Walker Turner 10 table saw??

[Rick Potter]

Anybody familiar with these? It's a Walker Turner 10" cabinet saw, with a 1HP, 110/220 motor, a very basic fence, and two cast iron wings. I was considering it for a secondary saw.

Any comments? What is it worth?

Rick Potter

[Larry Edgerton]

I have seen them but never used one myself, but I do have a pair of Walker Turner drill presses, and I would not want any other drill press I have seen on the market today. Heavy duty stuff.

[george wilson]

Walker Turner was an old manufacturer. Their stuff was much better than Delta. Where Delta used pot metal parts,Walker Turner used cast iron. Even their 14" bandsaws had cast iron SWING OPEN doors. Had one in my first teaching job in 1964. The Wheels were cast iron too,IIRC.

I think a 10" Walker turner saw would be an excellent find. Might have to change the arbor bearings by now. Their machines were very artistic looking,too.

[Adam Potack]

head over to http:// owwm.org and http:// owwm.com all the info you will probably ever need.
(Remove the space after // when copying into your browser.)

I have a few WT machines, no tables saws, I love them. Built to last forever. Very heavy, bring some help when you pick it up.

Adam

[Bob Aquino]

WT made some nice equipment in their day for sure, I don't know that its always the better choice over something from Delta or Powermatic. There were a couple of different machines that they made and they had some unique optional features. Some for example used a gear drive motor over a standard belt driven arbor setup. You can see all the representative examples on the owwm.com mothership here: http://www.owwm.com/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=808&tab=4

If it were me, between a similar vintage Unisaw or Powermatic 66 or 65, I would go with either of those machines before the WT. Unisaws especially have an abundance of spare parts floating around and used standard bearings that are cheap to replace. But if the WT is in decent shape and or cheap enough, I sure wouldnt say no to it. YMMV ;)

[jared herbert]

I have a Walker Turner 10 table saw and like it a lot. I got it from an old and now deceased cabinet maker locally. I replaced the arbor bearings and they were a standard size that I got at NAPA. I really like the fence and I think it is an original part. It runs smooth and cuts well. I would like to get a WT band saw if I can ever find one. I have a unisaw and a couple of other table saws and the WT is as good as any. Jared

[jared herbert]

I think I paid $125 for mine. I had to replace the motor. It had me fooled, I looked at the plate on the motor and it said 110/220 volt but the plug looked funny. Turns out it had been a 110/220 that had been rewound and turned it to a 3 phase motor. It was the original motor, it said walker turner on it. Dont ask me how but that is the truth. Jared

[Don Jarvie]

I have one Rick and love it. I completely torn it down and rebuilt it last year and have a 3hp motor on it.

If you have any questions let me know/

Don

[Rick Potter]

This one is on the local CL. Started at $600, and is down to $300. I doesn't look artistic at all, just plain Jane cabinet saw, although the wings may be slightly larger than the usual. Maybe it was a price leader to compete with cheaper saws? I think I will take a look at it.

Rick Potter

[jared herbert]

$300 looks like a good deal compared to the plastic/fiberglass ones I saw at the big box last weekend. Nothing wrong with cast iron.

[scott allen]

I looked at the ad to confirm, and it's a Walker-Turner 1180. I've got one in pieces in my garage right now - it's getting paint next week.

I bought the saw because I was attracted to its lines - it's just one of the best looking saws ever made, IMHO. Looking back, I would probably have held out for a Unisaw, though, for the following reasons:

- The table insert. There is no way to use a ZCI with this saw; also forget about using anything larger than a 6" dado stack.
- The trunnions. They are table-mounted and made of either aluminum or some sort of pot metal. Mine are in fine shape, thankfully.
- Arbor bearings. They are an odd size that is difficult to impossible to replace. The original bearings are shielded on one side and open on the other, so if they are in good shape and you don't destroy them when you pull them off you can regrease and reuse them - otherwise you need to improvise. The ID of the bearing is 19mm (not easy to find) - a 3/4" ID is readily available, which is 19.05". I got a set of these and am using some loctite bearing retainer to install, which should make up the gap OK.
- Parts availability. Parts are going to be a lot harder to find for the W-T.

Also, the wings on the saw in the ad are not cast iron - they are stamped steel (but appear to be in great condition). There is also a table extension that can be mounted either at the front or rear of the saw. It's mounted at the rear in the ad.

Also note that W-T made 2 "flavors" of this saw - the 1180 and the 1180B. The straight 1180 uses a gear-driven arbor, so if the motor goes, it could get real expensive real quick. The 1180B is a belt-driven saw, so if you need to replace the motor it's not a huge deal.

Overall, if you can live with the shortcomings, I think it's a great saw - I can't wait to have mine up and running!

Scott

[Don Jarvie]

This is a lot of saw for 300. The odds are good that it's belt driven since I have only seen 1 gear driven while perusing OWWM.org. The motor looks original.

Check to see if anythings broken or cracked like Scott said. If not get it. Clean it up and get it running.

As for the arbor bearings. If they sounds alright you can add grease to them. There is a bolt that holds the arbor assembly in the up/dowm mechanism but also allows you to add grease.

I didn't have to replace my arbor bearings but check OWWM and see if the bearings numbers are in some of the posts. I've seen plently of people changing them.

[dave toney]

I think I paid $125 for mine. I had to replace the motor. It had me fooled, I looked at the plate on the motor and it said 110/220 volt but the plug looked funny. Turns out it had been a 110/220 that had been rewound and turned it to a 3 phase motor. It was the original motor, it said walker turner on it. Dont ask me how but that is the truth. Jared

I have a delta 16" radial arm saw that was single phase and I had it rewound for three phase, after burning up the start windings from a stuck centrifugal switch, it was 5hp but is more like 7hp now.
Dave
Dave

[Rick Potter]

Update...I finally found another Unisaw at a good (no gloat though) price. This one is left tilt, and will complement my original right tilt one.

Thanks, guys.

Rick P