Refurb an Old Sears Craftsman Power Tool

[Will Travnikar]

Hello to all -

This is my first post - and I already have a question! I hope that's OK with you all. I build & repair stringed musical instruments. Right now my "shop" consists of my half of the garage - and I'm proud of it. But, I am also slowly but surely expanding. I really like old tools the best, and I am blessed to have some of the tools that belonged to my late Father. I think some of those belonged to his Father as well.

A friend recently gave me a Sears Jointner that belonged to his Father. I believe it was made in 1950. Mechanically it is in "working" condition. True to from, however, I would like to restore it both function wise and looks wise. It's in pretty rough shape. (Tried to add a picture - not quite sure how to do that here yet).

What's a good method to use? Should I wire wheel the "heavily rusted" areas? I don't have access to a sandblaster. Also, I'm planning to use WD-40 with heavy duty Scotch Brite pads on the "less rusted" areas.I don't mind the work of disassembling, cleaning, painting, and rebuilding it. I'd like to spray paint it when I'm done. Can anyone recommend a good product / color to use - to approximate the original blueish / gray? I'm going to build a new stand for it, and will rewire it as well.

So - I know that's a bunch of questions... But I have long ago learned the value of asking the right person(s) a few key questions. As such, thanks in advance!

Will

[John Hubbs]

Welcome Will,
Great bunch of guys (and gals maybe, not sure)here and lots of knowledge.
I would like to caution you against sandblasting any cast iron tool. It will pit the surface
and you wont be happy with it after that. I use a razor scraper and light oil to get started.
I then have an old vibrating sander I use; 100 grit paper and oil again. You will be amazed what this does for old cast iron surfaces.
For steel surfaces, I use a wire wheel. I am sure someone will respond with the exact part number for that old Craftsman paint color,
these guys really know their stuff...

[Will Travnikar]

Welcome Will,
Great bunch of guys (and gals maybe, not sure)here and lots of knowledge.
I would like to caution you against sandblasting any cast iron tool. It will pit the surface
and you wont be happy with it after that. I use a razor scraper and light oil to get started.
I then have an old vibrating sander I use; 100 grit paper and oil again. You will be amazed what this does for old cast iron surfaces.
For steel surfaces, I use a wire wheel. I am sure someone will respond with the exact part number for that old Craftsman paint color,
these guys really know their stuff...

Hey John - thanks! Good info already - much appreciated! Will

[Bill Ryall]

Wire wheel for the loose crusty stuff. I have a cheap Black and Decker (?) 1/3 sheet sander I use exclusively for this type of work. I start with emery cloth and WD-40 and work my way down to 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper with WD-40 as the wet part. (DO NOT do this with a good sander you will use in the future for wood)

[Will Travnikar]

Thanks friends - it's much appreciated! What about the large flat surfaces (the bed, etc)? Also, any info on the color paint to match the original? Thanks very much!

[Rick Whitehead]

To clean the rust off the large flat surfaces like the bed and fence, I'd scrape it with a razor blade scraper. Use it like you'd use it to scrape paint off a window, and flip it over when it doesn't scrape well any more. Follow that up with 220 grit wet or dry paper backed with a sanding block, lubricated with Simple Green cleaner.
That should get most of the rust off. After that, wipe down well withn a solvent like mineral spirits (outdoors!) and coat the non-painted surfaces with paste wax.
There is a wealth of information, including paint colors for vintage machines, on the Old Woodworking Machines Forum http://owwm.org.

[Enrico Caruso]

workshop1.jpgworkshop3.jpgWill,
I restored a Sears 1938 wood, and light metal, lathe, which I now use in my little shop, and I sand blasted the castings that were not the bed surface, and was very pleased with the method, but bead blasting should also be satisfactory. I hand scraped the bed surface to a quality level that far surpassed the original finish. The ONLY parts that I was able to source through Sears were the headstock spindle bushings. I had a local paint supplier match mix a quart of the original paint which I hand applied. I will attempt to add a couple of photos of the lathe to this post.
Enrico

[Simon Dupay]

head over to owwm.org LOTS of info over there

[Bill Ryall]

What about the large flat surfaces (the bed, etc)?

I'm sorry. I just re-read my post and realized it wasnt clear. I use the B&D sander for the large flat surfaces. Wire wheel for crust and smaller dire brushes for harder to reach areas.