Vintage Martin T75 restoration

[Patrick Walsh]

The hand wheel itself is cast iron. The allied scale is aluminum.

Im not sure yet if I’ll replicate the scale in a engraved aluminum or brass to match the rip fence scale.

The fence on my T54 jointer has a small scale for the bevel of the fence. It’s a thick aluminum engraved with the scale and numbers painted black. It’s pretty slick as the scale itself is a brushed aluminum. I may opt to replicate it over the brass. After all I am trying to keep this thing original minus the various bits and pieces I opted to nickel plate that were previously just painted.

If it is aluminum you can anodize the handwheel, I would take that approach over plating.

[Patrick Walsh]

Brian,

Just now putting together the overlap this morning or in my response of the crosscut fence vrs handwheel topic.

The rip fence I’ll 100% have anodized if I have a extrusion made up.

The hadwheel is cast iron so I’ll plate it and wrap it with a engraved aluminum scale or brass?

[Brian Holcombe]

Ah, I did not realize they were cast iron. I suppose nickel plating it would be nice, especially to contrast against the markings, why engrave a strip as opposed to having the markings cut into the wheel?

[Patrick Walsh]

Brian,

The circumference of the the hand wheels already are plated just with chrome.

Others have suggested just engraving the nickel plate of the wheel. The reason to not is that each handwheel has a small rim the depth of the applied scale that is there now. So why not just turn it off then plate.

The reason is because the handwheel is comprised of three round discs lol exactly the same circumference. One of these discs has no scale on it but bolts directly to the machine. The machine base has a coved lip that accepts this first piece of three. If I turned down the two pieces that have scales they would end up smaller than the piece that bolts to the base. Is I turned down the third piece that bolts to the base it would be smaller than the rim it indexes on the cast machine base.

I can get better pictures if that is hard to follow.

Ah, I did not realize they were cast iron. I suppose nickel plating it would be nice, especially to contrast against the markings, why engrave a strip as opposed to having the markings cut into the wheel?

[peter gagliardi]

If it were mine, I would use a set of number/letter stamps and a straight line punch/stamp/chisel after carefully laying out around the wheels, to create a proper indent- just like the older wheels, and have it chromed.
It would look as close to original/factory as I think you could get.
As far as that goes, after thinking it through, you could just use the existing stickers as the template and just “punch through” the existing layout, then just wirewheel and clean off the residual prior to plating.

[Brian Holcombe]

Brian,

The circumference of the the hand wheels already are plated just with chrome.

Others have suggested just engraving the nickel plate of the wheel. The reason to not is that each handwheel has a small rim the depth of the applied scale that is there now. So why not just turn it off then plate.

The reason is because the handwheel is comprised of three round discs lol exactly the same circumference. One of these discs has no scale on it but bolts directly to the machine. The machine base has a coved lip that accepts this first piece of three. If I turned down the two pieces that have scales they would end up smaller than the piece that bolts to the base. Is I turned down the third piece that bolts to the base it would be smaller than the rim it indexes on the cast machine base.

I can get better pictures if that is hard to follow.

Your plan will work and look nice, I'd go with brass or steel rather than aluminum.

[Patrick Walsh]

Peter,

I don’t Ben know what any of that stuff is..

What’s on there now are not stickers. Or what was on there. It is a thin metal like maybe 1/16 thick with a adhesive back tape.

If it were mine, I would use a set of number/letter stamps and a straight line punch/stamp/chisel after carefully laying out around the wheels, to create a proper indent- just like the older wheels, and have it chromed.
It would look as close to original/factory as I think you could get.
As far as that goes, after thinking it through, you could just use the existing stickers as the template and just “punch through” the existing layout, then just wirewheel and clean off the residual prior to plating.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Patrick, I'm having withdrawal. How's your project coming?

[Patrick Walsh]

You know a complete standstill sadly.

Back on overtime at work. Then Mother’s Day, gotta start rebuilding my front price trimming out the rest of the exterior of my house, then paining the whole thing.

Hopefully I’m gonna get the edge of the cast table taken care of this week. Then this weekend put the motor back together. The scale for the handwheel was returned to me and I have been sent directly to the person they would had subcontracted the project to. So you know I gotta do that.

Also gotta send another pile off to the plater for nickle.

Mostly I gotta work that overtime to pay for all the above.

Most of the saw is home now minus the base, two pieces for the sliding table and the cast iron top.

I’d like to get them home soon but honestly I gotta make room in my shop first. To do that I gotta instal,the hardware and hang the cvgdf and cvgayc doors I built back at the holiday.

So to paint a picture I’m at a bit of a standstill till I get my poop together.

Patrick, I'm having withdrawal. How's your project coming?

[David Eisenhauer]

Step at a time Patrick. Was it mine, I'd also prioritize work to pay for the whole shebang plus complete some of the tasks you have listed as requiring finishing up. Tripping over doors? Moving bags/boxes of hardware (waiting to get lost) around? Open trim areas waiting for weather and wasp intrusion? Put off the painting until its 107deg outside rather than now? Nah, that TS ain't going anywhere and that other stuff hanging over my head would not enhance my life. But that is me and others are themselves.

[Brian Holcombe]

It’s not a bad thing to break from these massive restorations for a minute. It gives new perspective when you return to it.

[Jim Becker]

It’s not a bad thing to break from these massive restorations for a minute. It gives new perspective when you return to it.

This is true for many situations...not just machine restoration. We humans can get "so into" something that our "vision" becomes blurred (mentally) and we miss both opportunities and issues alike.

[Patrick Walsh]

The reverse peer pressure got to me today. After doing ten hours in the shop I messed around a bit with some odds and ends. Really I just played with my new toy

I started by bondoing the edge of the top. I’ll finish it up tomorrow. I wasn’t gonna get crazy and block it flat as I didn’t want to build up a heavy layer of bondo to just get dinged up. But I think I can get it perfectly flat and not have a thick build or anything that will show where it meets the cast top.

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Then I took the rest of the tape off the base. I’m torn weather or not to put a second coat on it. It’s so darn close to perfect. The orange peel is a hit more than I’d like. But you know I walk by cars at lunch everyday and I can’t help but look at the texture of the paint on every dam one. The euro cars all have a orange peel very similar to this saw. Hinestly my shop mate just purchased a brand new VW GTI and its orange peel is no more no less than the base of this saw. I’d say I’m doing pretty darn good for a amateur. Plus you know show cars get color sanded and I’m not going through all that and still getting a respectable result.

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To my surprise the paint around the tags came out great. I may mask everything off and shoot clear over the back tag for belt position as it’s slightly recessed back from the build of the paint. The front two came out just perfect with regard to this. The big one was easy to not bury. The smaller one not so much. The little sanding blocks and putty knives I had to make to do body work around the two front badges was silly.

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That’s it. No promises but maybe tomorrow I finish the body work on the table and wet sand the pieces I want to re spray. All in all I think I have 5-8 pieces including the base to either spray or re spray.

Beyond that put the motor together this weekend so I don’t forget how it goes together. And you know other than the hand wheel I’m kinda getting to a stop pint till I can assemble it. I gotta make some boxes to transport the sliding table pieces and the base but that’s about it. Well I say that’s about it, the boxes wand boxing the pieces will probably take a long half day in all honesty.

[Jim Becker]

That base looks fantastic!!!

[Brian Holcombe]

Don’t touch the base, it’s perfect.