It was a busy day today.

I’ve been working an hour or so every night after work all week on that Bandsaw I got last weekend.

As far as I can tell, it was made either during WWII or shortly afterwards so it’s at least 80 years old.

The old one horse GE motor that was hanging off it was completely seized.

I opened up the oil caps on the ends and filled them with penetrating oil and then let it soak for 24 hours.

The next night I put some oil in them and then used a small pair of Adjustable pliers, I grabbed the shaft and started trying to work it back and forth. Surprisingly, it broke loose and would spin.

The little tin box on the side where the wires all come together was rusted out and I bent the hell out of it trying to get the screw out. After 45 minutes of messing with it, I grabbed an angle grinder with a new flap wheel on it and just ground the head of the screw off to get it open.

By then the boz was wasted.

I found a bigger one but then had to drill mounting holes in the case plus another one for a ground screw becuase it didn’t have one.

Then I tapped the holes and put heat shrink around the wires coming out of the motor.

After I got it wired up, I picked the heavy bastard off the floor where I had been working and put it on the bench that I cleaned off.

I clamped it down, put a plug on the end of the cord and plugged it in.

Amazingly, it came right to life!!

It’s actually running in this picture.

I had gone and picked up Jesse just before that so after I saw it run, we started in on some other projects.

Like hanging safety signs all over.

There were a couple more .

I spent over $120 on safety signs, safety glasses and ear plugs.

Those little signs ain’t cheap.

I’m still working on the hair and will be much more aware of things like long sleeves,.

I have been pounding the safety thing into him and myself both.

Then I had him put the base plate I made underneath the sheet metal shear I bought a few months ago.

When he got done, we discovered that I hadn’t countersunk the holes for the bolt heads enough so he had to grind them flush.

So far so good.

I still have to get 3 full face shields and it looks like a box of hair ties.

Those at least are cheap, the face shields are going to be another hundred bucks but they will be coming.

I didn’t take any pictures of it but I cleaned up a rusty old arbor with 5/8’s 11 threads in it that was about 4 inches long and and inch and a quarter in diameter and then gave him a demonstration on applying gun bluing on it to keep it from rusting again.

So it was a busy day. Tomorrow is going to be busy again doing other things so my weekend is pretty much shot.

But things are getting done and I am just working through the pain until I have to take a break.

I figure it beats sitting on my ass being a Keyboard Commando.

Like many, he is reminiscing about the days that are gone and never coming back. Yes, this country used to make good stuff that lasted. But he’s not telling the whole story here.

I found another video he made where he shows some of the rest of the story.

Even the old stuff wasn’t bullet proof. Wear, the elements and time take their toll.

He is lucky that he can still get parts for it.

Some things you can, some things you can’t.

I guess my point here is that if you are fortunate enough to have or find something that was built right, it pays to take care of it in the first place or else have the ability to adapt alternatives.

My hobby is finding old tools and machinery and bringing it back to life.

I enjoy the process. Most of the time I literally give the stuff away when I get done with it.

Finding parts anymore is half the problem.

Stupid things like little sealed ball bearings.

This old band saw I drug home last week needs new bearings. I got to looking and found some of them to have been out of production for 25 years. Little bearings barely an inch and quarter in diameter made by an outfit called New Process.

I have run across them before.

They can still be found on Ebay and some other places. They want anywhere from $25 to one place wanting $96 for one bearing.

Any Chinesium bearing that will fit will absolutely not have the quality or longevity if you can even find one that does fit.

Normally, I can get on Amazon and have a pack of 10 little bearings like that shipped to my house for less that $10.

I’m not going to do that. I’m going to do it right so this thing lasts another 80 years.

I’m just as bad as anyone else pining for a time that doesn’t exist and is never coming back but I also face reality and try to be adaptable.

That is a skill I’m not sure you can teach, adaptability.

But it is going to be an essential skill going forward from here.

This is one case where that option doesn’t exist unfortunately.