As a few of you know I relocated last year to my Mom's house to take care of her and the "home place". Since the move I have been doing all sorts of strange and exotic stuff like carpentry and masonry repair. I decided I needed a table saw for the first time in my life.
OK, first off, I am a metal guy. To date my finest wood working accomplishments have been done with Stihl brand wood working tools. Gas, MIG, Stick, and TIG but still haven't found a suitable rod for wood.
That all said, then why was I even looking at a C-list ad for a tablesaw? The ad said it was a Craftsman 103-23834 and it was complete. The photos showed the saw with both cast iron table extensions and optional stand. I went to OWWM and looked for some dirty paper on this critter and thanks to Kieth Rucker there was the OE owners manual. A quick read through I decided for the $75 asking price it was probably a decent enough deal, back to C-list to respond to the ad and lo and behold the ad had been deleted.
Since I have been arguing with myself for the past couple of months whether or not I really need a table saw, I was a bit disappointed. OH well, I did a search to see if there was anything else interesting available in the KC area and turned up several newer tin plate models and one ad for a "Older Craftsman Saw". The photos with the ad were actually just two black blobs from a cell phone picture so I ran them through a photo editor and lightened them up. There sat another 103-23834 with the fence, miter guage, and the frequently missing blade guard. I sent the e-mail immediately asking if the saw was still available and was the $20 asking price accurate. The PO called me within the hour and said yes to both questions. I asked if there was anything else for the saw and he said there were a couple of "egg crate looking things that fit on it somehow". I asked if we could met in a couple of hours to see the saw and he agreed and gave me the address and directions.
On a good day it would be an hour and a half drive to get to the location and I gave it another 30 minutes anticipating the holiday and football traffic (Missouri/KU game being played in Kansas City). Much to my surprise I arrived a half hour early and there set the seller. The house was for sale and there were just a few items left in the garage he had come early to clear out.
We introduced ourselves and commented the traffic was much lighter than either expected. "Some things are just meant to be" he said as we entered the house to see the saw. He explained the saw had been his father's and then passed to him. He was getting divorced and had tried to sell it in a garage sale, but everyone told him it was "Too old. You can't get parts for it anymore."
I looked the saw over and the seller produced an extension cord and asked "Want to hear it run?". He plugged it in and I flipped the switch. It spooled up and purred smoothly. OK I was sold.
He produced the "egg crate things" and there was one OEM CI table extension and one welded from 1"X1/4" strap iron. "Dad dropped one of these and it broke, so he welded one up" the seller explained.
"20 bucks you say?"
"Yeah, I think it is worth that. The motor should be worth that much." the seller responds.
Now I am not too bashful about telling someone they are nuts, but this time I let it pass since it was working in my favor and just handed over the cash before he could change his mind. I unbolted the saw from the home made wooden stand to transport it home. The stand was left for disposal as it was rather crudely constructed and was suffering from water damage to the legs.
As I was tearing the saw down the seller asked if I might be interested in the fire extinguisher setting beside it for a dollar so I took that too.
The table is rusty but no serious pits. The OEM miter, blade guard, and rip fence survive intact and usable. The one CI table extension is mounted with the welded replacement below. The only part missing on the saw is the aluminum fence extrusion. The weldment has no mounting holes drilled yet so I have to do that before it is ready for service. I did lay it on a granite plate and was pleasantly surprised to find it flat and reasonably flat across the face.
The trim is in perfect condition. No scratches, no dents.
The Proctologist view from the rear.
The motor was replaced some time ago. This is the 3/4 HP GE replacement. The switch appears to have been replaced but the box is original early 50's vintage.
Motor Spec Plate.
Since these pictures were taken last fall, I needed to build some accessibility steps for Mom so she can get in and out of the house easier. I mounted the saw to a Horrible Fright work table that has been hanging around and it proved to be a perfect set up putting the table at my preferred height of 40". I still want to make a better top and do a bit of work on the motor mount just to clean up the installation. Pics of all of that to come later when and if I get around to restoring this thing.
