have an issue with the hard realities of life.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

I don't have an issue with the hard realities of life.

I do blush very easily and enjoy a blissfully repressed existence. I may add, much to the amusement of my wife and kids as they get older.

Originally Posted by LanceC

I do blush very easily and enjoy a blissfully repressed existence. I may add, much to the amusement of my wife and kids as they get older.

Me too.

Regards
Paul

In metalwork tenon and mortise are not generally used.

Shaft (=tenon). Sometimes you might say turned a shoulder on the shaft.

Bore (=mortise)

Good to see it moving along Lance. Seeing a hammer being applied like in your photo makes me cringe but then I think that lathe doesn’t exactly look like a hobby level lathe.