Walker Turner Band Saw

[Sam Gamgee]

Any comments concerning this type of band saw?

[John Schreiber]

I have a Walker Turner bench top drill press from 1937. It is sturdy and strong, but quirky. Try the Old Woodworking Machines (http://www.owwm.com/)group. They have a bunch of information.

[Wilbur Pan]

It depends on which Walker-Turner bandsaw you're talking about.

I have a 16" 900 series. I just love it. Everything on this bandsaw is cast iron -- even the wheel covers!

The one thing you have to be careful of with Walker-Turner machines in general is that they often have oddball bearing sizes, so if you need to replace a bearing, it might take some work to track one down.

[Sam Gamgee]

I have a picture of a label on the machine and it says,
"22 639". I don't know how to parse that but maybe someone can help. I would like to find out as much info as possible as I do not own a bandsaw & if I purchased this one it would be my first. I am not adverse to restoring it but I am not a collector of tools - I like to use them.
Thanks,
dlb
.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Any comments concerning this type of band saw?


Excellent saw. Very restore-able. There are a lot of them still running strong.

[M Toupin]

Sam,
What model are you referring to? Got a picture? Without knowing exactly what model you're talking about I'll just talk generally. Walker Tuners were solid machines, they didn't skimp on the cast iron back then. The doors alone on my 1948 16" BN1135 weigh oh, 35-40lbs EACH! Like all old iron, condition is everything. As long as the saw is is complete or at least has the important parts still intact you're ahead of the game. These saws have been out of production a long time so new parts aren't available, though there are some aftermarket parts and parts show up on ebay all the time. There are also some machinery dealers who sell off parted out machines so a missing part isn't a deal breaker, though it should definitely effect the price! Things like bearings and tires are not the big deal some would lead you to believe. My local bearing shop had all the bearings I needed in stock.

Keep in mind, these are old machines and unless you buy one completely restored, you'll probably need to do a bit of work on it to get it to 100%. Now that's not a bad thing IMO, but I like restoring old quality machines! There's also a strong following for Walker Tuner so there's lots of help with your questions on places like OWWM. With a bit of sweat equity you'll have a very nice machine that will hold it's own against any of the commercial machines made today and way above the hobby stuff like J*t, Gr***y, etc. Here's a example of what you might have to look forward to.

Mike

From this:
65530

To this!
65529

[Wilbur Pan]

I have a picture of a label on the machine and it says, "22 639".
That should be the bandsaw that I have. Bearings are available for this one, should they need changing. One of the things to look out for is that the tilt mechanism on the table is intact and without cracks.

As I said, it's a great bandsaw. I was able to rehab mine, and like you,it was my first bandsaw. Check out the OWWM website for info. And in case you think it's because I'm some sort of mechanical genius, my day job is being a pediatrician.

[M Toupin]

Ahh, the infamous "22 639" serial number! For some reason WT used the "22 639" serial number on a whole run of machines around 1948 or so. No one seems to know exactly why. The machine is a 16" bandsaw, about a 8" resaw capacity. If it has the original cast iron base and original motor it'll weigh about 900lbs! The basic saw weighs in around 550lbs...

These machines, like most during the time frame were sold "complete" or as assemblies, to keep the price down. One could buy just the the basic saw, the motor and the stand separately. Many folks bought just the saw and built a stand for it and slapped a motor on it that they had on hand. Line shaft was also in use back then so some also ran from line shaft rather than a electric motor.

Mike