To Bling or not to Bling

[wallace]

Hi all, I have a dilemma concerning the P/T I just got. Should I make it all pretty or leave with 100 years of crud and patina.
I spent alittle time giveing the gears a little clean to check them. If I do a full restoration then I can make them look really good.

 

[No skills]

What else you going to do with your time 8)

 

[maltrout512]

Quite surprised with the % results so far. Before anyone ask I'm in the lower % of votes. Why well I do like seeing restorations with loads of photos.

 

[mtr1]

Restore please, with lots of bling.

 

[WellsWood]

I'd say it depends on whether you're more interested in woodwork or metalwork. Restorations look lovely and are interesting to see done, but if you bought it as a working tool and it functions as it should then leave well alone and get on with making shavings.

 

[hammer n nails]

Restore

 

[misterfish]

The restored machines look fantastic andmust be a pleasure to use. I find my small Wadkin table saw an excellent tool, but if I had the skills and necessary equipment I'd love to refurbish it back to better than new. Of course, with a refurb you have to ensure it is spotless, shiny and free of sawdust after use 'cos it looks so good and gives a great feeling of satisfaction. Go on, do it, you know you want to.

Misterfish

 

[Racers]

Get on with it, stop wasting time posting polls :wink: :lol:

Pete

 

[Eric The Viking]

I haven't voted, because I can see both sides of the argument and I'm not decided, either. But if you can add guards, etc. to bring it up to modern safety standards (not as bad as it sounds), that's a powerful argument for doing a restoration -- not just on safety grounds, but when you eventually do part with it (I'm probably thinking 'cold dead hands' here, but given what it is, that's quite understandable!), someone else has an easily usable, wonderful machine, with history, rather than a white elephant/restoration project.

Thus it will go on serving in the century to come, so others can marvel at how well we used to make things.

E.

 

[beech1948]

Voted for a restore.

Why
1) The bearings will need to be replaced as they are probably 50 years old or worn
2) Old grease, oil, crud, dirt will be on every surface and may impact performance. So clean it off and replace with new lube.
3) Shafts, gears and pulleys probably run OK but you need to be certain they are still 100% as even small deflections will produce poor outcomes on wood.
4) it does'nt need bling but it may need a new ( workshop made) cover for those gears.


Al

 

[thomvic]

Voted for a restore.

Why
1) The bearings will need to be replaced as they are probably 50 years old or worn
2) Old grease, oil, crud, dirt will be on every surface and may impact performance. So clean it off and replace with new lube.
3) Shafts, gears and pulleys probably run OK but you need to be certain they are still 100% as even small deflections will produce poor outcomes on wood.
4) it does'nt need bling but it may need a new ( workshop made) cover for those gears. Al

You are probably wrong about the bearings - if properly lubricated they are likely to be as good as new - otherwise I agree.

Richard

 

[wallace]

Thanks very much for all the input, I will be thinking long and hard before I make a final decision. The machine doesn't have 'Ball' bearings. It has babbit bearings. The head is not original, it looks to be from a wadkin machine. Of all the machines I have taken apart they have all had open caged bearings which have been in great condition.
Mark

 

[beech1948]

Wallace.

I'm guessing there is not much know-how in the UK about babitt bearings these days. You may get lucky.

A US site called OWWM.org has many threads about checking, observing, shimming, replacing babitt which also says the bearing material is also available.

Some pictures of the bearings if you open up the machine would be good and you may get an educated opinion from this site or OWWM.

regards
Al

 

[beech1948]

Voted for a restore.

You are probably wrong about the bearings - if properly lubricated they are likely to be as good as new - otherwise I agree.

Richard

I'm probably not as most bearing surfaces are ignored by woodworkers. I've yet to have a machine where modern bearings have lasted longer than 20yrs before needing replacement.

I see that the bearings are babitt as well. If kept lubricated they might be fine. The question is were they?

I'm laughing at my own response here...yours is glass half full mine is glass half empty..Ha

Al

 

[Froggy]

Normally I would say restore - I like what you do with these old machines, but this one looks beautiful as is. Leave it be.