# Craftsman Power Hacksaw Rebuild



## VSAncona

I picked up this Craftsman-branded power hacksaw a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd start a thread on rebuilding it. It was built by the Covel Manufacturing Co. for Sears. (Atlas later bought Covel and continued turning out the same saw under the Atlas and Craftsman labels.) It's pretty complete, but has seen a fair amount of use in its lifetime. It should be ideal for my small hobby shop. Here it is as I received it:





I started by taking it all apart. Here are all the parts on my bench, minus the lifting arm and frame which were in the electrolysis tank when I took the photo.





Aside from some wear, the only damage I've uncovered so far is a hairline crack in the base casting. I knew about this before I bought it, but after cleaning up the base I debated if I should just leave it alone or do something about it. I don't have any brazing experience, so I decided to drill a small hole at the end of the crack to stop it from spreading and hope that it will hold up.





I don't know how long it will take me to complete this project, but I'll try to update this thread as I go along. If anyone has worked on one of these before, I'd be happy to hear your experiences on what to look out for as I go along. Thanks.


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## wrat

Tuned-in and watching!

Wrat


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## ndnchf

Me too!  Keep it coming. I have a Marvel #2 that needs full restoration too.


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## wa5cab

If the bottom of the web that the crack runs up though is wide enough, I would suggest bridging the crack with steel flat bar and flat head screws.


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## VSAncona

Not a bad idea, Robert. Actually, if I made the repair from the back, it wouldn't even be visible.


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## wa5cab

OK.


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## pollardd

Looks like a great project and certainly a handy machine to have in your home shop.
The best projects are the ones likely to succeed and this one looks doable 
I look forward to seeing your progress.
David


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## westsailpat

Nice score , I love this vintage stuff . It would be really cool if you could find some cast iron legs for this machine .  Welding cast iron is not that difficult , I have done it . Grind a groove in the crack , pre heat with a flame torch and then arc weld with cast iron rod .


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## VSAncona

Spiral Chips -- Does your Excel hacksaw have the auto shut-off? I want to try and duplicate the setup on mine when I'm done restoring it.


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## VSAncona

I had a little free time this evening, so I decided to try Robert's suggestion for reinforcing the crack in the base. I made a little mending plate from a short piece of strap steel and drilled a couple of clearance holes in it:





Then I transferred the hole locations to the base of the hacksaw, drilled them out with a No. 36 drill, and tapped them for some #6 machine screws:





I installed the plate on the back of the casting, where it will be hidden:





After filing down the ends of the screws flush with the surface, you can barely see them. After painting, they should disappear. The relief hole at the top will get filled with some JB Weld before painting:





Hopefully that will stabilize the crack. If it doesn't, the repair will be easy enough to undo so the base can be welded/brazed.


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## Herbert

Could I get a close-up picture of the stop bar on the blade frame.  My Craftsman has a small hole with threads where the screw is in the  picture but no stop bar or switch assembly on it.  I suspect someone replaced the blade frame with one from a saw that had the switch like the Covel.  The switch will be my last addition as soon as I get the Crank Lever fixed.  UPS broke it in shipment so just waiting until after Xmas to braze it.


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## VSAncona

Any chance we could get some measurements of the block that holds the plunger rod? And hole locations for the rod?


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## Herbert

Thanks in advance.  That switch assembly is highly desirable when returning the saw to near original.   I plan to make one as well and the picture will let me see just the correct design to push the small bar.  Already have the toggle switch but I purchases a 20 amp switch with a ground connector.  I bet a lot of others are wondering about the shape and size of the assembly as well.


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## VSAncona

I've been really busy with work for the past month, but I finally found some time last week to make a little progress on the power hacksaw. I've got about half of the castings cleaned, stripped and repainted:


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## VSAncona

I started taking a closer look at some of the parts on this saw and have discovered some issues. First up is the pinion gear and shaft.





The large pulley that fits on the end of the shaft worked loose and the setscrew chewed up the end pretty bad:





The pinion gear is just pinned to the shaft. Clausing still sells the whole assembly as a unit for $74, which isn't really that bad when you think about it. But instead, I bought a length of turned, ground, and polished steel shaft, cut it to length, and milled a couple of flats on one end at my Atlas milling machine:





The new shaft alongside the old one:





Unfortunately, while I was milling the flats, the motor on my milling machine started making a really bad howling noise. I didn't bother to take a look at the motor when I went through my milling machine a couple of years ago, so I pulled the bearings and sure enough, one of them was bone dry and crunchy. So now I'm out of commission until the new bearings arrive. One project always seems to lead to another:


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## Herbert

It's interesting how some of these end up needing restoration in areas you wouldn't think would get damaged from traditional usage.  I'm enjoying the challenge.  On mine, the Rear and Front Guard were sprung and damaged from the Crank Lever breaking.  Both have been straightened and reshaped and ready for paint.  Also the bushings on the Pinion Shaft assembly were missing so I have some oilite bushing material arriving today to make two new ones.  And the connector pin for the draw end of the blade was drilled out and I assume someone put in a bolt and nut.  The outer end is fine with the split pin on the slant and tight.   I'm going to braze the hole full and ream a new hole on the opposing angle similar to the front so the blade is held as original.  I'm sure the bolt would work just as well but trying to restore as best I can to original.


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## FOMOGO

VSAncona said:


> One project always seems to lead to another:



  So true. Mike


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## ndnchf

Did you source the turned, ground and polished shaft locally or online?


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## Herbert

Here is a switch from A Sawmaster posted by AR1911.  The whole picture is the top group of the forum.  I zoomed in to see how it was actually made.  This appears simple and functional.  Not sure of any down-side features but  a lot more simple to include then the larger slant block and rod.   I  haven't looked at the back side curve for the clearance of the switch but another feature to consider.


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## VSAncona

ndnchf -- I purchased the shaft material online from an ebay vendor. The price was a little higher, but shipping was more reasonable.

Continuing on with the restore, a well-intentioned but misinformed previous owner had drilled holes in the oilite bushings for the pinion gear shaft:





I ordered a couple of replacement bushings from MSC and turned a little pusher tool to insert them:





I turned the narrow end of the insertion tool to a diameter that was just slightly larger than the desired I.D. of the bushing. The idea is that when you press the bushing in place, the tool prevents the bushing from closing in on itself. It worked perfectly, leaving about a thou of clearance between the shaft and the bushing:


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## VSAncona

Herbert said:


> Here is a switch from A Sawmaster posted by AR1911.  The whole picture is the top group of the forum.  I zoomed in to see how it was actually made.  This appears simple and functional.  Not sure of any down-side features but  a lot more simple to include then the larger slant block and rod.   I  haven't looked at the back side curve for the clearance of the switch but another feature to consider.



The only downside I see to that setup is that if you want to turn the machine off manually, you have to be real quick so as not to get your fingers smashed.


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## Hawkeye

If you have a master switch somewhere on the stand and feed the shutoff switch from that, it will be a lot safer.

I noticed the detail in your photos of the vise on your saw. When I got mine, the movable parts of the vise were missing. I've been drawing up a new vise from your pictures.


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## Herbert

I agree with the master switch idea.  There are a number of "You Tube" videos of these saws which include at least one that shows the toggle switch/rod assembly being manual turned on by hand.  These show the toggle being pushed to start but none seem to show turning the machine off by hand which might indicate that's a problem for the fingers if not careful as mentioned.  A Master Switch....good idea.


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## wolfsburged

Good work so far! Does the power hacksaw do anything "better" than a small horizontal band saw? They seem to have become obsolete and just wondering why.


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## VSAncona

wolfsburged said:


> Good work so far! Does the power hacksaw do anything "better" than a small horizontal band saw? They seem to have become obsolete and just wondering why.



I don't have much experience with either type, so I'm not the best person to ask. From what I've read, the power hacksaw is slower, but takes less expensive blades and is maybe a little less fussy to keep aligned and working properly.


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## Hawkeye

The main reason to restore a power hacksaw is the same as for a shaper. There are other and probably better ways to do the job, but this one is just plain cool. Like a campfire, you can't help but stare at it when it is running.


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## wa5cab

The bandsaw is simpler mechanically, and can be made available in both vertical, horizontal and combination.  Plus it is quicker as it loses no time on the return stroke.  Once it became commercially practical to make the continuous blades in any circumference, the power hacksaws fell into disuse.  But either type is capable of doing the same quality work.  And as was said above, they are more interesting to watch work.


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## VSAncona

Ironically, the same week that I acquired the power hacksaw, this popped up on Craigslist for a reasonable price:





I was debating on which one to start working on first. As others have said, the power hacksaw is just more fun to watch so that made the decision for me. The horizontal band saw will have to wait awhile.


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## Round in circles

That crack , It may not be as difficult as you think to get a good repair on it without using stitching plates & making more holes  

I've just had a large cast iron casting with a smashed  bearing clamp repaired . 
|The owner decided he would service his 50 year old wood turning lathe .
He hadn't a clue as to what he was doing and as a result broke the 1x 2 .5 " high speed ball bearing races clamp by using a 4 pound hammer to try and bray things apart . As a result he managed to actually break the clamp off at the main casting body part  . It runs at 1500 rpm turning a 18 inch saw blade or a big polishing wheel at the opposite end 

I took it 30 miles away to my friend " Glan " who is a 69 year old highly skilled welder & asked if he had any cast iron arc welding rods . Depends on what you want to weld was his typical reply . " Spherical cast iron casting , reasonable quality, medium  carbon content " I told him .  Yes he had several different rods ( prices are about USD 7 each for a 3.2 mm rod ) 

 He had a good look at things .
I made a thin packing piece so that when it was inserted in the pinch bolt  gap the bearing cap was just touching the bearing casing & gently tightened it up in the best alignment I could do .  The break was then modified to a clean cut " Vee "  that went almost right through the whole cap . Glan used a thin 1 mm  blade on a 4 " angle grinder to cut the crystallized broken cast out ., evidently you are wasting your time if you don't cut out the crystallization of the break back to quality solid clean cast
 .

Once everything was checked  /realigned He use his inverter arc welder at 148 amps to weld the casting with this rod . The Ausinite weld was fantastic  , he'd built it up slightly proud of the cast iron body , ready for me to grind it off to the contours of the casting once it had cooled naturally . 
I also had to give the bearing mating faces an angels kiss with my Dremel to de rust & clean up a few score marks .

 Next time I have a broken cast iron job come in I'm going to see if I can buy the repair welding rod/s off eBay and do it myself


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## VSAncona

If I had any welding skills or knew someone who I trusted, I would have it brazed I've seen enough botched brazing jobs to make me a little wary of taking it to just anyone, so for now I will just leave with the mending plate.

I had the day off, so I spent a little more time on the hacksaw. After making the new shaft for the pinion gear, I took a closer look at the gear itself:





I don't know how well it shows up in this photo, but there is a fair amount of wear on the teeth of the pinion gear. The gear is twice as long as it needs to be, so I could probably just flip it end for end and use the unworn half. But since I've never cut a gear before, I thought I'd give it a try. I bought a cut-off of Stressproof steel for the gear blank and faced off the ends to length. Here is the blank next to the original gear:





Then I chucked it up in my lathe and drilled and reamed a 1/2" hole in the center:





Next, I pressed the blank onto a 1/2" arbor:





With the blank mounted on the arbor, I was able to mount it on my lathe between centers and turn it down to finished diameter of 1". I've never worked with Stressproof steel before. It turns really nice:


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## VSAncona

To cut the teeth on the gear blank, I decided to try out these indexing centers that came with my mill when I bought it. I don't think they've been used in many years because they were seized up and missing a couple of little parts. I got them freed up and working though:





The indexer is pretty simple. You simply mount a gear on the end and use it to index the teeth. I am making a 16 pitch, 14-tooth gear, so I mounted a 56-tooth gear on the indexer and used every fourth tooth when cutting the teeth in the blank. I bought a bunch of used gear cutters on ebay awhile back and as luck would have it, I had the cutter I needed on hand:





My little mill didn't seem to like it when I tried to cut the first tooth at full depth. So I backed off and cut the teeth in stages:













For my first attempt at gear cutting, I was pretty happy with how it turned out. I still need to cross drill the gear and shaft and ream the hole for a taper pin, but here it is alongside the original:


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## VSAncona

I made a little more progress this weekend. First I replaced the Oilite bushing in the main gear:





I noticed that the pin that the main gear rotates on had some wear. So I made a new replacement pin (it's in the photo below, alongside the old pin). There's a 60° taper on one end and the other end is drilled and tapped for a machine screw. I still need to tap the hole, just waiting on the tap. There's an oil groove milled along the length of the pin. I also still need to drill and ream a cross hole for the taper pin that secures it to the main body.





I finished painting all the parts that needed it:





And I cleaned up all the hardware:





I've still got one or two small parts to make, and then I should be ready to start reassembling things.


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## ndnchf

Coming along great Vince, can't wait to see it back together and in action.   I have a somewhat bigger cousin of your saw - a Marvel Drawcut #2 and the same Craftsman bandsaw.  Both are very useful.


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## VSAncona

I really like that Marvel saw. It looks big enough to do some serious cutting, but still compact enough to fit into a small shop. It kind of makes my Craftsman saw look like a toy.


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## ndnchf

It is pretty neat, but a bit overkill for my needs.  It came with a 1725 rpm motor, but that ran waaay too fast.  I installed an 825 rpm motor, now its runs as it should.  But a small one like yours is really better suited to a home shop.  It does cut very straight, more than I can say for the Craftsman band saw.


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