AMERICAN FLOOR SURFACING MACHINES POWER SAW??

[dimwittedmoose51]

This thnk is a beast weighing like 20# and having a massive body.  A friend brought it over for me to sell, and I first thought it was a concrete saw since it had a concrete blade in it and plenty of dust.   What little I can find out about the company they were in Toledo OH from like 1907 to about 1957 and made floor sanders etc.  If any of you have seen one of these spill the beans boys!!  This guy might trade it for something.  It needs a safer power cord, but albeit noisy, it does run like a scalded dog.  P mail if you are interested.

DM&FS  Photos below!!

[dimwittedmoose51]

Well, I cleaned off as much of the dust as I could and lo and behold, at the top by the handle/switch, this thing has a grease zerk for lubing something down inside.  I'll have to shoot a little in there to see where it comes out and maybe quiet it down a tad.  I also took ownership of it by selling the owners old 60's vintage C-man router and table.  I did scrape the masking tape off the housing as I think it was there to cover a hole in the back or to make the guard stay put when they needed the blade totally exposed.

[dimwittedmoose51]

BTW, I did repair the bakelite broken top handle as I found the other piece in the box by using some Gougeon Bros. Epoxy and some PVA on the threads so it won't stick should I want to remove it.

Also, I haven't figured out what the aluminum star adjuster is under the front of the top handle.  There's a wide shaft that does all the way down from there like it adjusts the height of something, but the rear has no complimentary adjustment.  The star currently turns very stiffly, so I will take it easy and maybe soak it in some PB Blaster or that ATF/Acetone concoction.

DM&FS

[Aunt Phil]

Those were American's superior saw to Porter Cable's 8" saw. 

In the 50s American supported a sales staff on the road that called on contractors selling their sanders and flooring tool line.  When polyeurithane floor finishes came along around 58, American salesmen teamed up with road salesmen from Pittsburgh Plate Glass and PPG warehouses started supporting American products and abrasive paper.

The saw you have was designed & built to handle 5/4 maple flooring which was a challenge for the Porter Cable and even Delta table saws in the time before carbide blades were readily available.  If I'm not mistaken the saw originally carried a dust collecting bag.  Damn near everything American made had a dust collector.

I think that saw also spins slower than a Porter Cable did. 

[dimwittedmoose51]

Yeah, since I added grease to the zerk, it's spinning slower than it was.  May have too much in there.  Haven't tried to cut anything with it sine the 8" blades aren't that popular anymore.....

DM&FS