1952 Rockwell/Delta 12" - 14" RAS Restoration

[Charles Coolidge]

I picked up this RAS on Craigslist a few weeks back and have been slowly restoring it to service. Its a Multiplex 40-B model 220v 2HP built right here in the USA in 1952. I thought you might enjoy some pics of this project as its nearly complete.

Before...

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After...

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[Charles Coolidge]

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After...

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[Charles Coolidge]

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[Jim Andrew]

Now that is Cool!

[Charles Coolidge]

Some particulars...

Much of this saw is cast iron or steel including the base, column, top arm, both swiveling sections above the carriage and most of the bolt on controls e.g. locks and stops. So its heavy and stout which is what I was looking for vs a modern sliding miter saw. It will cross cut 15" of 2" thick stock now that's a cross cut.

Money Pit Report

1. The motor, well nobody makes a new motor with this oddball RAS frame so I had to have the original motor rebuilt. That's not a bad thing its a cast iron motor with quality windings but it needed everything, electronic starter, capacitor, bearings, fan, and since I was in that far I opted for sand blasting, re-soak and bake the windings. Of course it needed a new toggle switch, cord, and plugs also. Rant hat on...anyone price 220v cord plugs lately they are ridiculous. All this was several hundred dollars.

2. Bearings and ways. It took some time but I tracked down a carriage bearing that would work but at $30 each x 4 = $120 ouch! About what I paid for the entire saw. I also replaced the roller bearings and thrust bearings on the crank that raises and lowers the saw on the column. The carriage ways are four 1/4 inch precision ground hardened steel rods. The original rods were wasted, I purchased new ones from McMaster Carr at a reasonable price.

3. Kreg stand was about $240 including the 1" Russian Birch plywood shelves. I have the original factory stand but its not very practical and kind of flimsy. Plus all 40 screws were rusted in place. It was worth the cost of buying a stand vs the time it would have taken to restore and beef up the original stand.

4. The original nuts, bolts, screws etc. were in not great shape. I opted to buy all new hardware, if I had gone with grade 8 that probably would have been maybe $20 but I opted for stainless instead which drove the cost over $100.

So I have a fair bit of money invested, rough guess over $1,100 but its been a fun project.

[Bruce Page]

Looks great Charles. We're in it for the fun!

[Charles Coolidge]

Someone just emailed me about the source of the carriage bearings so here's the details.

Source http://wolfemachinery.com/

The original 4 carriage bearings were wasted, someone had previously pried off the dust covers no doubt in an attempt to clean/grease them but my 10x loop showed the races were rusted out. The original Delta bearing is a MRC 202 SFF 12 and no longer available anywhere on planet earth.

Wolfe Machinery has a bearing A80970 that will work. This bearing is for DeWalt radial arm saws and Wolfe Machinery had to have these bearings custom made. They had to order a minimum of 1,000 bearings so they have plenty on hand. Price is $35 each, I ordered 4 so they gave me a discount $30×4 – $120.

The A80970 outer race was slightly smaller and narrower than the original however this proved to be a non-issue. The OD was smaller by .015 but that was easily soaked up by adjusting the eccentric cam adjusting bolts. The race thickness is narrower by .039 not a small amount, the A80970 seems to ride a fraction deeper on the ways (1/4 precision ground hardened steel rods) but this doesn’t seem to be an issue it tracks smoothly. I have included some close up pictures to illustrate.

A80970 / MRC 202SFF 12 (original bearing)

ID .590 / .590
Inner race thickness .432 / .432
OD 1.575 / 1.590
Outer race thickness .432 / .471

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[HANK METZ]

Most excellent work Charles, with a knowledgeable and caring owner it will easily go another half- century. I like the electronic starter modules, I believe they do a far better job than the current- sensing or voltage- sensing relays and centrifugal starter systems, the one I put in my Leeson 2 h.p. bandsaw motor also has a shutdown feature if she won't get up to speed in the prescribed time, that alone will save the start windings which tend to be the main victim in motor burnout.

[Charles Coolidge]

Most excellent work Charles, with a knowledgeable and caring owner it will easily go another half- century. I like the electronic starter modules, I believe they do a far better job than the current- sensing or voltage- sensing relays and centrifugal starter systems, the one I put in my Leeson 2 h.p. bandsaw motor also has a shutdown feature if she won't get up to speed in the prescribed time, that alone will save the start windings which tend to be the main victim in motor burnout.

Say Hank I have a PM2000 table saw that is acting up, press start it starts to spin the blade for a second then shuts off. I have to press stop, then start again, it repeats this a few times but eventually gets going and runs/cuts fine until its shut off. I was thinking start capacitor, what do you think?

[Bryan Cowing]

Amazing work.:eek: How did you repair the broken teeth on that gear?

[Charles Coolidge]

Thanks Bryan, I purchased a new gear from McMaster Carr, then machined the old gear off with my metal lathe, then brazed the new gear on with a brass brazing rod, then chucked it back in the lathe and trimmed the end. I left some extra hub filled with brass for added strength.

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[Steven Satur]

Very nice job. I have a 30C that I would not trade for all the miter saws out there, as a matter of fact, my Kapex has not been used in a year.

Steve

[Mark Wooden]

Nice job on the 40B, mine is a '52 also; I'm the second owner. Wish I could spend the time to tear it down for paint but I just did the motor bearings and put it back to work. Maybe this year........

[Rick Potter]

Really nice work Charles. A beautiful job.

Ahhhh, since you like to do it so much, I have a nice Rockwell you could practice on :rolleyes: .

Rick Potter

[Lee Reep]

Congratulations on your find. With the curves on that saw, it looks like a piece of art. Amazing the detail on the base, and the graceful curve of the crank handle. I must say that some amazing things came to being in 1952 -- which coincidentally happens to be the year of my birth ... ;)

I am browsing Craigslist periodically to find an old classic. I am a huge fan of radial arm saws. I have a mid-70s Craftsman that was made when they still made them with cast iron columns. After almost 40 years of ownership, I know it inside-out, and it is my go-to saw for everything but ripping, which I leave to the table saw. And I now use a Festool track saw for breaking down sheet goods.

The old RAS can still be precisely aligned, and cuts like a dream. I put an oversized melamine-surfaced top on it a few years ago. But I'd still like to find a classic like you found. However, I'd need to recruit my metalworking buddy to do some any of the restoration involving new gears and such.

Beautiful restoration job on a really nice machine. Congratulations on your find.

[Roy Turbett]

Very nice looking saw. I have a fully restored 1956 DeWalt GWI that I really like and another one in the rat hole waiting to be restored. I'd consider trading the second one for a Multiplex project saw if one comes available.

[Charles Coolidge]

Nice job on the 40B, mine is a '52 also; I'm the second owner. Wish I could spend the time to tear it down for paint but I just did the motor bearings and put it back to work. Maybe this year........

This saw is rare it was only made in 1952 so welcome to the select few owners club. Post some pics here if you can. There were significant design changes in 1952 vs 1951 then in 1953 they redesigned it again going to a fixed turret vs our sliding turret. The tear down and rebuild is a lot of work, more so than I anticipated but as it turned out was absolutely required as my saw had a number of serious issues that needed fixing.

[Charles Coolidge]

Thanks everyone, I picked up a Forrest 12-80 Chopmaster blade for it today at Woodcraft. I'm going to start on the table tomorrow.