A Restoration Double Header

[HANK METZ]

This took about 3 months to complete, and are now my goto machines. Fairly large quantity of page images so patience please.

Meet My Sweethearts

- Beachside Hank
Do not use remaining fingers as push sticks.

[Van Huskey]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing BUT I must say "Booo no bandsaw..." I am one who likes and uses an RAS though, fewer and fewer of us left.

[HANK METZ]

Van, that makes those of us who still believe in the old ways nothing less than Jedi Knights.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Fantastic... I'm still in the middle of my restoration of a 1956 Delta Turret arm 14 inch saw.. so I can sure appreciate the work you've done. They look great! Makes me want to run out to my shop and get back to work! Oops.. I'm working an all nighter at the emergency clinic, I guess that isn't going to happen except in my dreams....

[Van Huskey]

Van, that makes those of us who still believe in the old ways nothing less than Jedi Knights.

Or maybe Knights Templar... It is like Hunter S. Thompson wrote one more Fear and Loathing book that only wood workers read, "Fear and Loating in RAS land". I am looking for either a OMGA or Original saw for my shop in Louisiana, if I don't find a deal on one by the time I get my shop built I am going to bring my old (first woodworking machines I bought for myself, used out of the PRINT paper classifieds back in law school) Craftsman RAS down from my SC shop, it will cut 90* all day, just don't move it to 45 and expect to pop back to 90!!!

Again yours look SWEET!

[Barry Mabery]

Those are two VERY impressive restorations, especially fabbing your own part from the dead but not forgotten handsaw blade. The original 1400 motor "starter" arrangement was particularly interesting. I really like your cabinet and Towbar system. Do you have any other photos or dimensions on the Towbar? What did you use for the verticals - EMT? Also, some very clever use of the plumbing fitting as a strain relief. Are they friction fit through the arm?

In all, quite an inspiration for taking my MB-F and rat holed GW-M beyond the clean and lube stage.

[HANK METZ]

The Towbar was made from Maple and some offcuts pretty much, some more details are in the Flip Table video, it's really pretty easy to make a custom one. The feed-through bushings do just that, there are cord clamps within the arm that actually do the strain relief job, these just stop any chafing, so anything that retains them will be sufficient. On to my MBF now.

And that power up/ down cord arrangement he had, it's a Darwin thing alright.

- Beachside Hank
Do not use remaining fingers as push sticks.

[Rick Potter]

Nice, Hank,

As a past owner of several DeWalts, and current owner of a 7790, I love the resto job you did. I am not familiar with the 1250 and 1400, they seem to be early 740/790's. Correct?

Rick Potter

[HANK METZ]

The 1250 seems to be a forerunner of the 7740's that I have seen. I was surprised to find the arm casting was made so as to accept the up front elevation crank and miter latch/ clamp assemblies, I didn't know the modification went that far back (1964), a full ten years before the 7740 model. Although the 1250 swings only a 9" blade, the 7740 uses the same frame 350 motor and swings a 10" blade, so they kinda played fast and loose with what they touted as capacity. It doesn't really affect me anyway, I use the Freud 8" 8300 series blade for 90% of my work anyway, so the power reserve for me is more than ample. The 1400 looks like it was an upper end consumer model, but still identified as a "Powershop" make. I'd have to give the quality of construction edge to the 1400, with the solid cast arm vs. the "shroud" as DeWalt called the plastic top arm cap, and also they were still using the solid brass bar for the column Gib slack take-up, instead of two brass screws which are on the 1250, plus the frame 235 motor has a built- in brake vs. the 1250's manual one.