Old Iron - Bandsaw

[Cody Colston]

If I didn't already have a decent band saw, I'd make an offer for this one...I may do so anyway. It looks to be at least a 20" version and, well, they don't make them like this anymore.

The seller doesn't know anything about tools and is selling the saw for his grandmother. He didn't list a price but will take the best offer...Athens, Texas Craig's List.

[Karl Card]

the old walker turner is a horse.. If I had the ability to hoist one of those babies into my basement I would have had one along time ago

[Luciano Burtini]

. It looks to be at least a 20" version and, well, they don't make them like this anymore.

It's a 16" Walker Turner bandsaw and if it was a bit closer to the Canadian Border, well..... Very Nice machine.

[Carroll Courtney]

They don't get any better,that vintage of BS are the best and you will never fine a new type of BS that will even compare to the old ones.I hate that they are taking bids--Carroll

[Josiah Bartlett]

It is a 16"- Walker Turner didn't make anything bigger. They weigh about 600 pounds. Even the doors are cast iron, and the table top has a beautiful grind pattern if you can still see it. They have an 11.5-12" resaw capacity depending on the blade length- the top wheel cover rides up and down with the wheel axle. It takes 113-115" blades.

I have one with a vintage 2 HP repulsion/induction motor. I really like it- it runs very smoothly and resaws through gnarly hardwood like butter.

The stock guides are quite good but the ball bearing thrust guides are no longer available. People have made replacements. Carter sells a ball bearing guide for this saw. The stock guides use a unique angled 1/2" hardened steel block. These can be machined smooth or replaced with wood or graphite.

Two things to watch out for:

They can't really handle blades wider than 3/4", due to the thickness of the cast iron doors and the design of the guides and wheels. They can tension them quite well, though. You don't really need a wider blade with this saw.

The table tilt crank casting is fairly fragile, so watch out. It is easy to see if it is broken. It is cast iron but the casting is very thin. Folks have made replacements.

This saw is very easy to set up accurately. One of the best 16" saws ever made. The Walker Turner bandsaws and drill presses are one of the reason Rockwell bought them out in the '50s.

[Richard McComas]

Not to hijack this thread but I though you might like to the WT that I restored.
And I have a question I have never figured out, why is the miter slot between the post and the blade?

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o159/rmccomas0043/walker1.jpg

[Josiah Bartlett]

Nice restoration. I don't know why the miter slot is there, other than maybe having a thicker spot in the table on the outboard side would hit the lower guide or interfere with the tilt screw, or they wanted a smooth table on the outboard side for resawing. I wish it had slots on both sides.
The nice thing is that you can leave the miter gauge on the table when you resaw.

I have the original WT fence for mine, too. The big pain about it is that you have to take off the fence rail to change blades.

[James Carmichael]

Hmm, that's within striking distance....

[Dean Karavite]

I'm in the minor leagues here with a 12" WT, but I love it. I think I paid $150. Even though it has a slight wheel wobble, it cuts great. Just today I received new tires for it and via some tips for the OWWM guys I think I can crown the tires to account for the slight wobble and make this saw really hum. I think my little 12" WT weighs more than most new 14" BS's. Let's just say vibration is not a problem. I'm just a home hobby guy, but with 7" resaw and 12" throat some are telling me it might be all I really need.

Here is a pic just for kicks. Check out the fancy miter gauge.

[tyler mckenzie]

I've got the Wt 14", its a nice machine. I'd say buy it and think why later.