Old 1950's Atlas Table Saw

[Drew Pavlak]

My wife's uncle has an old 1950's Atlas table saw. I am not sure that he will be willing to part with it, but if he were, would it be worth reconditioning? I don't think it has that many hours on it and it runs pretty smooth. I recently used it for a project in my basement. The biggest problem I had was that the fence was in kind of rough shape and hard to get adjusted for each cut.

Would it be worth getting an after market fence system or should I just look at lower end contractor saws ($500 - 600 dollar range)?

I should mention that the saw is in pretty good condition, has a 1 hp motor on it and both extension wings for the table. Needs the dust cleaned out of it which I am planning on doing because he let me borrow it any way and the table need a good waxing.

Other than the fence and a new miter gauge I think it is a decent saw.

Thanks,
Drew

[Kirk Poore]

Drew:

Assuming this is a cabinet saw, the machine is well worth restoring from everything I read. It should be superior to any contractor's [edited] saw, even with just a 1 hp motor. Before buying an aftermarket fence, I would clean up the current fence and rail(s) and see how well it works. An aftermarket fence would certainly work, though you may have to do a little adaptation of the rails since I'm sure your hole pattern will be different.

Note that, as with any 50 year old machine, new arbor & motor bearings may be in your future pretty soon.

A visit to OWWM.org to ask questions should get you some detailed answers.

Kirk

[Drew Pavlak]

I forgot to mention that this is not a cabinet saw. It is a benchtop model, but it is a heavy critter. I had it in my basement while I was finishing it off, can't say that I will ever drag it down into another basement. Cast iron table with extension on each side (close to 48" wide total).

I am going to clean it up a bit this spring and I will try to get some pictures posted this next week.

Thanks for the input.
Drew

[everett lowell]

Drew, does she look something like this? I found this 1950's something Atlas on " old woodworking machines " web site. you should check out this neat web site , if you have'nt already.:)

[Drew Pavlak]

That is exactly what it looks like, but it also has the extension tables on both sides. I ended up not feeling so well this weekend and never got into the garage for some pictures.

Thanks,
Drew

[glenn bradley]

Although that is a cool old saw you may want to do the math before you decide to dive in. A good fence can be $200 - $400, then you'll want to deal with the bearings, arbor, etc if required. I have a 1950's Emerson with low miles and it still works great for what it is but, I wouldn't want it as my only saw (bless it's heart).

[Drew Pavlak]

I think I am going to end up agreeing with you on this. I could end up spending the price of a new saw just to recondition it. I am not sure that I want to do that. I will probably still clean it up some just to keep it alive, but I don't think I will invest in a fence for it at this time.

Thanks for all the input.
Drew