my "new" jointer - gotta' love the clasics

[mshel]

Heath,

I am curious why the three belt system was used. Very nice restore, looks like just came off the showroom floor. What hp motor did you use? That baby has a lot of years left in it thats for sure.

MIke

Hey folks,

As made evident by a few of my posts regarding some of my other tool rebuilds, I have a thing for "vintage" tools, and am slowly but surely setting up shop with stationary tools exclusively from the golden age of cast iron.

I spent the better part of last weekend finishing the reassembly, setting the knives, (thanks Bob Vaugn!), and otherwise putting the final touches on the jointer project I've been working on. Space is tight on my side of the garage, and I think this little guy, (6" cutterhead, 38" infeed/outfeed) is the perfect balance of capacity & footprint until my wife finally caves & moves out of the garage....

I put it through the paces this weekend, and it works like a champ - perfect 4 square!:icon_cheers

As she came home:

& here she is now:

Thanks for letting me share!

 

[HMH]

Thanks for all of the feedback guys!

In my humble opinion, dollar for dollar, there is no equal to these old machines on a quality level compared with anything made today. That being said, I believe this will be my last restoration for awhile. I've rebuilt a table saw, band saw, drill press, and now a jointer. Time to make some sawdust!

Phillip, Thanks man, now it's your turn! I've got a nice DeWalt RAS w/ your name on it!

Jackleg, by my research, mine is a '53 model, so yeah, 60 years or so is about right! As far as knives are concerned, I installed a set from Freud. You will need 6.1/16"x3/4"x1/8". (The 1/8" thickness is the critical dimension - as I recall the Freud set is on sale @ Amazon)

Mr. Vaughan, Thanks! Your youtube video on setting jointer/ planer knives was a huge help!

The "swiss army knife" blade cover is great! It's spring loaded on 2-axis' so it A.) holds the stock tight to the fence for edge jointing, as well as B.) holds stock tight to the table for face jointing. Pretty clever.

The 3 belt system is a little odd, but that's how it came from the factory, so I left it in place - not much chance of power loss through belt slippage! I have a 3/4HP Leeson mounted right now, but plan on replacing that w/ a 1/2HP Walker Turner that's currently awaiting new bearings.

To clean the tables, I've used lots of different approaches, but I got the best results using a combination of razor blades, maroon scotch-brite pads, and a lubricant, (WD-40, etc). The razor blade is only for really heavy rust. Mounting the scotch-brite pads to a sander would definately work, but it's messy, and I'd worry about crudding up the sander. I had good results spraying down the surface w/ WD-40, and using a scrap piece of 2x4 as a sanding block w/ the maroon pads. Wipe up the residue w/ mineral spirits & give it a good wax job, & you're all set!

 

[sapwood]

Heath,
You deserve a lot of credit for the beautiful rehab. I doubt it looked that good in 1953 :icon_thum

Roger

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Mounting the scotch-brite pads to a sander would definately work, but it's messy, and I'd worry about crudding up the sander.

Yes and Yes. It's messy but the small pad sanders don't have too big of a stroke so it doesn't go far. Wear an apron and and have some rags available to wipe up. Definitely don't do this with you good sander... I've got an el cheapo Firestorm that was a thow in in a trade. It's pretty much dedicated to this purpose...

Trav

 

[HMH]

Good call Trav, I'm sure a beater sander would definitely speed up the process. Good idea about the apron too! I have what my wife now calls my "junkyard pants". Gotta' change out of those in the garage...

 

[KC7CN]

Heath, Great job restoring the old Walker Turner. I'm really impressed with your restoration!

I was especially interested because it looks like the one I restored a few years back. A fine old tool and a pleasure to use! 3-V Belts and 1/2HP motor - it sounds like a little Cadillac. A friend inherited it from his father, and gave it to me; unfortunately, the guard assembly could not be found.

Album link: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=841

-Don

 

[jhreed]

great tool. I have not seen anything that nice offered new on the market today. I am glad you explained what i thought was just a guard. Wonder why everyone does not use the same.
James

p.s. if you find another one, let me know.

 

[Hank Knight]

Heath,

Man! That brings back memories. My father had the same Walker Turner jointer when I was a kid - only his didn't look like it just came from the factory. I cut my teeth on that machine and it's a great one. Don said "sounds like a Cadillac" and he's right. Smooth, solid and quiet. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Very nice restoration.

Hank

 

[LeftyTom]

Oh SNAP, Heath, that looks showroom new! OK, OK, shop floor new. :eusa_clap

 

[bob vaughan]

Heath,I am curious why the three belt system was used.

Not Heath, but W/T did other machines too with that 3-belt system. They used small diameter aluminum pulleys that drove three small 3/8" wide belts. Back in that day, 3 belts were better than one because belt technology wasn't what it is today.