well here she is hobbies gem treadle fret saw

[mac1012]

arrived today while I was at work , not bad condition had a paint job that has made everything to tight , first thing I did was to tighten the belt and some good old wd 40 freed it up a bit , the treadle action is fascinating and not as easy as you might think but once you get a rhythm off it goes humming away

I not going to completely restore it I haven't got the time or inclination for that

the biggest problem I can see is the large wheel at the rear which is just held on by the nut in photo , this cannot be right as it keeps coming loose and if you tighten up it just binds against the frame , when you pedal the nut goes around with shaft ? there is a bush in the middle between the legs but there must have been a way of securing the nut without binding against the frame ? any suggestion anyone ??

I managed to cut a piece of scrap with the saw but it is no where near free enough to get a smooth enough rhythm

been thinking about a blower maybe a battery aquarium pump ? with some tubing of somesort maybe small diameter copper that can free stand

this is only a side project maybe to keep me entertained on a cold winters evening I would like to use it as a demo type thing at craft fairs if I can get it going more smoothly

the clamps are good and the blade is pretty smooth and very little reciprocation

I put in a olsen number 9 and it fitted well and the tension nob works a treat just got to sort the back wheel problem

 

[Woodchips2]

Maybe try a Nyloc nut or two nuts tightened against each other.
Regards Keith

 

[mac1012]

funny you should say that I was just thinking that !! I reckon that nut that is on is not original as a lot of other nuts on the machine are thin square ones and I wondered if there was originally 2 thin flat ones locked together as there is not enough space to have two nuts the same size as the one that's on now

thanks for replying I will have a look at weekend what I can find

mark

 

[marcros]

there isnt a hole in the shaft is there, where a split pin and castellated nut might have once been?

 

[martinka]

Mark, I suspect the original would have had the head of the bolt at the pulley side and the bolt itself would have a shoulder that the nut would tighten up to. Just guessing.

Martin.

 

[powertools]

Martin was spot on.
This is a photo of the bolt from my Gem.

The pulley runs on the smooth section near the head of the bolt so that goes through the pulley first and the shoulder goes up against the frame and the nut is on the other side of the frame

 

[mac1012]

well my bolt looks lke its the original but no shoulder just a metal bush between each leg would be good to see yours in position so I could compare how it should be

mark

 

[powertools]

well my bolt looks lke its the original but no shoulder just a metal bush between each leg would be good to see yours in position so I could compare how it should be

mark

I will put it back together tomorrow and take another picture but if your bolt has not got the shoulder it won't work the way it should.

Is there any chance of you answering my question on your other thread?

 

[mac1012]

yes sorry it does look like it has a v shaped insert bit hard to tell as it is all painted up looks like your missing that and I am missing a bolt !!

if I cant fix it I may sell mine for the price I paid as I said earlier I want my machine to work not spend a year looking for parts to make it work

I understand mine wont work properly but I need a visual to understand full how it all goes together ill post a pic in a bt of the v shaped cup I just got in from work having cycled 15 miles so bear with me

mark

 

[powertools]

yes sorry it does look like it has a v shaped insert bit hard to tell as it is all painted up looks like your missing that and I am missing a bolt !!

if I cant fix it I may sell mine for the price I paid as I said earlier I want my machine to work not spend a year looking for parts to make it work

I understand mine wont work properly but I need a visual to understand full how it all goes together ill post a pic in a bt of the v shaped cup I just got in from work having cycled 15 miles so bear with me

mark

15 miles on your bike you are the man for the treadle saw.
I am in no rush for the info as I don't think I will do much with this saw for a few months I want to do the A1 first.
If your bolt is wrong it would be an easy fix so don't give up yet.