My Shop and Machines

[Jerrdan john]

I am doing a series of videos on all of my antique machines in my shop. Up first is my Brown and Sharpe #3 Horizontal milling machine.

[PJs]

Something about old Iron and all the things it has seen and done in its lifetime...love it! Hard to decide whether to use it or restore it...or both! Curious how straight it all is and the ways and gib wear? My brother just picked up a 1939 SB 13" in great shape for a good price...can't wait to get to see it in person and help him go through it. Thanks for sharing and look forward to your other vids in the series. Thanks Jerrdan John! ~PJ

[kbalch]

Hey John,

Great stuff! I'm with you 100% - both on the fascination with old machinery and the value (however non-monetary) in saving them. I also believe that machines should be kept running and in good repair. No garage/hangar/shop queens on my watch!

I'm really looking forward to seeing what else you've saved from the scrap yard and kept running in your shop. Very cool!!

Ken

[Jerrdan john]

My name is Jonathan and I am a machine addict! The longer you operate a machine the better you know the machine and can get it to do work for you correctly. Even if it has a little wear on it. I rarely work with tolerances that are that important. Thinking about all the things I build a lot of the machining has to do with the looks anyway. It may be nice to have new machines with no wear, but I probably don't have as much in my entire collection as a new machine costs. I was born 35 miles from a gas station and grew up dirt poor with no running water, so it don't take much to make me feel rich!

[jere]

Very cool, I have a penchant for old cast iron also. Nothing as nice as your b&s though, amazing all the parts were there like that. I have seen quite a few on cl that are missing parts for quite a lot of money. The things people throw out can be really crazy. I have a 1919 jd Wallace bandsaw that either needs a replacement motor or some parts made from scratch of unknown design (brush holder for a repulsion induction motor). The motor has a housing that is cast just for the machine. I had to save it but ran into a few surprises for a "working" machine. So its good to see some light at the end of the tunnel in your case.

[Jerrdan john]

Would love to see some photos of your band saw. I am actually on part 5 of my shop tour I have quite a few more to do. Here is a link to my channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1...8m9ZoRpd7rgQCg I am running 3 repulsion induction motors and I like them. What all parts are you missing? Just the brush holders? Photo's would be great.

[Jerrdan john]

Here is a photo of one updated to a 4 speed. I would be willing to help anyway I can to get you back rolling. Jonathan

[jere]

I really enjoyed the shop videos you made, I could watch videos like them for hours! thanks for sharing the link, I will be on the look out for the others too. oh and neat bikes too! (You have the same problems with moisture as I do. I was taught to wipe Johnson s floor wax on bare steel surfaces to keep rust away. you might try it, the hardware stores sell it for $5 a can or so. the stuff is just a large can of clear shoe polish)

The photo of the saw you posted looks very similar to mine. That one might be a newer version, it has a cast table (mine has a piece of thin plate steel for a table). I wonder if those pulleys might have been a factory option later on, pretty interesting. on mine there is a pat pending cast in the blade guides so its supposed to be an early one.

I haven't been able to find any photos or diagrams of how the brush set up should be. when I bought the saw it had a single small bent screw holding the mismatched brushes to the contact surface. my understanding is the motor was being run as a repulsion only motor with out switching to induction as it originally did. someone in the saws past did some short cuts in the repair process. the saw did turn on with some authority but squealed like there was a bad bearing. so now I am trying to solve the mystery of how the motor should be.


Jerrdan john if you ever need to change a brush or a bearing in one of your repulsion induction motors I would love to see how the parts are set up. Or any other advice would be great as well.

here are some quick photos of everything ( sorry for the calamity in the background, too many projects at once)




been considering using a treadmill motor inside the old motor with some spacers, but it feels wrong.

[Jerrdan john]

Working on it for you, Just in case you don't have the tag, here is what you have.
Made in Chicago USA
J.D. Wallace & Co.
1/2 HP
110/220 Volts
AC
60hz
1800 RPM
Type RSA
No. 516811
General Electric Motors
I am not finished so give me just a little time. Jonathan

[Jerrdan john]

Jere, after a lot of research and even posting a couple adds for a Type RSA motor, I think your best bet is to adapt another motor to it. I would not feel back, I would actually feel good that the machine is being saved and not scrapped. I assume the treadmill motor is variable speed and that would be great. If you want to keep it vintage the one in the photo would work also. It's my understanding that the one in the photo is a few years newer then yours and the update was done in the 30's. Whatever you decide, I will help all I can either way. Jonathan