wadkin RAS restoration

[wallace]

I've been itching to start this since I got it a few weeks ago. I started takeing it to bits today. I always find it amazeing when dismantling wadkin stuff that its 60 year old been left outside and the nuts and bolts come undone as if they were new. Still with clean shiny threads.

One of the guides has a big chunk out of it

Its a pitty a new isolator had been installed

The original switch gear was missing

This is what it should look like

This is the first time I've been able to move a wadkin base by myself, its made from aluminium

 

[No skills]

This Wadkin stuff always makes me smile, old school - built to last - BMF equipment. An old fella I know used to work in a shop with a wadkin tablesaw (and a few other bits afaik), always talks fondly about it.

Good luck with the restoration.

 

[adidat]

This is what it should look like

is this local to you, maybe the current owner could be tempted to let you make a resin mould of it! the original looks so cool.

you could even make up the plates with some carful scanning and printing,

looks like an interesting thread. not that i would expect anything less for you! :lol: (hammer)

adidat

edit: do you own it already??

 

[wallace]

Yes its already mine (homer) That one is on the pillar drill. I think it might have worked for the cover which is missing, but the mechanism is missing asswell which had springs and contacts and ceramic bits. I could just do away with the isolator and pull the plug out.
Mark

 

[wallace]

I spent a good while filling and sanding and going around the raised bits with a dremmel

And then a coat of primer which helps to highlight any dodgy bits which can be redone

 

[wallace]

I thought I'd try something differant with this one, since the raised lettering is in aluminium I spent ages with a dremmel cleaning it up.

 

[wallace]

More progress, I sanded the raised lettering on the base and then taped up and cut round the letters with a new stanley blade.

I got some paint mixed to and gave it a few coats, I might take the paint back and get them to retard the shine a bit. I prefer the paint with less shine.

 

[wallace]

I spent a few hours makeing things shine

And then turned my attention to the upright tube

Came to bits really easy

Put the tube on the lathe to clean it up

 

[marcros]

mark, when you put it n the lathe to clean it up, do you just use abrasives, or do you take a very light skim cut?

 

[wallace]

I just use fine abrasives or those green scouring pads. I dont want to remove too much because this bit needs to be nice and tight. If a piece is pitted I will use 80grit and work through to 600. Sometimes I will even use the drill and power sand on the lathe.

 

[wallace]

I spent some time cleaning up some of the castings with a flapper disc in the grinder

This is the gear to raise the saw

The little hole is where a threaded bar goes which winds the saw up/down. I was surprised that only 2" is threaded with brass. The rest was so packed with sawdust it even had threads in it.

I then turned my attention to the switch gear.

I dont know whether to put it back the way it was or have the big stop button else where.

The stop button was in the middle of the door and obscures some nice castings.

 

[adidat]

looking good, could you not fit the emergency stop button in the hole above the on/off buttons?

adidat

 

[wallace]

Thats where it was but because of the box that houses it covers quite abit of the writing in the casting so I thought I could position it somewhere else

 

[adidat]

i had realised that, i actually meant do away with the box and have the button fitted to the panel. but im not to sure of the work involved in this! we had a similar machine at college, never really liked using it due to its climb cutting. but it was actually for the bench joinery department so I very rarely used it.

adidat

 

[wallace]

(homer) I understand now. I have to see if it will work

 

[adidat]

really you want it in the place your hand is near for when the sh@t hits the fan, touch wood this is never a problem.
so if you fit a fence (which you most likely will) why not have it fixed to the back on the left of the saw. or have it wired but lose with some sought of clamp on the back and move it around to suit!

adidat

 

[wallace]

I have done quite a bit recently, Heres the angle increments. I polished it and painted with some red paint. I found traces of red when I cleaned it

I sprayed nearly all of the cast stuff

I couldn't resist putting some bits together

this is the height adjustment wheel, I tried to take the shaft out but it was well stuck. I would normally put things like this on the lathe to clean

This is the end of the motor, instead of painting it I thought I'd clean the rough casting and try and polish it. It took 4hrs to get it done

The bearing in the end is a cheap steel cage modern one, I'll see what its like and replace to something better if its pants.

 

[Jelly]

That's coming up wonderfully, I'm genuinely envious of you (though I doubt I could do half as good a job as you have!).

really you want it in the place your hand is near for when the sh@t hits the fan, touch wood this is never a problem.
so if you fit a fence (which you most likely will) why not have it fixed to the back on the left of the saw. or have it wired but lose with some sought of clamp on the back and move it around to suit!

The work ones I used (and subsequently my own small one) had the emergency stop fitted to the bottom of the table, such that you can hit it with your belly/hip/knee...

 

[dickm]

Those dial graduations are super. Better than what are found on a good many so-called precision metalworking lathes.

But not sure about the polished motor............
Just a bit too bling for me.

 

[jimi43]

Wallace...has it ever entered your head that you are creating museum quality masterpieces from these old darlings!

For that alone you should be knighted!!

Another brilliant restoration...superbly illustrated with clear, beautiful pictures.

=D> =D> =D>

Jim