Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
Moderator
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2004
- Messages
- 38,479
When I got home from church, I had an email from a friend saying he saw some equipment on Craig's list I might want to check out. It was a clearance sale at a machine shop that was closing. The owner died, and the kids were selling everything. The sale had been going on for a month, and today was the last day of the sale. Everything left was headed for the scrap yard. I put some cash in the wallet, put on grubby clothes and went over. There was a nice older man there who was friendly. When I mentioned I was looking for equipment for my knife shop, he asked my name. After saying he knew of me, I asked his....Paul Holloway. Paul has been a knifemaker for 40 years or longer, but for the last 5-10 years had to take a hiatus due to bad hips and knees. He is getting back into it now, as his bad parts have all been replaced.
Anyway, we looked around and there was a huge HT oven. It was just plain too big for anything I could ever use one for. The main problem is the chamber was 24" square, I need deep. They had a CNC engraver, but there was no programming unit, so it was pretty much junk. The walls were lined with surface grinders, 24" disc grinders, huge metal shaping machines, power files, and mills. The floors were covered with tool and machine parts.
It was overwhelming, but I was going to be good, and not get anything I couldn't move or use. I found some tongs in a corner.
In the back I found a Japanese made ( I believe Imahashi) horizontal sharpening machine with a 4000 grit stone and some polishing plates that had been made to fit. I also found a 24X12X3 granite surface plate that looked unused, and a 6X36X2" surface plate. I found two old Japanese woodworking tools on a table. One was a hand made ( and signed in Japanese) small dovetail/dowel saw, and the other was a 14" tenon hole saw. The very sharp teeth are pointed back toward the handle, and the saw tapers from about 3/8" to a point. We knifemakers use a smaller version of the same tool to cut/saw the slots in a hidden tang handle....AKA, a handle broach. It is twice the length that I need, so I may cut it in half and make two handle broaches from it.
I commented on the oddity of fine Japanese tools in a machine shop, and they said I needed to go into the next building, where he had his wood shop....OMG. There were tools and stuff stacked on each other. There was probably 5000 BF of ancient mahogany, some 30"X2"X14'. I asked about the wood and tools, and they said that the owners son was taking most of it to his home shop. The only thing he wasn't taking was the belt sander. My ears pricked up, and I asked where it was. Buried in the back was a monster belt sander that he had custom built. It took 6" X 240" belts ( of which there were boxes of). The table was about 12 feet long and three feet wide.He had a slide assembly to stroke large items under the belt.
I asked what the price would be, and they told me to make an offer for all the things I had picked out. I said I didn't want to insult them, but how about $300 for the batch. They said, OK.
The belt sander motor and 12"x6"drive wheel and drive train assembly were on one end, and the 12"X6" tracking wheel assembly and tensioner was on the other end. Both wheels were machined from aluminum. The motor was a 1.5HP 3Ph, with a reversing drum switch. They plugged it in and it ran smooth as silk. I told them I couldn't use the table, so we removed the two end units and the motor. We took the parts off in minutes, as both ends attached with only two bolts. When moving out the belts, we discovered there were four shop rolls 100 feet long, of sandpaper in the stacks of belts. I also found a 14" round block of wood about 10" thick ( mahogany?) that I took as a wooden anvil to straighten blades on. While talking about my plans for building a belt version of a Japanese water stone wheel with the new found parts, Paul said there were some large serrated contact wheels in the storage bin, outside. In we came with a 14"X4" contact wheel and a 6"X4X" contact wheel. We tossed them on the stack.
When loading my car, I noticed a pile of ancient tool and machine parts sitting by the 20 foot long scrap bin the recycle yard has placed there to have everything put in. One was a neat device from the late 1800's with dual coil springs with leather straps attached to a slide, and a tensioner. I looked at it and thought it looked somewhat like the grandfather of a little giant ram and springs, so I gave them $5 for it just because it would look neat on the shop wall....whatever it was. When unloading it at home , it struck me - This was the top unit return springs and cradle for a old stroke saw ( think GIANT scroll saw). It would be mounted like a large band saw with a single saw blade. A 2 foot long saw blade would mount to the slide/spring assembly, and it would have a reciprocating engine of some sort ( steam engine, jack shaft, etc.) pull the opposite end at about 100 strokes per minute. The springs and tensioner would keep the blade taught and return the saw at each stroke. A table was mounted in the middle to feed the lumber through the blade. The saw had a 6" stroke.
So, $300 got me:
1.5HP Industrial 3Ph motor and drum switch
12X6" drive wheel assembly and drive train
12"x6" tracking wheel assembly and tensioner
14X4" serrated contact wheel
6"X4" serrated contact wheel
100 pounds of abrasive rolls and belts
Japanese wet lap sharpener and stones
12X24 surface plate
4X36" surface plate
4 pair tongs
wooden "anvil"
Japanese dovetail saw
Japanese tenon saw
half of a 100+ year old stroke saw
But as Billy Mays would say - Wait, there is more:
I was also given the phone number of a fellow in Chesapeake who took over a shop that has a Wilton 6X80 industrial 3Hp, 3Ph belt grinder...and the matching Wilton dust collection system. Supposedly it runs fine, but he does not want it, so I can get it for $75. I will need to bring a trailer, as it weighs about 1000 pounds. I left a message and am hoping for a call soon. I'll let you know how this plays out.
Anyway, we looked around and there was a huge HT oven. It was just plain too big for anything I could ever use one for. The main problem is the chamber was 24" square, I need deep. They had a CNC engraver, but there was no programming unit, so it was pretty much junk. The walls were lined with surface grinders, 24" disc grinders, huge metal shaping machines, power files, and mills. The floors were covered with tool and machine parts.
It was overwhelming, but I was going to be good, and not get anything I couldn't move or use. I found some tongs in a corner.
In the back I found a Japanese made ( I believe Imahashi) horizontal sharpening machine with a 4000 grit stone and some polishing plates that had been made to fit. I also found a 24X12X3 granite surface plate that looked unused, and a 6X36X2" surface plate. I found two old Japanese woodworking tools on a table. One was a hand made ( and signed in Japanese) small dovetail/dowel saw, and the other was a 14" tenon hole saw. The very sharp teeth are pointed back toward the handle, and the saw tapers from about 3/8" to a point. We knifemakers use a smaller version of the same tool to cut/saw the slots in a hidden tang handle....AKA, a handle broach. It is twice the length that I need, so I may cut it in half and make two handle broaches from it.
I commented on the oddity of fine Japanese tools in a machine shop, and they said I needed to go into the next building, where he had his wood shop....OMG. There were tools and stuff stacked on each other. There was probably 5000 BF of ancient mahogany, some 30"X2"X14'. I asked about the wood and tools, and they said that the owners son was taking most of it to his home shop. The only thing he wasn't taking was the belt sander. My ears pricked up, and I asked where it was. Buried in the back was a monster belt sander that he had custom built. It took 6" X 240" belts ( of which there were boxes of). The table was about 12 feet long and three feet wide.He had a slide assembly to stroke large items under the belt.
I asked what the price would be, and they told me to make an offer for all the things I had picked out. I said I didn't want to insult them, but how about $300 for the batch. They said, OK.
The belt sander motor and 12"x6"drive wheel and drive train assembly were on one end, and the 12"X6" tracking wheel assembly and tensioner was on the other end. Both wheels were machined from aluminum. The motor was a 1.5HP 3Ph, with a reversing drum switch. They plugged it in and it ran smooth as silk. I told them I couldn't use the table, so we removed the two end units and the motor. We took the parts off in minutes, as both ends attached with only two bolts. When moving out the belts, we discovered there were four shop rolls 100 feet long, of sandpaper in the stacks of belts. I also found a 14" round block of wood about 10" thick ( mahogany?) that I took as a wooden anvil to straighten blades on. While talking about my plans for building a belt version of a Japanese water stone wheel with the new found parts, Paul said there were some large serrated contact wheels in the storage bin, outside. In we came with a 14"X4" contact wheel and a 6"X4X" contact wheel. We tossed them on the stack.
When loading my car, I noticed a pile of ancient tool and machine parts sitting by the 20 foot long scrap bin the recycle yard has placed there to have everything put in. One was a neat device from the late 1800's with dual coil springs with leather straps attached to a slide, and a tensioner. I looked at it and thought it looked somewhat like the grandfather of a little giant ram and springs, so I gave them $5 for it just because it would look neat on the shop wall....whatever it was. When unloading it at home , it struck me - This was the top unit return springs and cradle for a old stroke saw ( think GIANT scroll saw). It would be mounted like a large band saw with a single saw blade. A 2 foot long saw blade would mount to the slide/spring assembly, and it would have a reciprocating engine of some sort ( steam engine, jack shaft, etc.) pull the opposite end at about 100 strokes per minute. The springs and tensioner would keep the blade taught and return the saw at each stroke. A table was mounted in the middle to feed the lumber through the blade. The saw had a 6" stroke.
So, $300 got me:
1.5HP Industrial 3Ph motor and drum switch
12X6" drive wheel assembly and drive train
12"x6" tracking wheel assembly and tensioner
14X4" serrated contact wheel
6"X4" serrated contact wheel
100 pounds of abrasive rolls and belts
Japanese wet lap sharpener and stones
12X24 surface plate
4X36" surface plate
4 pair tongs
wooden "anvil"
Japanese dovetail saw
Japanese tenon saw
half of a 100+ year old stroke saw
But as Billy Mays would say - Wait, there is more:
I was also given the phone number of a fellow in Chesapeake who took over a shop that has a Wilton 6X80 industrial 3Hp, 3Ph belt grinder...and the matching Wilton dust collection system. Supposedly it runs fine, but he does not want it, so I can get it for $75. I will need to bring a trailer, as it weighs about 1000 pounds. I left a message and am hoping for a call soon. I'll let you know how this plays out.
