New but vintage tablesaw =)

[dave pant]

I am new to woodworking and really enjoying it. However my current table saw is not very good and its dangerous so ive kept my eye out for something better but I dont have much money.

Well I found a fella that is selling a vintage Sears Craftsman 12" 220v tablesaw with an extra motor and extension fence. He said it is a commercial saw. I went and looked at it and it looks like its in good shape and he cut a piece of wood on it for me but the blade needs replaced. However it looks like everything is there. Im not sure how old this is but im guessing at least 30 yrs old. Its a beast and seems to run very smooth and sounds nice. The tabletop is cast iron and needs the surface rust cleaned up.

How much is a saw like this worth, ballpark?

I believe i can pick it up for 150$

Thanks, I could use some wisdom here as i dont have money to waste but need a decent saw =).

[Curt Harms]

I am new to woodworking and really enjoying it. However my current table saw is not very good and its dangerous so ive kept my eye out for something better but I dont have much money.

Well I found a fella that is selling a vintage Sears Craftsman 12" 220v tablesaw with an extra motor and extension fence. He said it is a commercial saw. I went and looked at it and it looks like its in good shape and he cut a piece of wood on it for me but the blade needs replaced. However it looks like everything is there. Im not sure how old this is but im guessing at least 30 yrs old. Its a beast and seems to run very smooth and sounds nice. The tabletop is cast iron and needs the surface rust cleaned up.

How much is a saw like this worth, ballpark?

I believe i can pick it up for 150$

Thanks, I could use some wisdom here as i dont have money to waste but need a decent saw =).

I'm not familiar with Craftsman machinery but I'd check if the arbor size. 12" blades often have 1" arbors and commonly available (10") blades are 5/8".12" blades are available but the selection at the borgs may be limited. Blades can be bored out to 1" but it's an added expense. I'd also look into stacked dado sets if you're thinking of one of those. Other than that, $150 for a cabinet saw sounds tempting, and you know it runs. Do the blade tilt & elevation controls work smoothly?

[John Keeton]

Dave, first welcome to the creek! A lot of good information here, and good folks, too!

The first thing you must realize is that for $150, you will normally get a $150 saw. That may not be a bad thing, but one normally gets what one bargains for.

In addition to what Curt says, I sold an AMT 12" saw a year ago that I had owned for about 20 years. I never ran a 12" blade on it - just didn't have a reason to. The blades were expensive, and the saw simply couldn't handle it very well. It came with an arbor adaptor for 5/8", so I was able to run 10" blades.

Prior to that, I owned a Sears saw, and it was underpowered. The extensions were steel, and not cast iron.

If this saw is commercial, then it will have all cast iron, and the motor would likely be a very large motor. I would question him as to why he has an extra motor - has he been having problems with the one he has?

But, having said that, if everything runs good, and the tilt/elevation is smooth, I would buy it, replace the blade with a 10" blade, and use it until it died. It is hard to find a good saw for that money, and if your funds are limited, then this may be a great situation for you.

[Bob Aquino]

If it is a 12" saw then its most likely a rebadged Darra-James/Toolcraft machine. Nothing wrong with 12" blades, I am running a 12" machine myself and have found some good bargains on this size blade online. If it is the saw I am thinking about, its really a contractor style saw in a full cabinet base. Parts may be hard to come by, but if its all there then you might just need to replace bearings and belts.

(All these photos courtesy of my friends at OWWM.COM)
http://www.owwm.com/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=240&tab=4
Sears Version:
http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/images/487-B.jpg

Darra-James version:
http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/images/8337-A.jpg

Trunnions mounted to table top:
http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/images/8337-D.jpg

The back of the saw with the motor hanging out:
http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/images/8337-F.jpg

[dave pant]

Thanks guys i appreciate it. I looked at owwm.com all over the site and couldnt find the saw on it. I will get a picture because i think i want to buy it. he said both motors work, and i Do have a brand new 10" blade and a friend that works at a machine shop maybe he can bore it for me. Also I saw on amazon that they have some 12" Hitachi blades like 50% off right now , can get one for like 35 bucks shipped. the reviews look good on them too.

Any other things I should pay attention to before I seal the deal?

[Jason White]

Make sure it's "single phase" and not "3-phase" electric or you'll quickly find it's not such a great deal after all.



I am new to woodworking and really enjoying it. However my current table saw is not very good and its dangerous so ive kept my eye out for something better but I dont have much money.

Well I found a fella that is selling a vintage Sears Craftsman 12" 220v tablesaw with an extra motor and extension fence. He said it is a commercial saw. I went and looked at it and it looks like its in good shape and he cut a piece of wood on it for me but the blade needs replaced. However it looks like everything is there. Im not sure how old this is but im guessing at least 30 yrs old. Its a beast and seems to run very smooth and sounds nice. The tabletop is cast iron and needs the surface rust cleaned up.

How much is a saw like this worth, ballpark?

I believe i can pick it up for 150$

Thanks, I could use some wisdom here as i dont have money to waste but need a decent saw =).

[george wilson]

I have seen Craftsman table saws in Sears catalogs since the 1950's,and was never aware of a 12" model. Recently,I saw an old 1950's Craftsman 10" for sale,and with the motor hanging out behind it,it is,of course,a contractor's saw with a full length cabinet. They also had built in casters (2) in the back of the cabinet,so you could tilt it back (low weight),and roll it out of the way. The handles were smallish,and rather thin die cast,hollow on the backside,and chrome plated. That's the only table saw I was aware of. I wonder if they published a special industrial catalog I never saw?

They also offered an 18" bandsaw,probably made by Emerson electric. Saw one of those a while back,too.

I am guessing that if this is a 12" saw,it must be a LOT more than 30 years old. maybe more like 60.

[Todd Burch]

You say "both motors". Does this saw come with a scoring saw? If so, find out what size blade is used for the scoring saw.

If you plan on working with a lot of sheet goods, then this might be the perfect saw for you if it has a scoring saw. That would have been a rare feature 30 years ago.

[James Carmichael]

If you can get the model#, take it over to OWWM and see who the mfr is.

[dave pant]

It has 2 motors but 1 is an extra, he showed me the saw works and showed me an identical motor that he has an extra of, said he got it with the extra motor. It definatly says sears craftsman 12 in on the front though.

Its not a cabinet style though its on 4 angle iron type beveled legs. I believe it was a green base also had a spot for dust collection.

[Bob Aquino]

I have seen Craftsman table saws in Sears catalogs since the 1950's,and was never aware of a 12" model. Recently,I saw an old 1950's Craftsman 10" for sale,and with the motor hanging out behind it,it is,of course,a contractor's saw with a full length cabinet. They also had built in casters (2) in the back of the cabinet,so you could tilt it back (low weight),and roll it out of the way. The handles were smallish,and rather thin die cast,hollow on the backside,and chrome plated. That's the only table saw I was aware of. I wonder if they published a special industrial catalog I never saw?

They also offered an 18" bandsaw,probably made by Emerson electric. Saw one of those a while back,too.

I am guessing that if this is a 12" saw,it must be a LOT more than 30 years old. maybe more like 60.

Nope, the 18" saw they made was built for them by Parks, same folks that made the planers.

[dave pant]

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b155/koltar/DCP_1621.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b155/koltar/DCP_1620.jpg

here are some photos of it, definatly a 12 inch, however i dont know what the model number is still =(. found out that the motor that is on it is brand new heh. That is the reason for the extra motor, so i bought it.

[phil harold]

Congrats on the new saw!

You need to buy a new fence for it.
Most saws are only as good as the fence.
A biesemeyer or a clone will make your saw better

here is some good info

http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2008/08/26/table-saw-fence-buying-guide-biesemeyer-vs-unifence-vs-vega-vs-incra/

http://home.comcast.net/~jaswensen/machines/fence/fence.html

[george wilson]

Right,Bob. I knew that,getting too old to remember.

[Bert Pacleb]

That looks like the saw I bought used a year and a half ago... I wasn't able to find the model number on mine because the metal tag was missing on the back of the saw. It's set up as 220v. I moved the switch over to the left side and mounted it to the rail with some angled aluminum. It has cast iron main table top and, I think, cast aluminum wings. Its also a left tilt.

When I first turned it on, I was surprised at how extremely quiet motor is. You could talk normally next to it while it was on.

The legs on mine are a dark green.

I cleaned it up and tuned it as best as I could and put a Delta T-2 Fence on it.

I am about to put it back up on CL without the T-2 because I just bought a Delta 36-979.

here are pics before I fixed it up...
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/pinakbert/12in_Floor_Saw/DSCN3141.jpg http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/pinakbert/12in_Floor_Saw/DSCN3142.jpg http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/pinakbert/12in_Floor_Saw/DSCN3150.jpg http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/pinakbert/12in_Floor_Saw/DSCN3153.jpg

[george wilson]

They can call that a floor saw,I guess. I was expecting to see an actual table saw.

[Scott Schwake]

I have a Craftsman 12" saw also, mine has a 5/8" arbor, I've only used 10" blades on it though. I replaced the OEM fence with a Biesemeyer and added a side table, works fine for me.

[dave pant]

any idea of model number on your saw? there is a number on the motor, but heck is that the same for the saw? And yeah when I turned it on I was pleased at how soft and quite the saw was for being older than me =P, btw im 32 and im guessing this is a 60s saw.
any ideas?

Oh one more thing, any idea on the HP rating on this, the motor doesnt say on it.

[Bert Pacleb]

Because the tag was missing on my TS, it took me awhile to kinda figure out which one it was... The closest model I came up with is... 113.299131
I asked about it on OWWM, but never got an answer if it was in fact that model number.

The place where I think the model number tag was is on the back of the saw enclosure. There are two holes with kind of scratch marks of the outline of what I think was the tag. Its about 2-3" from the bottom of the enclosure.

The searspartsdirect site has a PDF of that manual and its pretty close to the saw.

[Scott Schwake]

any idea of model number on your saw?
Oh one more thing, any idea on the HP rating on this, the motor doesnt say on it.

113.299131
My owner's manual says NEMA rated HP of 2.0, maximum developed HP of 3.5, whatever that means.

[Bert Pacleb]

Below are the pics of my saw after I cleaned it up and added a Delta T2 rail and fence, mounted the power switch to the left side of the rail. Bought a Incra Miter Gauge V27 to replace the stock miter gauge. put it on a universal mobile base. Only thing I never got to make was a ZCI. The previous owner replaced the cord with a 20ft cord with a twist lock plug.

Hope this gives you ideas of what you can do with your saw.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/pinakbert/12in_Floor_Saw/12in_Floor_Saw_wT2/DSCN6389.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/pinakbert/12in_Floor_Saw/12in_Floor_Saw_wT2/DSCN6394.jpg