Question about Sears Craftsman 15 inch Lathe and future tool options

[Bob Weisner]

Hi:

I have a question about the Sears Craftsman 15 inch Lathe. With the recent news that Sears is going to be bought out by Kmart, I am concerned about the future availability of parts for Craftsman power tools , should they ever need to be repaired. My Craftsman 15 inch lathe is running good and is only 2 years old. But when I need to have the lathe repaired, where will I be able to get parts for it? Also, what about the electronic variable speed drive system? If that needs to be repaired or replaced, is that a do it yourself project?


On the subject of future tool options: I have the Sears 12 inch Tilt Head Bandsaw. Definitley need to replace that bandsaw with a better machine. What would be a good choice for a basement workshop?

The Sears Ossillating Sander works good, but can only find the sanding drums at Sears . What would be a good choice for an Ossillating Sander?

Tablesaw: Sears 10 inch contractors tablesaw with the open cast iron ends. Works good, but I have improved it about as much as I can. Want something better for the basement shop. Need better dust collecting in the tablesaw. The Sears tablesaw throws up a LOT of sawdust between the sawblade.

Jointer: This is also a Sears jointer. The jointer is 6 1/8 " and weighs around 200 + pounds. It actually works pretty good. The problem I have with it is that it is the open stand model and throws alot of sawdust. What would be a good jointer that has good dust collection ports?

Biscuit Joiner: I have the Porter-Cable 556 model. I don't like it at all. Is there a better biscuit joiner on the market?

Thanks,

Bob

[Jim Becker]

According to the merger releases, both KMart and Sears will continue to operate as independent brands...they are not combining the stores, just the overlying oganization.

[Scott Behrens]

Depending upon how old each Craftsman tool is, some RIDGID parts will fit. Aside from that, I would hope that parts will be available through Emerson or whoever made the Craftsman tool. I'm not sure there is anyway to guarantee replacement parts for any tools in the long term, with all the mergers taking place nowadays. On the bright side, if you work hard enough, you can usually find or make parts for just about any tool somehow.

Same topic different question -- Does anyone know why the local Home Depot doesn't carry jointer knives? I've looked for months and they never have any. I ended up buying some off ebay (from someone i believe is a member here). I picked up two sets just because I'm paranoid that they will be hard to find.

Thanks

[John Shuk]

Scott,
I bought a set here for $12 and then found them on clearance at Home depot for $6.00. The one near me still has a few sets. If you'd like I can try to get'em for you and send them out to you. You could just reimburse me through PayPal.

[Matt Allan]

Biscuit Joiner: I have the Porter-Cable 556 model. I don't like it at all. Is there a better biscuit joiner on the market?

Thanks,

Bob

Bob,
I have used the PC Biscuit jointer as well and didn't care for it when I tried it. It had a bit of play.. I think what is generally considered the best is the Lamello biscuit jointer. It is a hefty price tag to go with it for the tool though, the professional is around $650 I think. I only got it because I had reward points with a company and had to spend them at certain sites. So I figured I would use a portion of them and get that. If I had to shell out of the cash I don't know if I could justify the price. It is a fantastic tool though, I love using it. They do have a cheaper model, but I don't know much about that one. I think Norm uses the professional model as well if you ever catch him cutting biscuits on TV, he almost always uses the Lamello unless now with more sponsors hes using the PC more..

[Charlie Plesums]

If your Sears part number starts with 113, the manufacturer is Emerson Electric. When Sears went cheap, Emerson took the design of their woodworking tools, renamed them with their brand of plumbing tools (Ridgid), and found a new "exclusive distributor" (Home Depot). There was even a lawsuit where Sears said that they had contributed to the design and machining, so Emerson should not be allowed to compete with them. Some of the tools you describe (table saw and jointer, and perhaps BOSS) sound like the Ridgid/Emerson woodworking tools. Thus the hint that Ridgid parts might fit is far from an accident. I have the Ridgid table saw with the wings like you describe. When the blade alignment with the rip fence and miter slot is less than perfect, sawdust is blown all over. When it is properly aligned, 90% or more of the sawdust goes under the saw. I put a bottom with a dust collector port under the saw, which works pretty good. Counter to intuition, don't block too much of the opening in the back - you need a good flow of air for the dust collector, so the flow is in the back (and other openings), and into the dust collector, having picked up the sawdust along the way.