Jeff,
If it has a wide belt pulley on the back, more than likely it was a line shaft driven machine. It shouldn't be a problem to convert over to it's own motor. Look at the cutterhead and see if it is round or square. If it is square, you might want to pass. The square heads are dangerous machines, if you ever get a hand into it, it will continue to pull you into the machine. The round is the "safety head" it will make a mess of you but not like a square head. If it is a square head, you "might" be able to pick up a round head from someone that is parting out a machine that can't be saved. I would make sure you could do that first before getting to deep in restoration. The serial number should be stamped into the end of one of the beds, you can get an approximate age comparing that to the serial numbers on www.owwm.com.
The rust isn't much of an issue, mine was covered with rust. It probably has Babbitt bearings but you may not need to replace them. If you have a dial indicator, set it up on the outfeed table to read off the cutter head. Try and move the shaft up and down (without turning), you shouldn't read more than a couple of thousandths change. Unbolt the bearing caps and inspect the bearings and the shaft, also look to see if there are any shims between the two caps. Shims were removed as the bearings got loose so the bearings didn't need to be repoured until there were no more shims.
I had rust on the shaft and someone had put a sheet of brass in one of the bearings so mine had to be repoured. I put the whole cutterhead through electrolysis then polished the shaft on my lathe.
You should plan on a new 2hp motor, pulleys and belts - around $250
Babbitt metal for new bearings - around $50
New magnetic switch - around $60
The rest is just dirty work cleaning it up. I would do it, especially if you can get it for nearly nothing.
If it has a wide belt pulley on the back, more than likely it was a line shaft driven machine. It shouldn't be a problem to convert over to it's own motor. Look at the cutterhead and see if it is round or square. If it is square, you might want to pass. The square heads are dangerous machines, if you ever get a hand into it, it will continue to pull you into the machine. The round is the "safety head" it will make a mess of you but not like a square head. If it is a square head, you "might" be able to pick up a round head from someone that is parting out a machine that can't be saved. I would make sure you could do that first before getting to deep in restoration. The serial number should be stamped into the end of one of the beds, you can get an approximate age comparing that to the serial numbers on www.owwm.com.
The rust isn't much of an issue, mine was covered with rust. It probably has Babbitt bearings but you may not need to replace them. If you have a dial indicator, set it up on the outfeed table to read off the cutter head. Try and move the shaft up and down (without turning), you shouldn't read more than a couple of thousandths change. Unbolt the bearing caps and inspect the bearings and the shaft, also look to see if there are any shims between the two caps. Shims were removed as the bearings got loose so the bearings didn't need to be repoured until there were no more shims.
I had rust on the shaft and someone had put a sheet of brass in one of the bearings so mine had to be repoured. I put the whole cutterhead through electrolysis then polished the shaft on my lathe.
You should plan on a new 2hp motor, pulleys and belts - around $250
Babbitt metal for new bearings - around $50
New magnetic switch - around $60
The rest is just dirty work cleaning it up. I would do it, especially if you can get it for nearly nothing.
jeff... said:
