I only took a picture of the label because I thought it would be easy to find information on it on the internet, but I can't find anything about it. It is a beast of a machine and is heavy. The left side (that you can't see) takes off in a sort of nozzle shape for about 6 inches where the 2 1/2" grinding wheel would be attached.
Does anyone know this tool? Is it worth having around or should I skip it. I think I can get it for about $20.

if you don't want it for $20.i am sure someone here would buy it...

I can't seem to get any info on it from anywhere. I thought sure someone here would have at least seen one before. I wish I had taken a better picture of it. I'll check back at the shop and see if I can get a better shot. Who would have thought a model 171 from such a big company a Skil would be so tough to find information on.

I think it is a bit older than you think it is. It is essentially a honkin big die grinder, used for cleaning castings, welds, heavy steel. They havn't made them like that in a long long time, they were very dangerous. look at the speed that thing rotates at, now imagine accidently dropping it, and the wheel exploding at that speed....

I have catalog info for Thor, who made one similar , circa 40's. Unfortunatly, early Skil info seems hard to find in general.

I have no idea about age but would guess 50s. And, I'd have to agree that it looks absolutely lethal in every way. Very interesting nonetheless.

Quote from: rusty on August 03, 2011, 08:02:23 PM
Unfortunatly, early Skil info seems hard to find in general.

I found the opposite to be true when I called skil to date my old "77" worm saw a couple of years ago.
Their Customer Service number is 1-877-754-5999. Maybe I just got lucky, but they nailed mine down to the month it was made ("40's or 50's saw,I forget), and even mailed me a hard copy of the diagram for it. It's worth a try, and the call is free.

Wayne

Quote from: lzenglish on August 03, 2011, 08:58:28 PM

Quote from: rusty on August 03, 2011, 08:02:23 PM
Unfortunatly, early Skil info seems hard to find in general.

I found the opposite to be true when I called skil to date my old "77" worm saw a couple of years ago.
Their Customer Service number is 1-877-754-5999. Maybe I just got lucky, but they nailed mine down to the month it was made ("40's or 50's saw,I forget), and even mailed me a hard copy of the diagram for it. It's worth a try, and the call is free.
Wayne

Wayne,  that's good information!  Another resource for you is the Sacramento Machine Tool company, out on Del Paso Road (not Blvd).  A friend of mine had his grandfather's Skill 6" worm drive, and it suddenly stopped working.  Asked me to see if I could fix it.  We looked at it, and it was sold by Sac Machine originally; a plate with with the company name and their old downtown address was on the saw.  I took it to them and they had it back in working order in a week.  They smiled when I pointed out the plate to them.

Wayne,  that's good information!  Another resource for you is the Sacramento Machine Tool company, out on Del Paso Road (not Blvd). 
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Thanks for the tip Branson, I will have to pay them a visit. It is Amazing to me, that I have been all over that North area, and never really thought about Del Paso Blvd. and Del Paso Street being two different roads! I see it now that I mapquested it!

Wayne

Probably 1950s based on the label, possibly 60s.

Those were the dream tool to weldors doing repair work on pipe.  A 1/16 or even a 1/8 snagging wheel on that tool could cut a crack open and give you a weldable opening slicker than snot on a doorknob.