Fay & Egan 36" bandsaw vs Frank Jones 36"

[David Kumm]

The F and E lightning was a very heavily built saw. considered by those who have one as at least as good if not better than Tanny and almost as heavy as Yates. I would guess the rpm is correct. 600 rpm less slip would be about correct for a direct drive 36" machine. Still over 5400 SFM. Condition is everything although there isn't much to a bandsaw. Make sure the wheel spindles are not worn and track true. Dave

[Warren Lake]

yes that is what Jack said. What is slip referring to exactly.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I took a bit of a 36" bandsaw crash course when I bought my Oliver. It had a really old 5hp motor that I thought was under powered probably, so I immediately replaced it with a 7.5 Baldor. I probably didn't need to do that. The blade speed was ridiculous, something over 5000 spfm, which I hated. I slowed it down to nearer 3000 with different pulleys. Point is, these machines may have been set up for some specific thing in the past that doesn't make sense for your current uses. My saw is perfect for me now with the fiddling, but you may not want to do that. Run them if you can.

Also, guide systems are a huge deal on these machines. My Oliver came with a garbage Carter retrofit. Something that would have been adequate for a much smaller machine but just not for a 36" machine. Come to find out, a NOS Tannewitz guide assembly that I found fit perfectly and it dramatically improved the machine. THe guides on these two are different and hard to see details from the pics. Can you get more pics of them? I suspect the Fay and Egan has a better assembly.

I'd be worried that the Frank Jones is sitting in a mechanics shop, and it's not a machine that I've heard of.

Babbit is fit, especially if it's in good shape. The F&E is probably babbit, it'd be good to see it before committing.

Bottom line, need more info.

[David Kumm]

Slip relates to actual rpm vs the standard. For instance a 2 pole motor rated at 3600 rpm will actually produce closer to 3450. Also keep in mind that you can't compare a 5 hp 600 rpm motor to a 5 hp 3600 rpm motor. the 600 rpm motor will have 6 times the torque of a 5 hp 3600 rpm motor. That is why the frame size is so large. I will also bet the Lightning is ball bearing but check to be sure. Babbit is fine if in good condition but I believe the lightning series was the earliest ball bearing series for Faye and Egan. My 509 mortiser from the late 20s is ball bearing. Dave

[Mark Gibney]

Well I for sure learned a lot about these saws. My reckoning is that pursuing a love at first sight might lead to a troubled romance, what with moving an extremely large machine, housing it, powering it and so on. Perhaps a more functional route would be a more recent Euro re-saw bandsaw with a small footprint and lighter weight and so on.
I enjoyed learning all this, thank you all for sharing your knowledge.
I guess if I owned a large shop (I rent a medium space) I would love to get the F&E. I could restore it at a leisurely pace, but mostly I could just admire it, and on days when work is stressing me out I could go hug it

[Bill Dufour]

The geometry of tilting a tall saw like that upright inside a room can be interesting. It may be nine feet tall but over ten feet is needed when being tipped up.
Bill D

[Warren Lake]

this in an Email from Jack

Optimum speed for resawing is Between 4000 and 5000 surface feet per minute of the blade. A larger bandsaw i requires slower speed motors. Motors are controlled for speed by the number of hrz and the number of poles . A 575 RPM motor is a 12 pole motor at 60 hrz . Synchronous speed of a motor with that many poles is 600 and the 575 RPM accounts for the slippage. Surface feet per minute is calculated by the RPM and the wheel diameter circumference Times 60. Both numbers are correct.Generally the larger bandsaw’s were considered high speed bandsaw is for production work. For scrollwork the high speed is ideal. But for resaw The slower speed is ideal. Incidentally the ubiquitous 14 inch Delta Bandsaws runs in about 3500 ft./min.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I could restore it at a leisurely pace, but mostly I could just admire it, and on days when work is stressing me out I could go hug it

Honestly Mark, that is all mine does most days, and it was worth every penny. It's become a shop mascot of sorts. Some customers like to tour the shop and it is always the first thing they notice. In my experience with mine, they are kind of gentle giants. Quiet, beautiful cuts, no drama, they just work.

I did almost kill myself tipping it too far when moving it once though, the mass does deserve some respect. Just take the top wheel off, don't mess with tipping.

Yes I'm embarrassed that it is sitting on a pallet in this pic.

36 oliver.jpg

[Mark Gibney]

Steve that's a fine looking saw. No wonder your client's are drawn to it.
Warren and David, thanks for demystifying the motor and blade speed tangle for me.

[Bill Dufour]

Frank E. Jones was a distributor in Los Angeles according to owwm. Never made any tools. You will have to figure out the maker of that bandsaw. It may be a better make then F&E.
Bill D
A little more digging on OWWM says it may be oliver, american or rodgers.

[David Kumm]

Oliver and I believe American before becoming part of Yates were C frame saws. the Yates American were similar in design to the picture ( not C frame ) and I am not familiar with Rodgers. A Yates might be heavier than the F and E but as always, condition is everything at this level. Any parts needed will have to be made for either. Dave