Old Saw - Worth it ?

[Bigbud78]

In my quest to find a table saw I came across this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/multico-saw-/ ... 418fdd6283

Anyone know if it would be worth buying something like this and putting in a new motor ? I know its old ground being covered again and again I've read most of the post on the forum already I think :lol:

I really can't decide on waiting for an old saw that needs fettling, a new Ts200-2 or a dewalt saw that will save me a load of room

 

[RogerP]

Depends how much time you have and if you want to spend much of that refurbishing a saw or woodworking.

That said once completed you would have a nice saw.

 

[Bigbud78]

Its a good point, I don't have that much free time to be honest..

 

[RogerP]

For me, there is something intensely satisfying in taking a rusting, uncared for tool or piece of machinery and bringing it back to its former glory. But as I'm retired I do have a little more time these days.

 

[Bigbud78]

For me, there is something intensely satisfying in taking a rusting, uncared for tool or piece of machinery and bringing it back to its former glory. But as I'm retired I do have a little more time these days.

Totally agree, I've been cleaning all my Grandad's old tools and using them. He hadn't been in his work shop for 15 years I do suffer from lack of time at the moment with a 2 year old, I go out after she goes to bed.

There is a wadkins for sale near me for £300 but its 3 phase, its in a working shop so not sure what sort of condition it'll be in and I'll have to re-motor it. Don't want to get stung on a bad machine TBH

Looks nice thou

 

[heimlaga]

Neither of those is an "old" saw. To me "old" referes to babbit bearings and line shaft power. Like my old rip saw manufactured in 1885 :wink:

The Multico looks like a good saw. The downside is that it does not seem to have any blade tilt. Only a tilting fence.
The Wadkin will likely be an even much better saw. If the rack teeth of the blade rise mechanism aren't worn out.
None of them costs more than a tiny fraction of what a saw of comparable quality would cost new.

All my stationary machines are old ones which I have rebuilt. My experience is that working overtime to earn enough money (after tax) to buy a new machine of the same quality (VAT included) would take a lot more more time than earning the money (after tax) to buy an old machine (free from VAT) and rebuild it. Therefore I rekon rebuilds are the most time-effective way to get a good quality machine. This is true as long as you can do most of the rebuild work yourself. Work you do for yourself at home is free from tax and commuting costs.
For a business with hired workers this ballance may be different. They can deduct the VAT on a new machine and they have to pay a lot more per hour for the work than the employee actually gets after tax.

Machines like this are not in any manner comparable with normal hobbyist's machinery. Theese are professional quality. A totally different animal and very nice to use once rebuilt. New ones are usually totally out of reach for all hobbyists except the very richest.

In your situation everything boils down to whe time factor. Do you have the time needed to fix up a high quality saw that will last a lifetime or will you have to make do for now with a new saw of much lesser quality because that is all you can get for the time you can afford to spend. You (and maybe your wife) are the only persons who might be able to answer that question.