Welding Tips and Tricks

Walking past the old junk shop down the road from my place earlier today and I spotted this little beauty sitting by the front door.

Woodfast 10" band saw. Built by a local company in my town (that now only imports...) well over 50 years ago. Probably almost useless for my purposes but just look at it. So shapely, understated and Old Skool, complete with enamel and brass badges and that trick logo. Love it.

Oh no...I think I'm becoming one of those saddos who collects tools just for the sake of it. Help me!



Kym

Like most of us your beyond help Kym. It does look like it's in pretty good shape for its age..

Jackshaft ,reduced RPMS,blade speed down to 150 sfpm.Presto metal saw!

Belt drive just change pulleys to get the right speed.

It has a jack shaft in place, so re-gearing would certainly be possible, it seems.

I spoke to the local Woodfast people yesterday and they still seem to still have a pretty good knowledge of their really old stuff, despite the fact that these days they just import machines. The saw takes very narrow tyres, so off-the-shelf tyres are not available, but they recommended a place that can re-tyre it for me.

All in all it's just a charming old machine. I love to see machines like these given a new life, rather than just sitting idle.

I have made a deal with myself. I am going away on a work trip this coming weekend, and if the saw is still at the old junk shop when I return, I will snap it up.

Suggestions on how I get it into the shed without my wife seeing it gratefully accepted.


Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote:
Suggestions on how I get it into the shed without my wife seeing it gratefully accepted.


Kym

Sneak it into the trash can before hauling the can back from the curb, pull it out in the garage and tuck it into a prepared place. Feign ignorance when she eventually notices it?

Maybe use it as a "storage" place for a few boxes for a bit, before having inspiration to "organize" and find it hiding in the corner?

hey_allen wrote:

MosquitoMoto wrote:
Suggestions on how I get it into the shed without my wife seeing it gratefully accepted.


Kym

Sneak it into the trash can before hauling the can back from the curb, pull it out in the garage and tuck it into a prepared place. Feign ignorance when she eventually notices it?

Maybe use it as a "storage" place for a few boxes for a bit, before having inspiration to "organize" and find it hiding in the corner?

Hmmm...while it's not a huge saw, it's a bit too big for the trash can!

I think it might just come down to timing. Need to bring it home while the wife is out, tuck it away in the shed. Once it's in the shed, she'd never notice it. There's just so much stuff in there already that unless I was trying to hide a new Aston Martin Vantage, I would generally get away with it.

Anyhow, who am I kidding? I'll probably just play the old 'Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission' card. It's worked so many times before. Buy the thing, bring it home, remind wife about how many other women's husbands spend far more money and time down at the pub chasing other women, that sort of thing.



Kym

Kym, just be aware that under Oz law, any trader selling used electrical equipment must have the motor test and tagged for electrical safety prior to offering it up for sale.
In this case, the test would fail according to Australian Standards and therefore making it illegal to sell. The problem is the cable coming out of the motor firstly the outer insulation is missing as it comes out of the motor revealing the wires inside, and secondly a bit further on the lead is taped over no doubt to hide damage.
The only way this motor can be brought to compliance is for an electrician to open up the motor and fit a new lead.
Cheers,
Vic.

Coldman wrote:Kym, just be aware that under Oz law, any trader selling used electrical equipment must have the motor test and tagged for electrical safety prior to offering it up for sale.
In this case, the test would fail according to Australian Standards and therefore making it illegal to sell. The problem is the cable coming out of the motor firstly the outer insulation is missing as it comes out of the motor revealing the wires inside, and secondly a bit further on the lead is taped over no doubt to hide damage.
The only way this motor can be brought to compliance is for an electrician to open up the motor and fit a new lead.
Cheers,
Vic.

Hey thanks Vic, that is great information for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it obviously gives me a bargaining chip with the dealer. Just using my own character judgement, I don't see this guy as someone who's going to hurry out to have the thing tested!

Secondly...my brother is an electrician, so getting it sorted myself is not a problem.

Meanwhile, hopefully, anyone half interested will also see the taped up lead and shy away from it.

Me? To my shame I didn't even consider the wiring for a second until you raised it. I'm a country boy...I'd have taken it home, replaced the wiring myself and carried on as normal.



Kym

I'm not sure if I find it stunningly sad that your government doesn't trust you to change a bloody cord without a license, or if I'm relieved that the rules make complete idiots liable for their bad decisions in making such a repair...

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:I'm not sure if I find it stunningly sad that your government doesn't trust you to change a bloody cord without a license, or if I'm relieved that the rules make complete idiots liable for their bad decisions in making such a repair...

Steve S

Yeah, it's a two-edged thing, for sure.

On one hand, as I mentioned, I'd not even considered it until Vic pointed it out. And yes, it's one of those things I'd normally do myself as part of refurbishing the saw - rewire it, new tyres, a good clean.

On the other hand, I had ducted gas heating installed in my home recently and immediately thereafter, the ducted vacuum system stopped working. So I climbed up into the ceiling to find that the people who had 'installed' the vacuum had merely twisted wires together and left them lying in the insulation. The guys installing the heating system had bumped a wire join and they'd come undone.

So, if this is what the 'professionals' are capable of...


Kym

I'd lay odds the vacuum installers were not licensed electricians and therefore working illegally. No electrician would risk his license for doing what you describe. I'd report that sob installer before someone dies in a house fire.

Coldman wrote:I'd lay odds the vacuum installers were not licensed electricians and therefore working illegally. No electrician would risk his license for doing what you describe. I'd report that sob installer before someone dies in a house fire.

Yes, I would, but here's the thing...the vacuum system was installed when the house was built 14 years ago, before I owned it. And surprise surprise, the people who installed it are no longer in business.

But it blew me away. I've never seen anything like it. It looks like the kind of job you'd expect a blind backyard car stereo installer to do. Can't believe how far some people will take 'out of sight, out of mind'.


Kym

Steve,
I have a customer who trades in vending machines (coke etc) who calls me in when his own techs can't get the refrigeration unit (fridgedeck) going. Alot of the time these machines are American and often the problem is Americans can't come to grips with their own system, black is active, white is neutral, smooth wires are active, grooved wires are neutral, the left pin on a power point is active, the right is neutral.

Hey Poland308, do you find the same thing over there?

In the good old days, these people would zap themselves resulting in natural deselection. These days of OHS we preserve these people and they are breeding...

So all we can do is licence competent people, pass laws to prevent idiots from wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting public, and drink more beer.

Oh yeah! We get called a lot to work on stuff like that. The law here allows anyone to work on electrical stuff inside of a piece of equipment even without training or licensing. Get lots of calls to work on stuff that's someone has replaced bad parts on and then can't get the new ones to run. Can't trust that the wiring is right just because it was hooked up that way when you got there. Spend a lot of time sorting through diagrams and schematics with a meter to make sure it's right and that they didn't burn up the new parts they just put in.

Makes a good case for our system. Still with these vending machines you can't trust any wiring you have to keep your eyes open and wits about you. Often the owner of the vending machine has a go at repairs thinking he will save a few bux and makes things worse or dangerous. there are also unlicensed cowboys out there having a go as well with the same result. And then there are some licenced guys that escaped from the gene pool while no one was looking...

It will work for another 50 years, unlike cheap chinese crap that does not work for 5 months.

LoL. Same story different faces.

I hadn't really thought about it, by my side of the opinion probably starts with the fact that one of my toys when I was seven was an electronics kit, and I was building radios, transmitters, capacitor-discharge circuits, occilators, etc. I've understood and never feared electricity from a young age. I have no fear of (and yes, I've been through training) working on LIVE 480V circuits.

This, I suppose, makes it hard for me to comprehend some of the complete ignorance I've encountered working on electric circuits, like crossed wiring such as Coldman describes in fridgedecks.

I once pulled the fuse (yes, old glass fuses) to a lamp circuit in a hallway, voltmeter said the circuit was dead. Leaning against a sprinkler pipe for balance, I went to change the fixture, and heard the spark jump from my ear to the sprinkler pipe as I got the shit knocked out of me.

Turns out the neutral side was fused...

Steve S

I have a healthy respect for electricity.

Not fear, but a very pronounced respect!

I'll work on it, but I check and double check, work without hurrying, go over everything a couple of times and cover all my bases before anything is powered up. Always conscious that I could be risking lives other than my own if I get it wrong.


Kym

For those with long attention spans...

Well, the little Woodfast band saw is still down at the junk shop. And it can stay there, because I found one in even better condition, for far less cash! It's now safely tucked away in my shed.

Mister Junk Shop, the guy with the saw I originally spotted, had a cocky attitude. "It'll sell in a heartbeat", he said. "Don't bother trying to talk me down, these things only show up once in a lifetime" he said. That rubbed me up the wrong way.

So I kept an eye on it, but kept an eye on the local online ads, too. When this one popped up I couldn't believe it. I was interstate, so I called the guy asking if I could look at it when I returned on the weekend. He said sure, it's a 45 minute drive from town and no-one seems keen on coming for a look.

So I arrived home, took a short, pleasant drive in the country, and returned with this little beauty. Couldn't be happier.



Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote: For those with long attention spans...

Well, the little Woodfast band saw is still down at the junk shop. And it can stay there, because I found one in even better condition, for far less cash! It's now safely tucked away in my shed.

Mister Junk Shop, the guy with the saw I originally spotted, had a cocky attitude. "It'll sell in a heartbeat", he said. "Don't bother trying to talk me down, these things only show up once in a lifetime" he said. That rubbed me up the wrong way.

So I kept an eye on it, but kept an eye on the local online ads, too. When this one popped up I couldn't believe it. I was interstate, so I called the guy asking if I could look at it when I returned on the weekend. He said sure, it's a 45 minute drive from town and no-one seems keen on coming for a look.

So I arrived home, took a short, pleasant drive in the country, and returned with this little beauty. Couldn't be happier.

Kym

Gotta love when karma smiles on you, way to go Kym

I think I'd send a picture of this to the junk shop guy, with "Buggar Off" in Sharpie. I think I'd bitch about him on every forum you can find him on.

I hate a cocky salesman.

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:I think I'd send a picture of this to the junk shop guy, with "Buggar Off" in Sharpie. I think I'd bitch about him on every forum you can find him on.

I hate a cocky salesman.

Steve S

Yeah, I thought about that too, but don't really have the energy for it - I'll just enjoy my saw.

I hate a cocky salesman, too. Why be a smart arse? What do you hope to achieve opening a conversion by warning a prospective buyer not to offer a lower price...before that buyer has said a word?

An odd approach to selling, for sure.



Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote:
Yeah, I thought about that too, but don't really have the energy for it - I'll just enjoy my saw.

I hate a cocky salesman, too. Why be a smart arse? What do you hope to achieve opening a conversion by warning a prospective buyer not to offer a lower price...before that buyer has said a word?

An odd approach to selling, for sure.



Kym

I hear you all too well on this.

As to bothering to flame him, why bother? It's his worry to be an idiot, let him ruin his own karma (if you believe in it...)


I had one person who I was considering buying a car from, years ago.
After I'd made the trip to his house to see the car, he wouldn't even let a potential buyer drive it up the road, but instead insisted in taking me for a ride in it. As I RODE in the car, I was noticing more and more signs of lack of maintenance (admittedly, easily fixed, but still signs of poor attention to detail, on a car that requires close attention to the engine at the very least) and he started to RAISE the price from the advertised price!

Needless to say, he kept the car and I found another to buy.


Enjoy your saw, and best of luck with it being all that you hope it to be, for many years of use!