Wanted: PC/Rockwell Worm Drive Belt Sander

Sourwould

New User
Taylor
If you got one you never want to lift again, sell it to me!

Probably a long shot, but would prefer to find one with a dust port.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
I've got six and love them. The 4x27 size weighs 25 lbs. but when on a large panel it floats effortlessly except maybe when a new 60 grit belt is on it. Then it wants to pull you up and across the bench.
Keep an eye on the level of the special oil and it will last for decades.
 

Sourwould

New User
Taylor
I've got six and love them. The 4x27 size weighs 25 lbs. but when on a large panel it floats effortlessly except maybe when a new 60 grit belt is on it. Then it wants to pull you up and across the bench.
Keep an eye on the level of the special oil and it will last for decades.

I was looking at a couple 4x27's on eBay, but I didn't think the belts were available. I think they'd be great for flattening doors.

Love a worm drive anything. We used to used the skil 77's when I was on a framing crew.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
4x27 belts can be found but it isn't as popular of a size as the 3x24.

You're right about the worm drive being great to use. The gyroscopic action of the in-line motor has a particularly stabilizing effect compared to a transverse mounted motor that's found on most portable power tools.

I love picking up those sanders in junk condition and rebuilding them for myself but parts, particularly the worm gears, are getting harder and harder to find.
 

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
I have the Skil saw. I use it to cut 4 x 8 panels to a size I can handle. I too like the worm drive.

Pop
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
...drifting this thread even further...

PC made a worm drive circular saw, the model 314, that I particularly like for panel work. With a Forrest blade, it makes a really smooth cut and its small size makes it a delight to handle. With any other blade, the cut seems to shred or wobble. My experience with Freud blades leaves me thinking that such blades are good only for rough cutting.

PC also made a model 548 worm drive saber saw. That saw is amazingly smooth running. I like it for sheet metal. For wood, I'll take the Bosch 1581
1 wom PC 314 - 1.jpg

Model 314 worm drive panel saw. This one has the awful Freud blade on it.


1 wom PC 548 - 1.jpg

Model 548 worm drive saber saw. PC also made other models of worm drive saber saws but this one was king of the heap mostly because it had a VS trigger mechanism.
 

Sourwould

New User
Taylor
I have the Skil saw. I use it to cut 4 x 8 panels to a size I can handle. I too like the worm drive.

Pop

If you're short like me, the saw is long enough to reach all the way across the sheet.

4x27 belts can be found but it isn't as popular of a size as the 3x24.

You're right about the worm drive being great to use. The gyroscopic action of the in-line motor has a particularly stabilizing effect compared to a transverse mounted motor that's found on most portable power tools.

I love picking up those sanders in junk condition and rebuilding them for myself but parts, particularly the worm gears, are getting harder and harder to find.

Wish I could find them in junk condition. I feel like any business that actually used tools like these is long shut down.

...drifting this thread even further...

PC made a worm drive circular saw, the model 314, that I particularly like for panel work. With a Forrest blade, it makes a really smooth cut and its small size makes it a delight to handle. With any other blade, the cut seems to shred or wobble. My experience with Freud blades leaves me thinking that such blades are good only for rough cutting.

PC also made a model 548 worm drive saber saw. That saw is amazingly smooth running. I like it for sheet metal. For wood, I'll take the Bosch 1581

Model 314 worm drive panel saw. This one has the awful Freud blade on it.

Model 548 worm drive saber saw. PC also made other models of worm drive saber saws but this one was king of the heap mostly because it had a VS trigger mechanism.

Drift away!

I've been watching both of these saws on ebay, hoping a deal will pop up. As more and more of my newer asian tools bite the dust with ~2 years of use, I'm replacing them with old rockwell/PC.

I do a lot of trim in old wonky houses and new wonky construction, so cut free hand/scribe a lot. Right now i'm mostly using a 18V matika, but the little porter cable looks like it would be a lot more comfortable in the hand. Plus the Makita is already a little long in the tooth after a year.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
If you're short like me, the saw is long enough to reach all the way across the sheet.

I could have gone all day without reading that. Now I've got a quest tool. That extended front to extend one's reach makes perfect sense. I'd never thought about it before.

A second hand worm drive portable power tool can be a risky buy. If the tool has been run with low or no oil, the bronze worm gear is toast.

1 wom PC 500 - 1.jpg


On the left is what a worm gear looks like when run with no oil. In the middle is a new worm and worm gear. On the right is a good worm gear mounted. Open up the oil hole and look in. If there are little flecks of bronze, there's a problem. If the oil looks like metallic bronze paint there's a problem.




1 wom PC 500 - 2.jpg

The mess that occurs when I combined two 'parts' PC 500 sanders. They are somewhat complicated machines with a lot of parts. The quality level of those parts are a decadent luxury to behold considering what one finds in modern portable power tools. The costs of the machined aluminum castings alone would be off the charts these days.
 

Sourwould

New User
Taylor
I'll have to check on that. I think the guy I bought it from changed the oil before sending it to me. Which might be good or bad. The one I bought is a fair bit newer than the ones on your bench, probably from the 70's. Has the sky blue Rockwell logo.

You don't have any 503 parts kicking around, do you?
 

nn4jw

New User
Jim
It's an American tragedy. I think it's being phased out completely.

Once you let the MBA's and other assorted Suits who only deal in abstract "product" through the doors, followed by venture capitalists it's all down hill from there. They squeeze the body dry and move on to the next victim, er company. Rinse, repeat.
 

Sourwould

New User
Taylor
Once you let the MBA's and other assorted Suits who only deal in abstract "product" through the doors, followed by venture capitalists it's all down hill from there. They squeeze the body dry and move on to the next victim, er company. Rinse, repeat.

But only the cream rises to the top in American capitalism...

Ironically, I think PC is being replaced by the new and improved Craftsman. The last Porter cable pancake noise machine my boss bought had a Craftsman sticker on it.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
You don't have any 503 parts kicking around, do you?

"Kicking around" isn't quite a term I'd use for my parts inventory. I guess if I had parts I would sell, they would be those parts that never wore out or needed replacing. With the tools I have, I am always aggressively competing for consumable parts. With several sanders in inventory, I have to do this.

I like good portable power tools and have been getting junkers and fixing them up for years. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. Chords, switches, brushes and bearings are pretty standard replacement activities on about any used tool I get.

1 PC sanders - 1.jpg

Sanders under my bench. I keep various grits on each. All are rebuilds from various stages of disrepair.

1 mess - 2.jpg

Some years back I got on a repair binge and dragged most all of them out for an inventory check, inspection and repairs. More cords, switches, and brushes to do.
Like most of us here, my corded 3/8" electric drills have been bagged up and put in storage. Battery drills rule these days and for good reason. 1/2" corded drills are still used when needed.



1 mess - 1.jpg


More inventory.
 

Sourwould

New User
Taylor
"Kicking around" isn't quite a term I'd use for my parts inventory. I guess if I had parts I would sell, they would be those parts that never wore out or needed replacing. With the tools I have, I am always aggressively competing for consumable parts. With several sanders in inventory, I have to do this.

I like good portable power tools and have been getting junkers and fixing them up for years. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. Chords, switches, brushes and bearings are pretty standard replacement activities on about any used tool I get.

View attachment 194856
Sanders under my bench. I keep various grits on each. All are rebuilds from various stages of disrepair.

View attachment 194855
Some years back I got on a repair binge and dragged most all of them out for an inventory check, inspection and repairs. More cords, switches, and brushes to do.
Like most of us here, my corded 3/8" electric drills have been bagged up and put in storage. Battery drills rule these days and for good reason. 1/2" corded drills are still used when needed.



View attachment 194854

More inventory.

Oh man, your face! Kid in a candy store. I need a chain cover for a 503.

I also need a couple 310 trimmer parts. Seems like you might be the man to talk to.
 

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