re-sell store stuff

[john k]

Yesterday I was wandering thru a re-sell store.   Furniture, stuff, more stuff, and some tools.   Got some tools there a month ago, is the place I bought 2 old Disston saws for $2 and less, where the newer blonde handle wonders were 7 and 9.   There was a small band saw that caught my eye, but too small for my percieved needs.   And an usual drill press.  Should know the name of this type but it won't come to me.   Is basically a pipe on a drill press stand, there is a heavy clamp on the pipe with another pipe clamped to it at 90degrees.   the drill press head with down feed lever is mounted to it.   The motor is on the opposite end of this pipe, about 3 foot away, belt driven.   Old Craftsman motor, brown paint.  It will swivel 360 degrees, and tilt.   Radial arm drill press?    The base is mostly wood, with nifty swing away wheels on the bottom, and is near 4 foot tall.  $45 for this.   Then I found a little Skil jigsaw, the kind driven by an electric drill.  Then a sander, 5 inch saw, and a grinder with 4 inch stone, all Skil, part of the same kit, told the owner that this has to go together, lose the drill and the set is useless.   There is someone here that collects these univeral drill driven kits and this one is nice, but no boxes.   Pictures coming on what I did buy, an early socket set that is complete,  jewelers saw, and various stuff.   Should I get that drill?

[OilyRascal]

I can't see myself not picking it up, but again I have some problems I need to work out 

I've gained a real appreciation for older Skil products within the last few years.  I have an older worm drive saw I use daily that has served me extremely well............AND, absolutely NOBODY wants to borrow it.

[Twilight Fenrir]

I do believe you are referring to a Radial Arm Drill Press. Would definitely pick that baby up!

[ron darner]

Well, I know that I would pick up the drill and "conversion tools" to go with it - though I have a number of the Skil items already.  I have found differences that must have been made during production runs, giving a little more insight into the manufacturing aspects, so I err on the side of grabbing such items even when I already have one, assuming that the price is reasonable.  I'm mostly a swap-meet purchaser, getting drills for under $5, and often, the conversion tools for even less.  I don't know store prices much at all.
If this is the kind with a sort of bayonet twist-on latching connection, you're right: you need both the drill AND the conversion tools to have the mating features, or they're useless.

[Chillylulu]

My philosophy is get 'em all. (All Mrs. Chilly will let me get, that is.)

If I can't use a good tool, I always know someone who can.

I would definately buy a radial drill press if I came across one.

Chilly

[john k]

I just remembered, at the same store with the drill press, is a Craftsman block grinder, good condition but missing one tool rest, and one end plate.   I already have 3 electric grinders, just can't justify another one, and the price of $65 is a bit iffy.    What is the concensus?   I missed one of these last year with very little wear, complete and on the original stand, for $75, because I didn't have 75 extra right then.  They don't seem to turn up often out this way.

[scottg]

 They made the radial drill presses in a lot of sizes, and weights.
 I have seen them that weighed several tons! 
 But mostly for the home shop market they made a lot of really lightweight flimsy ones. Versatile, but wobbly.   
 
 The block grinder is likely too high.
 If its an older one, 1hp, 8" wheels, all iron, and the lighted eyeshields are in perfect order, and it runs like an absolute top?
  OK, jump all over it then.
    But I expect you would have jumped already.
 
 Later made? partial plastic? and 6" wheels, 1/4hp?   With missing parts???
 No way in the world.
 
  Waiting for the pix of the scores you did snag. :)
    yours Scott

     

[bear_man]

I'm always surprised at folk's reactions to Skilsaws, like Oily's "....AND, absolutely NOBODY wants to borrow it."  I own two, one an older model 7-1/4 I'm about to convert to a full-time metal-cutting saw, and a younger model I can then use only on wood.  I call it my "hand-held tablesaw," 'cause it takes effort to make it wander, not like the "sidewinders" so many seem stuck on today.  Wormdrives are like gyroscopes in taking effort to make wander, to me.  I avoid sidewinders like the plague.

[john k]

This Skilsaw was at the auction yesterday, I picked it up, and can see why some guys would not want to use it for 8 hours a day, it is a handful.  Thought about getting it, but was spending wildly as it was.  Think it went for $12.

[Branson]

Yeah, the old ones are a handful.  The oldest one I ever saw was new in its chestnut box with a 1927 date, still in the hardware store that had ordered it 60 years before.  Heavy?  It had cast iron parts!

[OilyRascal]

This Skilsaw was at the auction yesterday, I picked it up, and can see why some guys would not want to use it for 8 hours a day, it is a handful.  Thought about getting it, but was spending wildly as it was.  Think it went for $12.

I would have given $12 for it ANYDAY.  Nice saw.

[bear_man]

Yeah, carrying mine it's always hanging straight down until I'm ready to use it — and maybe staying there if I'm doing rafter tails.  I've learned just what it takes to swing it up for horizontal cutting and GENTLY set it's "table" on the surface of the work.
    I need to take a pic of my more-modern saw showing the custom upper handle someone made for it that has an arm for hanging it on a rafter or joist sticking out front of the usual horizontal handle arrangement.  Someone did some nice design-thinking.  (Just brought it upstairs.)

[bear_man]

Okay, here's two pics of a previous owner's custom handle replacement:


   At the risk of sounding like I'm wanting to teach old dogs how to suck eggs — and never having seen an owners manual for the rig — it strikes me that some of the things I've learned about worm-drives might help others.  Notice that the cord is darned short?  My first suggestion is to every-so-often remove the blade guard, clean the hole and shaft it swivels on and oil it.  I didn't know to do that and it stuck in its retracted position so when I set the saw down, it tried to walk off and the original cord was cut.  Along with this, every so often loosen the blade guard rubber bumper bolt/screw and rotate it just a bit.  The guard wears grooves in rubber bumper over time.
   Second, when one lays the saw down on the ground, deck or any other flat surface, lay it down on the handle side.  The blade guard is more likely to get warped if you lay the saw down on that side often enough.
   Third, a used saw like I'm partial to will never have its "table" perfectly perpendicular to the blade according to it's adjustment pointer and marks — or not in my experience, and I've used 8 of these babies over time.  Every so often I check that alignment and memorize where I need to tilt the "table" so that it's perfectly perpendicular to the blade.  One could also file a tiny groove marking the correct alignment adjustment.
   Anyway, I've said this before but believe it bears repeating.  Yes, a worm-drive is heavier (19 lbs.) than what I call a "side-winder," but to me the gyroscopic action of a worm-drive — it actually takes effort to make a cut wander — beats "side-winders" all hollow.  And carrying it from one place to another, I always just let it hang down from my hand. 
   Another big plus for worm-drives is that if you set the saw on a piece of work to make, say, a simple perpendicular-to-a-board cut in front of you, you can actually see the left-edge-of-actual-cut without twisting your body and neck over the machine.  If one were going to switch one of these honeys, they'd have to adopt the habit of making their penciled cut-line on the left side of an intended kerf.  I store my newly-sharpened blades in a can of their own and when I pull one out to use, I run it into a piece of scrap, then measure the actual kerf so's to know how much to allow when penciling a cut-line.
   Which reminds me: I found a fruit-cake can that's a shade larger inner diameter that a 7-1/4" blade, cut a strip of cardboard to wrap around on the inside of the can so the ends butt up against each other Tight, then cut cardboard circles to place top, bottom and between each spare/variety of blade.  Without going downstairs to empty one of my 2 cans and count, I'm guessing it holds somewhere around 10 and 15 blades.

     Sorry for the seeming goof.  I Thought I'd posted two pics but then couldn't see anything beneath my post.  Been fooling around trying to figure out what happened.  Came back tonight (9/4) and there one was!  Sheesh.  This picture-posting has been a challenge.

[JessEm]

Good points.

Worm drives are infallible aircraft carriers. Sidewinders are portage jumping canoes. Two different animals. Both have their place.

I've seen sidewinders do bad things when they're set down after the guard spring goes bad and the guard doesn't close. One shot 5+' in the air. It was pure luck nobody got hit. To this day, I still glance at the guard on circular saws before putting them down, and I've been out of framing full-time for over 10 years. It's partly pure habit, and part healthy fear of the unbridled destruction they can cause. On that note, also seen a guy get fired (for a few hours) for pinning his guard open with a pencil because it was "faster."

[Branson]

>It's partly pure habit,

That's a very worthwhile habit to adopt.  Right up there with treating every gun as though it were loaded, even after checking the chamber.