Yates-American Y30 Snowflake bandsaw "gloat" (pics)

[Ryan Bess]

Hello all,

I have never done one of these "gloat" things, but I thought my latest tool aquisition might be deserving.

I heard a rumor that the owner of a local excavating company had a serious piece of iron in a storage shed believed to be a bandsaw. I called the gentleman and he verified that he did have a pre WWII bandsaw he would in fact be interested in selling.

My interest piqued, I drove to his shop this morning. He opened the storage shed doors...and low and behold stood a Yates Y30 Snowflake bandsaw. The saw is really in remarkable condition, I'm not sure the pics I attached (taken with my cell phone) do it justice. It looks like this wonderful piece of American iron was lovingly cared for. Every part is intact and it is ready to make sawdust immediately. The 30 inch wheels are powered by a direct drive 3HP, 3phase motor the size of a five gallon bucket. It's weight is not known exactly, but I've read varying (internet blog) estimates between 1500 and 2500 lbs.

Now for the good stuff....

The owner of the bandsaw, who will be getting a Christmas card from me, had a funny story to tell about it. He had no use for the bandsaw at all, he simply acquired it in trade for installing a septic system at a woodworking shop in the late 90's. Here we go...he told he would have to $1000 for it. Yes, I'll repeat - he only wanted $1000 for it. But it wasn't over at that. He also agreed to deliver it to my shop for that price. Needless to say, I paid the man INSTANTLY.

This tool will remain in my family for generations to come, and now I have a Grizzly G0514x to sell.....

If there is anyone on this forum that has any additional information about this bandsaw, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for listening,

Ryan

[Stephen Edwards]

I would say that THAT machine is worth gloating about! Congratulations on your remarkable find! And what a deal to boot....Happy bandsawing!

[Shane Whitlock]

Sweeeet!!!! Great band saw.

Here's a couple of pdf files on the saw.

1943 band saw
http://www.owwm.com/files/PDF/YatesAmerican/Y30_Band_saw_feb_1943.pdf

1952 band saw
http://www.owwm.com/files/PDF/YatesAmerican/1952-Y30.pdf

[Rob Will]

Ryan,
You suck.
That is some serious iron:).
If he has not moved the saw yet, many people recommend removing the table and possibly the doors before moving a big bandsaw (?).
I'm not 100% sure but I,m guessing that saw is worth about $4000.
Congrats,
Rob

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Welcome to the antique bandsaw club! Your Griz just got seriously out classed. Nice saw, and fantastic condition it appears. I assume you already know about owwm.com.

[Joe Chritz]

One question?

Do you feel guilty?

Nice score

Joe

[Joseph Ragsdale]

Why can't I find deals like this?

More pictures please. I'm interested in seeing the guides and motor.

What blade are you planning on running in this machine?

Edit:

Joe Chritz, you and I share the same name and same taste in quotes evidently :)

[Don Eddard]

Yeah, that one's worth gloating about. Congrats on a fine acquisition. I don't think I've heard of someone buying one in that good of condition.

[Alan Turner]

Ryan,
Nice find and at a good price. You might consider keeping the little guy for scrolling if you have room. It is nice to have a large saw set up for resawing and joinery work, and a small one for scrolling work.

[Doug Shepard]

Excellent score!!
Find out what his secret is. A decade in a midwest storage shed with dirt floor and what appears to be no rust??? He's been doing something right.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Great find, Ryan! Good luck on getting all the info you need on it. Now go post it on the OWWM website and let us know how many times you get told you suck.

[Mike Cutler]

Nice. Very nice. Excellent gloat,and thank you for sharing it with us.

Most of the old band saws look like that one only after investing considerable time in their restoration. For a grand, you made out like a bandit. It's nice to know that an old piece of iron like that will be put back to work.

[Pete Bradley]

Congrats on getting a top of the line machine. Even though it appears ready to run, I recommend replacing the bearings. The cost is relatively small and you avoid the risk of a bearing spinning and eating into a shaft or bore.

Pete

[Robert Meyer]

That table looks larger than my workshop. What kind of mobile base are you looking at?

[Jim Becker]

Oh, my...."Goat" just doesn't do justice to this particular, um...gloat. Wow! What a wonderful machine. Enjoy!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Woo Hoo~!!

Thass a humongous saw wot U gots. Trees must be pulling up roots and fleeing your county.

[Phil Thien]

This tool will remain in my family for generations to come...


Almost guaranteed by the 2500-pound weight. :eek:

Nice saw!

[Bill Huber]

Well its ok, but I am really not happy with the color...:D:D:D


What a find, that is one really great looking bandsaw, congratulations on a great find.

[Brent Ring]

What a score! Lots of happy sawing! I won't say you suck, but I did think it! :D

[Rob Russell]

Ryan,

The snowflake is a much sought after bandsaw. Congrats on the score - truly a worthy gloat.

You'll need a way to generate 3-phase power for that motor. Here's an option that's not too expensive.

Variable Frequency Drive (http://dealerselectric.com/item.asp?PID=370&cID=0&scID=131)

Rob

[Fred Woodward]

That's major suckage for sure. Congrats, I think that might be the nicest looking snowflake before a restore that I've seen.

You definitely suck. :D

[Bruce Page]

Rob Will’s first line took the words right out of my mouth!

That’s a fantastic deal, worthy of “GLOAT OF THE YEAR!”

Congrats

[Scott Kilroy]

Wow that's just about the best use of 1,000 dollars I could imagine. And to think I was going to post that a friend gave me her old 9 in delta shopmaster :)

[Ryan Bess]

Thanks everybody for the kind words and advice. SMC is quite a place - in less than 12 hours I've been given valuable information about shipping, restoration, wiring, and even copies of Yates manuals!
I have only one additional pic of the saw, and I won't have any more until it is delivered this weekend. (I didn't include the pic of the motor before because it is such poor quality.)
To answer a previous comment / question about its fine condition....every piece of unpainted iron was covered in a thick film of some type of grease. Even though the floor is dirt, the shed was solid and free of leaks. I also got the impression that the original owner was almost as content with looking at the saw as he was using it.
Thanks again everyone for the help!
Ryan

[Scot Ferraro]

Congrats on one impressive machine!! That is awesome!!

Scot

[george wilson]

If I had one of those,I'd have to cover the inside of the "snowflake" with something to keep dust from showering on me when sawing. You could use something painted black.

[Matt Armstrong]

That's cool, but it doesn't have cast iron wheels or coolblocks! Plus I'd put a riser block on it for extra resawing capacity. And you may want to get urethane tires. And a spoiler. Put a spoiler on it. Once you pimp out your bandsaw, then you'll honor the generations to come.

j/k, all in good fun. what a score!

[Will Overton]

Not bad for a first gloat. That's a beauty!

[Jeff Monson]

Ryan that saw is a beast, I cant believe the condition, great score!!!

[Gordon Eyre]

Congratulations on a might fine purchase Ryan. To say I am envious would be an understatement. Course I don't have anyplace to put it so I am happy for you.

[Stephen Cherry]

1. If you get a mobile base, I would recommend the upgraded wheels.

2 Do you have the three phase aspects worked out? There are multiple ways to do this, and none are really all that complex.

Nice machine!

[Robert Nease]

My, what a find. The only thing that might be better is if you were to also find an old A20 Planer mill for that price. Nice work!

[Van Huskey]

YOU SUCK...HARD!

Great find and a heck of a saw.

[Dave Lehnert]

You are the first person in the history of SMC that is given the double Bill Murry "You Suck"
Enjoy your saw.
http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/15/bill%20murray%20you%20suck.jpghttp://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/15/bill%20murray%20you%20suck.jpg

[Bryan Slimp]

1000 bucks and no fence?

How tall is a saw of that heft/how big is that table?

[Frank Drew]

To my eyes, the Yates-American Snowflake is the most beautiful of the "modern" era bandsaws, but before aesthetic considerations got thrown out the window.

[Bruce Page]

It has been almost 2½ years since Ryan scored this Bandsaw.

I think it is time for him to give us an update on this classic!

[Chris Padilla]

It is always amusing when someone brings back an old thread...most folks don't even realize it!