Old Iron Gloat!

[Brian Hale]

I picked this up last week from the BIL. It’s an Atlas model 912 circa 1950. With the exception of the motor wiring, the saw is in great shape and runs real smooth. The table has some pitting from a soda can, the upper wheel was a bit stiff but little oil loosened it right up. I downloaded the owner’s manual and price sheet from the Old woodworking machines website so I’ve got some basic information about it….

Saw was sold without a motor (1/4-1/3 hp suggested)
Weighs about 125lbs
This one includes the Atlas stand and work light
12” wheels with ~6 ½” cutting capacity
Blade speed ~2048 with a 1750 rpm motor
Suggested retail price $105.00

I’m thinking I should replace the motor with a TEFC type and I welcome your suggestions. The on it runs fine, no funny smell and it doesn’t even get warm but the open design is a bit scary….

Thanks for looking!

Brian

BTW this is a freebee!!

[Brian Hale]

A few more pics....All the cleaning i had to do was just blow out the old saw dust and scotch bright the table, everything else is as you see it. Looks like it was kept in good shape and used very little..

Brian

[lou sansone]

nice piece of old iron! how does it run? love the photos.. what type of camera?


lou

[Dale Rodabaugh]

Great find Brian,I like the old iron.Enjoy.

[Brian Hale]

Thanks Guys!

Lou, the camera is a Canon D60 digital with a Canon 28-135 IS and 550EX flash.

Brian

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great find Brian. Looks like the old iron can go for a few more years. A friend of mine just got one like it. It came from a old shop that the gentleman had in my home town. He died at 96 and they just had his sale. Gary bought it for $75. He put a 1/2 hp TEFC motor on it. It cuts like a dream. I don't think you would go wrong there. I think he said you could use a 1/3 hp to 1/2 hp.

[Jim Becker]

That's a beauty, Brian!! It looks like it's in wonderfully restorable shape, too. I wouldn't mind finding something like this in the future to make into a dedicated "scroller" in my shop...

I also agree with the 1/2-3/4 hp TEFC motor. You may want to change the pullies to up the blade speed just a hair...closer to 3000 ft/min is right, if I am not mistaken. (If I'm wrong...please chime in, folks!)

[lou sansone]

That's a beauty, Brian!! It looks like it's in wonderfully restorable shape, too. I wouldn't mind finding something like this in the future to make into a dedicated "scroller" in my shop...

I also agree with the 1/2-3/4 hp TEFC motor. You may want to change the pullies to up the blade speed just a hair...closer to 3000 ft/min is right, if I am not mistaken. (If I'm wrong...please chime in, folks!)

hi jim
the surface feet per minute is one of those debatable issues and somewhat determined by the type of sawying you are doing. woodmizer type Band mills run in the 4000 to 5000 sfpm. Most of the better italian BS ( like the mm and ACM ) also run in that range ( 5400 being pretty common ). The smaller BS tend for some reason to run in the range you are talking about. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they are limited in their HP and there is just no way you are going to be able to run them faster and not have them fall apart. Bigger BS in the 36" and 42" range run a variety of speeds, the most popular is the 8000 to 12000 SFM. These guys really fly but are not very usefull for hand feeding stock and are more suited for power feeders and rough ripping opperations. There are a few 36" machines that run in the range of the italian BS in the 5000 sfpm but they quite expensive when you are trying to do this with direct drive motors. Sometimes they will use a gearbox and then drive the main wheel as an alternative to the super slow speed direct drive motor option.

lou

[John Bailey]

Brian,

What a find. I've got the "ole arn" bug and that bandsaw is great. I would leave the original motor on. I recently went from a 2.5 horse Craftsman RAS to a 1956 Delta RAS with .75 hp. The Delta goes through wood with much more ease. I don't understand the hp claims, I just know the Delta cuts through wood easier.

John

[Brian Hale]

I just placed an order for a couple Woodslicer blades, cool blocks and link belt from Highland Hardware to get me started. The blade that's on it is pretty sharp but has a bend in it that makes the saw vibrate a bit. I'll order some new tires tomorrow and see about a larger pulley for the motor. That old Emerson 1/3 hp motor and bent blade had no trouble resawing 6 1/4" red oak. Didn't even start breathing heavy

Brian

[Corey Hallagan]

Great old saw. Congrats! Atlas,when did this company go out of business. I have seen Atlas table saws as well.
Corey

[Bob Oehler]

Nice saw and it looks in real nice shape. Wether you change out the motor or not please do somthing with the wireing. DO you have big plans for the saw or just a general purpose saw for the shop..

Take care
Bob Oehler

[Dan Forman]

Very cool. I would sure like to have something along that line dedicated to a narrow blade for curves.

Dan

[Brian Hale]

DO you have big plans for the saw or just a general purpose saw for the shop..

Just a general band saw for now. I'm selling the old Craftsman 12"; i never was happy with it. Once the new blade and belt are here I'll see how it cuts. The upper arm is bolted to the lower with 2 dowel pins for location (you can see the bolt in the 3rd pic) so i could throw a chunk of steel in my machine at work and make a riser block to give me some more re sawing capacity.

Atlas,when did this company go out of business. I have seen Atlas table saws as well.

Actually, Atlas didn't go out of business, rather they bought out a company named Clausing (sp?) that's famous for metalworking machines. Seems the Atlas name carried the woodworking stigma so they changed it to Calusing

[Seth Poorman]

Good Score Brian Looks like a keeper you lucky Duck !!!

I bet the boys at OWWMs would appreciate those pics in there archives !