Tablesaw gloat

[Roger Newby]

Just picked this up on CL for 200 bucks It's a Sears 113.299040 with a 3/4 horse rear mount motor, but the guy who had it also mounted a 3 horse underneith so he could rip bridge planks Anyway, I'm going to make a bracket to mount the 3 horse on the back and then start making the Bies clone fence that I've been planning for some time now, and maybe find some cast wings

[Roy Hess]

Some of these old Craftsman TS can be real gems, I think the older ones are under rated at times. I also just bought a "new to me" Craftsman - 20yrs old. Looks like you might have a diamond in the rough. Cast wings should not be to hard to find, and the added weight will help to stabilize the saw.

I would recommend that you strip it down, just to do a thorough inspection of the parts. Look closely for any cracks in the cast top, or missing bolts. If the bearings do not run smooth - now is the time to replace them - inexpensive if you do not use original craftsman parts. Clean the gear teeth of old saw dust and any pitch, I used dry lubricant on the gears.

Do you have a plan for the "Bies clone fence" ?

[Jerome Hanby]

Might be a good candidate for one of those table saw stations you see as projects in the magazines from time to time.

[Bill Huber]

Well the motor is worth that even if you have to throw the saw out.

The main thing on those saws to watch for is the arbor bearings, check the arbor shaft really good to make sure the bearing roll easy and there is no up and down slop in them.


You can find the cast iron wings on Ebay all the time or you can get some from Sears. I would make sure you get the ones without the webbing. The solid ones are much better.

Good Luck.

[Roger Newby]

Might be a good candidate for one of those table saw stations you see as projects in the magazines from time to time.

Yeah Jerome..I'm kinda thinkin' along those lines also. It's gonna be a permanent set up since I'm retiring in about 5 months and can spend a bunch more time in the shop.

The Bies clone plans are somewhere in my files...I think I put them under P for paper.

[Mike Hutchison]

Roger: Ignorant question: Is the saw set up so that you can use either motor for a given job? Or is the beefier motor bypassing the factory one?
That could be a good feature w/ respect to power consumption
but you would have to get under the "hood" to change 'em out, wouldn't you? I have a Craftsman 10" TS that is 7 yrs. old. It has done pretty much every thing I need it to do; once in a while it could use a little more power on rips.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

From the looks, the belt is removed from the factory motor and then placed onto the 3hp motor.. The limiting factor in that is you can only make 90 degree cuts as tilting the blade would throw belt alignment off and end up snapping the belt.

But then, the 3HP was only used for ripping, so no surprise in this setup.

Nice find, eh.

[Jerome Hanby]

The Bies clone plans are somewhere in my files...I think I put them under P for paper.

I use the same filing system

[Roger Newby]

From the looks, the belt is removed from the factory motor and then placed onto the 3hp motor.. The limiting factor in that is you can only make 90 degree cuts as tilting the blade would throw belt alignment off and end up snapping the belt.

But then, the 3HP was only used for ripping, so no surprise in this setup.

Nice find, eh.

Yup. That's what he did, and he put a socket on the switch so you can unplug one motor and plug the other in.

The problem is he put 3" angle iron around the base and then put casters on so it is uncomfortably high to use. Also, the steel mount plate for the 3 horse is 24" x 24" x 1/2" making the base itself about 250 lbs. I want something a little more user friendly.

[Aaron Berk]

Sounds like the caster height would be an easy fix, and I can only see the positive side of an extra 250 pound motor mount, especially down that low. Nice low center of gravity, and I bet it improved the stability of the saw 10 fold.

I use my Craftsman 113. series for 90 degree ripping and crosscutting, so for me that 3hp motor would be a major plus.

Sweet find

and um..... u suck

[Roger Newby]

Aaron
and um..... u suck

Been waiting for that.........Thanks!!!

After missing out on a Rockwell/Delta Unisaw a few weeks ago @ 300 bucks, I felt a little redemption with this find. Not quite as good but it will do.

[jerry blankinship]

Well the motor is worth that even if you have to throw the saw out.

The main thing on those saws to watch for is the arbor bearings, check the arbor shaft really good to make sure the bearing roll easy and there is no up and down slop in them.


You can find the cast iron wings on Ebay all the time or you can get some from Sears. I would make sure you get the ones without the webbing. The solid ones are much better.

Good Luck.

Hi: I just replaced the arbor bearings in my Craftsman TS model 113.298240. As this is the first time I'd done arbor bearing replacement, I was a bit tentative at what technique to use to install the replacement bearings. I pressed the bearing next to the pulley position by using a 3/8 treaded rod, some large washers on the back side and a 1 inch socket on the bearing outer race. It went in eventually, nice and straight. I was not feeling at ease with the pressing in of the arbor with it's bearing, thru the first bearing, lacking a press other than as described. Then I did find a web post that showed one can freeze the arbor and its bearing (i bought them as a unit from Sears parts direct) for a time(I used 36 hours, but the web post I found suggested a hour would suffice), heat the bearing seat briefly with a torch, and it will nearly drop into the carriage, needing only light taps to fully seat the bearing. That approach worked wonderfully for me. Just wanted to pass this along for the next tyro who tries this. Over all this made the rebuild an easy and happy making chore. I'd encourage any person moderately handy to do it. (oh, fyi, while the carriage was out of its saw body(case?), I painted both the carriage and the inside of the body white; should make it easier to see inside when the carriage is remounted. I also installed new star lock washers to counter movement of the carriage later between the carriage and body in the front of the saw; awaiting delivery of my PALS add on for the rear of the carriage. I originally started this rebuild because the blade would not stay adjusted, after blaming the off center positioning of the 2 hp motor the previous owner had installed, which placed torque on the carriage causing the blade to go out of alignment because of the weight imbalance to one side. Of note is that when removing the carriage, I found the prior owner(at least one) had removed the carriage at one point and re-assembled without placing the star lock washers between the body and carriage. Rather they were under the trunnion bolt heads; the carriage was obviously slipping under vibration or movement. This is when I noticed intolerable movement of the blade, traced to the arbor bearing being worn. Hence, the rebuild project. Best of luck to who ever tries this; it's not all that difficult. Personally, I never would have thought of heating the bearing seat. I'm rather handy but that was outside my prior experiences. Just avoid overheating the carriage, you don't want to ruin the other bearing you've already installed. This is a great site, btw. jb)

[Von Bickley]

Congratulations on the table saw.

When did you serve in the ASA?

319th. ASA Battalion
Rothwesten, Germany
1968 - 1970

[Allan Speers]

From the looks, the belt is removed from the factory motor and then placed onto the 3hp motor.. The limiting factor in that is you can only make 90 degree cuts as tilting the blade would throw belt alignment off and end up snapping the belt.

But then, the 3HP was only used for ripping, so no surprise in this setup.

Nice find, eh.

A couple of thoughts:

1: If this saw is set up to use either motor, alternately, then it can't possibly have a mag switch. IMO, mag switches are absolutely essential on any machine with an exposed blade or cutters. (Not to mention, they also offer protection from thermal overload.) So ... get one, and just use the bigger motor.

You will have the benefit of being able to roll the TS against a wall.

2: Since you can no longer tilt the blade, consider building some jigs, for the most important angles. I've read that tilting the blade on a standard contractors saw is a bad idea, anyway, as it places a lot of stress on the trunnions & other components.

2B: You could also try cutting all angles on your band saw, if you have one with a large enough table & an accurate adjustment.

3: With 3 HP, you need two belts, and I'm guessing you don't have a double pulley on your arbor. Consider investing in a pair. (Find used ones on Ebay) Make sure you maintain the proper blade speed. Also, use notched v-belts, not link belts.

[Jesse Busenitz]

Nice score! I grew up on a saw that looks identical to that. The fence wasn't nothing fancy but it got me started!