Michael Boyle
06-08-2008, 8:03 PM
This is my first post, before I get into it I want to thank everyone on this board for their great posts and wiliness to share their knowledge. I only recently found this board and I have to say it has been unbelievably informative; I can not thank all of you enough!!!
While reading the posts on the board, I was fascinated by the many posts sharing the work and history on “Old iron”. All of that got me thinking about an old 8” table saw that I inherited from my grandfather almost 20 years ago. I hate to say it, but it just sat in the corner of my basement, unused, for years. My grandfather went into the contracting business on his own in the late 1940’s. He used this saw on construction sites throughout the 50’s and 60’s and then had it at his home until he passed away in 1979. It was then passed on to my uncle who gave it to me in the late 1980’s
The saw itself is an old Wards Powr-Kraft model 74FD2260 that was made by the Duro Company in 1949. It had a lot of surface rust on the table top and it had not been serviced forever. I completely overhauled the internal assemblies; I have to admit this saw is very simple in its construction so it really was a matter of de-greasing everything and putting it back together with new lubrication. The top took a considerable amount of time to clean up, but it is good and flat without any serious pits. I built the stand you see in the pictures so the saw is the same height as my regular table saw. I then attached it to the right extension wing on my saw so I now have two saws side by side. I am using an older Delta/Rockwell motor to power it.
I am really pleased with the way it all turned out; I am planning on building a sled for it so I can use it as a dedicated saw for making miter cuts on small projects. It actually runs extremely well. I realize that this is nothing like the wonderful Unisaws and PM66’s that I have seen others on this forum restore, but I have really loved bringing this little piece of family history back into service. It has also allowed my to feel close to my grandfather who used it so successfully years ago.
While reading the posts on the board, I was fascinated by the many posts sharing the work and history on “Old iron”. All of that got me thinking about an old 8” table saw that I inherited from my grandfather almost 20 years ago. I hate to say it, but it just sat in the corner of my basement, unused, for years. My grandfather went into the contracting business on his own in the late 1940’s. He used this saw on construction sites throughout the 50’s and 60’s and then had it at his home until he passed away in 1979. It was then passed on to my uncle who gave it to me in the late 1980’s
The saw itself is an old Wards Powr-Kraft model 74FD2260 that was made by the Duro Company in 1949. It had a lot of surface rust on the table top and it had not been serviced forever. I completely overhauled the internal assemblies; I have to admit this saw is very simple in its construction so it really was a matter of de-greasing everything and putting it back together with new lubrication. The top took a considerable amount of time to clean up, but it is good and flat without any serious pits. I built the stand you see in the pictures so the saw is the same height as my regular table saw. I then attached it to the right extension wing on my saw so I now have two saws side by side. I am using an older Delta/Rockwell motor to power it.
I am really pleased with the way it all turned out; I am planning on building a sled for it so I can use it as a dedicated saw for making miter cuts on small projects. It actually runs extremely well. I realize that this is nothing like the wonderful Unisaws and PM66’s that I have seen others on this forum restore, but I have really loved bringing this little piece of family history back into service. It has also allowed my to feel close to my grandfather who used it so successfully years ago.