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Thread: Picked this up today

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    Picked this up today

    Found this on CL this morning. The seller is getting rid of most of the woodworking machines in his hobby work shop in prep for a move to New Mexico. I wasn't looking for this but the price seemed right. Foley Belsaw model 910. It's got a 3HP single phase Baldor motor on it that I suspect is worth more than I paid for the whole kit and kaboodle. I did screw up and didn't have him demo it for me but he said it runs great. I felt like he was a straight up guy who just didn't want to move all his powered tools with him. I'm honestly not familiar with the Foley Belsaw. He thought it was probably a late 80's machine. I like to know more about it so hoping you guys can enlighten me. Is it Chiwanese made or US made? Good planer? To anyone familiar with it does it appear to have all the parts it should have?

    Oh, it also has the option to turn it into a powered sander which he bought from Foley but never even opened the box.

    He was asking $125 for everything. I didn't argue.

    IMG_5331.jpgIMG_5321.jpgIMG_5327.jpgIMG_5322.jpgIMG_5329.jpgIMG_5334.jpgIMG_5336.jpgIMG_5340.jpg
    Last edited by Mike Manning; 07-28-2017 at 6:48 PM.

  2. #2
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    Dont know much about them but looks like some links you may be interested in.

    http://www.belsaw.com/PLpage1.html
    "Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
    - Rick Dale

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Lehnert View Post
    Dont know much about them but looks like some links you may be interested in.

    http://www.belsaw.com/PLpage1.html
    Thanks Dave. It came with two copies of the manual but I'll keep these links handy just in case!

  4. #4
    Good find!

  5. #5
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    May 2009
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    Nice it's a very good planer. A bit noisy but does the job quite well.
    Don

  6. #6
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    Mar 2012
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    I think you got a whale of a deal. I used to use a similar Foley-Belsaw unit, mostly as a molder, but it works as a planer, too.

    USA made (Kansas City, MO) -- noisy and vibration-prone-- and pretty durable. They still make those, I believe, and will make custom molder knives to order.

    Have fun with it.

  7. #7
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    My dad left me his RBI. Looks a lot like that one. About the same era also. His is a 12" planer, gang saw, molder, and sander. I think it has a 5 HP Leeson motor. Also has about 20 sets of molding knives, most never used.

    If I remember correctly, there were three makes on the market then. RBI, Belsaw, and Woodmaster

    I used it once in the 90's, when he and I made a house full of crown molding out of oak. Hasn't been used since '05 when dad died.
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  8. #8
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    North Alabama
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    Nice deal. My dad used one like that, badged Craftsman, I think, for many years. Eventually he offered it to me, but by then I had two other planers of my own.
    Chuck Taylor

  9. #9
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    Dec 2010
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    A gloat worthy deal, to be sure. I had a slightly newer version of that for 5 or 6 years, with a 5 HP Baldor motor. I paid $250 for it and sold it for $400. Now that was a great deal. Anyway, the FB is a simple, almost crude, but rugged machine that will run all day w/o complaint and turns out flat or molded wood as nice as most other machines. I ran quite a bit of molding on mine, too, which was the main reason I got it.

    It will serve you well, and you will be able to sell it for more than what you paid for it.

    John

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    A gloat worthy deal, to be sure. I had a slightly newer version of that for 5 or 6 years, with a 5 HP Baldor motor. I paid $250 for it and sold it for $400. Now that was a great deal. Anyway, the FB is a simple, almost crude, but rugged machine that will run all day w/o complaint and turns out flat or molded wood as nice as most other machines. I ran quite a bit of molding on mine, too, which was the main reason I got it.

    It will serve you well, and you will be able to sell it for more than what you paid for it.

    John
    Thanks John! It also came with an extra set of gibs, blades, the Foley-Belsaw cloth cover and copies of the manuals that FB faxed to the PO. I notice that it's missing the handle (part #43 in the manual). I'll reach out to the PO and see if he's got it somewhere in his shop. I'm not sure if that's a big problem or not.

  11. #11
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    Not obvious if this has a oil bath gearbox or not. I recommend changing the oil it has one. I found an almond in my gearbox when I bought my used parks planer.
    Make sure not to use GL5 or higher EP gear oils. GL5 and higher will eat any yellow metal in the gearbox.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    Not obvious if this has a oil bath gearbox or not. I recommend changing the oil it has one. I found an almond in my gearbox when I bought my used parks planer.
    Make sure not to use GL5 or higher EP gear oils. GL5 and higher will eat any yellow metal in the gearbox.
    Bill,
    I didn't see anything that looks like a "oil bath gearbox". The manual says to use 10 weight oil. I'm not sure what 10 weight oil is but I expect I'll find out. Thanks for the heads up!

    Mike

  13. #13
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    No oil bath gearbox on a Foley Belsaw. Mike showed a picture of the gearing in his photos; the one with the high end sprockets, chains, and belts. It looks (and is) crude, and can rattle and shake something awful when it shuts down, at least mine did, must go through a harmonic, but it runs and run and runs with very little attention required. I blew out the sawdust and spray cleaned/lubed it a few times a year, and it was happy to go back to work. The one I had had been used so much that the cast iron table had been worn down in the center. I couldn't figure out at first why my boards were thinner at the edges than in the middle, until I put a straightedge across the table. Holy cow, it was at least 0.020" lower in the center. So I fixed it in a manner fitting such a fine, precision machine. I spread on a layer of Bondo and sanded it flat, then added a piece of SS sheet on top. Problem solved.

    John
    Last edited by John TenEyck; 07-29-2017 at 8:06 PM.

  14. #14
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    Sep 2016
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    10 weight is pretty much any light oil. I recommend a bottle of 100% synthetic engine oil and fill your oil can with it. A good synthetic should have zero vapor pressure which means it will never dry out an turn to gum. Non detergent oil might be better but not really worth much of a search for such low speed non submerged applications. If there are bed rollers make sure to clean and lube them.
    Bill

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