Another new, old saw (Wadkin)

[PhilipL]

I too have been buying off ebay - a Wadkin BGS 12" saw with a sliding table.

"Major" problems were:

1. one of the bolts for the bearings for the sliding table was damaged. I damaged the bearing bringing off the bolt (£15 + vat for a replacement) since it was a press fit. Made a new bolt in about a half an hour on my lathe.

2. The 12" blade was 30mm bore whilst the saw arbor was 1". Freud told me that reducing rings were now illegal, but luckily the news hadn't got to Belfast where I paid £4 to have one put in.

3. The machine was 3 phase, so I wanted to replace the motor. I had a 2 hp unused one from Machine Mart and having seen a post here about using this, I contacted MM who told me no. I then contacted Clarke International who told me yes. I then went back to MM who told me Clarke didn't understand and that I need clutches etc.. It turns out that MM advertise these motors as having lots of applications: they actually only have one - for fans/blowers. They have a very low starting torque. I emailed someone else involved in machinery who said "go ahead" so I did and put the Clarke motor on. If it burns out it's my fault (but MM shouldn't advertise these so incorrectly). It did cut through a short 4" square piece of "solid" soft wood but I wouldn't want to do so for 8 hours a day.

4. I have an NVR switch (16Amp) which I intend to wire in, together with a foot stop and thermal overload.

So, apart from the motor question, not too serious at all.

The saw came from - I believe - Rothesay Academy (1966 build) and is in good nick. It has stickers saying no blade less than 12" which I don't understand. It also has a side table extension and very, very long bearers for the fence (which I might replace with shorter ones). No mitre, but there are bolt holes in the sliding table - what might have been there? Perhaps ex-pupils from Rothesay Academy could tell me? Some castor system will be used since I need to move it around and it weighs almost 1/2 ton (mostly in the table tops).

I live in an old house with bits always falling off - so the saw is mainly for repair of sash windows etc.. My last machine was a contractor's saw with a hollow in the table which caused me lots of hassle.
Anyway, here's some pictures of it:

Philip

 

[Noel]

I'd a friend who was bidding on an old Wadkin on the 'bay. Wonder if this is the same one? Looks really good and I'm sure the motor will hold out.

Rgds

Noel

 

[Bean]

Looks excellent a saw for life there


Bean

 

[Mcluma]

Looks like a real workhorse

 

[DaveL]

Philip,

I am please to see the saw has got to you OK, it is the big brother of my AGS.

I am not a motor expert, but I cannot see why a motor with low starting torque is out of place on the machine. Normal practise is to start the motor on no load and then when everything is going round at X,000 rpm load is applied when the timber is presented to the blade.

As for the reducing rings, Trend list a number of different sizes in all three dimensions, cost a pound or two and need to be pressed into the blade. I bought a half a dozen 5/8" to 30mm ones for my wadkin.

You are going to need some heavy duty wheels for a mobile base, I have just made one for mine saw, not in use yet and I am not sure that the wheels will hold up in the long term.

I think you will find working with your new toy is a pleasure and may become quite addicted to finding things to make that need timber cut on it.

 

[martyn2]

for thr reducing rings try here

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp? ... 30&recno=2

got some last week

Martyn

 

[PhilipL]

Thanks for the posts. In reply:

Reducing Rings:
===========

It is possible to get reducing rings - and I did get them - and Trend in the US do supply them. However, the reply from an email to Trend UK was:

"In respect of your query it sounds like you require a reducing bush for the middle of the blade – if this is so then we no longer supply this item as it became illegal to do so about one year ago."

I asked whether this was to do with CE marking but was told:

"It was more to do with unsafe use i.e. the collects at either side of
the blade not being of sufficiently larger diameter than the reducing
bush thus in extreme cases causing the blade to come off."

Motors
=====

My real worry is not the starting of the motor which is not under load, but if it stalls it will have limited power to restart should there be a bit of wood in contact. This may well cause overheating and burnout.

Incidentally, I forgot to say that the motor was 1400 and it replaced a 2900 motor, so I put a new pulley on (twice diamater). I had anyway broken a piece off the old pulley with my hub removers - heat, WD40 and brute force had been used. Cast iron, two piece pulley was about £30.

Blade size
=======

Any idea why it has labels on it saying minimum diameter of blade 12"?

Dehumidifier
========

Dave, did I see from a photo that you have a Hotpoint 5510 dehumidifier in your garage? Mine has gone kaput (resister R2 burnt out) and I'm trying to find its value.

 

[PhilipL]

Sorry - had posted this and then remembered the pulley was twice the circumference - not twice the diameter.

 

[Scrit]

The BGS would have originally been supplied either with a single or double mitre fence which bolts onto the sliding table. You could probably build-up a suitable fence from angle iron, especially if you could get it milled on two faces. I've had a look through and there is an illustration of this machine in one of my old catalogues, so I'll see if I can scan it and post it. Wadkin are still in existence as Wadkin Ultracare, although these days they are out near Coalville in Leicestershire. Manuals for these machines can be had from most woodworking machinery dealers - Scott & Sargent advertise a service on the web.

If you are still having a problem with saw blades you could always try Ernest Bennett in Sheffield who can supply blades with the correct size arbor holes (because unlike Trend they actuallly make their own blades) - but any trade blade maker should have no problem in supplying a suitable blade.

The only thing I'd recommend (apart from a metal crown guard, that is) would be building a run off table at the rear of the machine, which is probably what it would have had for all of its working life.

Regards

Scrit

 

[PhilipL]

Scrit,

thanks for that. I have facilities to work metal so will produce a mitre fence. I thought it might have had some device for holding work since there are two sets of holes. An image would be great.

The BGS manual seems very hard to come by - I've emailed Wadkin twice but with no response and think Scott & Sargent was one of the other places I tried. It is really a pretty simple machine though, so not sure a manual is necessary. The only question I now have (except for my dehumidifier resistor value) is whether the arbor bearings are sealed for life?

There is an extension table which came with it for the rear, with two legs. Not quite sure how to connect it to the saw table but will have a think about it.

Philip

 

[Scrit]

I can suggest one or two dealers "up North" who'd probably be able to supply photocopied manual if needed. As to Wadkin, yes, wel......

I think the T-slot would be to bolt the mitre fence down onto. The devices I've seen have a two point fixing, so that's probably your two holes. Personally I've rarely neede a hold-down on a panel saw as the weight of the material tends to hold the material in position. There are exceptions, however, such as thin plastice where a full length hold-down bar needs to be added to the saw to prevent the work from climbing over the saw blade.

I have to admit to having a soft spot for the old AGS/BGS saws as my first heavy-duty saw was an AGS.

Scrit

 

[DaveL]

Philip,

Sorry I missed the bit about the resister, my dehumidifier came from Wickes and is an own brand model SKU 712919, its on page 35 of their current little booklet. If you think its the same as yours and it could well be, give me a clue on the best was to get it apart and we can see if the guts match.


Scrit,

Good to see you back.