Robinson table saw rebuild

[Patrick Kane]

Mark's restorations are second to none. The ETE is my favorite saw, even better in my world than a Wadkin PK. This will be outstanding. Dave

Grrr, my regret only grows! What do you like so much about it? Is the slider a more refined design?

[Joe Calhoon]

The raised up hand wheels would be a huge plus for me. Top notch work as usual Mark!

[David Kumm]

The preference is really just a bunch of small things. The sliding table uses roller rather than bearings and i thought that would be a negative but it is very smooth and the lateral play is minimal. The tilt takes too many turns vs the Wadkin but the wheels are higher so I don't need to get on my knees to turn it. The build is hevey and the 7.5 hp motor has a good depth of cut. The dovetail miter slot is handier for me than the straight slot on the PK. I can use a pneumatic clamp on the gage. The Robinson and Whitney 77 are my two go to saws. The Wadkin is best looking but I always end up with the ETE or 177. If any of them turn up in good condition, take it. The differences are too slight to worry about. DSCN3689.jpgDSCN3534.jpgDSCN3564.jpg

Mark, were the shafts worn or just sloppy from day one and you decided to fit them better? Dave

[Mark Hennebury]

First of all, thanks for the kind words everyone.

Dave, the shafts weren't worn much at all, they were a little loose but not enough that you would replace them.
The reason that i ended up making new ones is that I screwed up and put a big scratch on one of the original ones.
The sleeves and collars were rusty and I made them worse by putting them in acid to clean them which left them more pitted.
So i made a new collar, bored the pin hole in it, but when i put it on the shaft, the pin would go all the way through, and I had to remove the pin and collar. Removing the collar scratched the shaft.
So it seemed the best thing to do was to make new ones. The shafts were a bit undersize as well so I didn't mind so much. But it was my fault and ended up being a make work project.

I take solace in the lessons learned and the new knowledge gained...it helps lessen the pain.



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[Mark Hennebury]

I ground a small threading tool from some tool steel. cut the threads. Then ground a bit of oversize key-stock down to fit the keyway in the handle and then cut a keyway in the shaft.




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[Mark Hennebury]

Made a new taper pin and checked the taper by putting some dye on the pin and putting in the bore. It shows that it touches top, bottom and middle so that's good. It should fit pretty good when it's pressed in. I think next time I may put a bit of lapping paste on the taper pin and spin it in the bore to clean it up , prior to assembly. I will see. The taper took me a lot longer than i thought it would, my taper attachment was giving me some problems, it would cut straight for a while before starting the taper, so I will have to take a look at that at some point.

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[Mike Delyster]

You do very nice work Mark.
I’m really enjoying following along.