# Craftsman 3x6 horizontal bandsaw



## mickri (Apr 29, 2019)

Went to a farm auction last Saturday and sitting in an old shed gathering dust and rust for maybe decades was an old Craftsman 3x6 horizontal band saw model 101.22922.   $40 dollars and it's mine.  Here's a picture from the auction website. 







Got it home and promptly started tearing it apart.  Forgot to take a before picture.  Oops.  Everything seemed to be working except for the feed cylinder.  Just lots of dirt and surface rust.  I oiled the bearings in the motor and it is purring like a warm kitten.  Next I started cleaning the rust and dirt off of the stand.  A few hours later and it got a coat of black rustoleum.  Another coat tomorrow.  This is a 50' paint job.  Looks good from a distance.  What can I say?  It won't win any awards.

On to the feed cylinder.  My first thought was that some of the O rings might need replacing because it was leaking fluid as I fiddled with it.  Took it apart and cleaned everything inside and out.  All of the O rings looked Ok.  Back together, mounted on the saw and filled it up with fluid.  No leaks and seems to be working property.  That's it for today.  Saw is just sitting on the stand for the pictures.


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## vocatexas (Apr 29, 2019)

Nice score! I bought it's brother last week. 108.22920 is it's number. If you need tires for it let me know. I found a place that has 6 inch rubber tires. They came in today, but I haven't tried to put them on yet.


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## markba633csi (Apr 30, 2019)

Be careful, those quicky paint jobs are sometimes permanent


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## mickri (Apr 30, 2019)

The paint job is definitely permanent.  Put a 2nd coat on this morning.  I don't plan to paint the stand again in my lifetime.  Voca thanks for the heads up on the tires.  Don't know if I need replacements.  Haven't got that far yet.


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## vocatexas (May 1, 2019)

I just ran across this in case anybody has the need for a new drive gear:









						Sears/Craftsman Band Saw Bevel Gear - Part 341-299 by taylorsizem_re on Shapeways
					

Check out Sears/Craftsman Band Saw Bevel Gear - Part 341-299 by taylorsizem_re on Shapeways and discover more 3D printed products in Mechanical Parts.




					www.shapeways.com


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## mickri (May 2, 2019)

Thanks.  I bookmarked the site.  My gear looks to be ok.  I cleaned it up yesterday and it has all of it's teeth.  Was out running errands today.  Picked up some light grey paint for the saw.   Cleaned all of the little parts yesterday.  Very little rust.  Just lots of caked on dirt and grime.  Underneath all of the dirt and grime was light grayish green paint.  Tomorrow I will clean up the two big pieces and get everything painted.  Should have the saw back together by Friday.  I have lots of steel to cut up for various projects.


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## mickri (May 3, 2019)

It is all back together.  Doesn't look too bad.  I think that I have everything adjusted properly.  One tooth broke off of the plastic bevel gear.  Doesn't seem to affect the running of the saw.  I probably need to replace the blade.  Haven't tried to cut anything yet.  That will be the true test.


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## mickri (May 4, 2019)

Even with the old blade the saw cut fairly quickly through 1 1/4 square 1018.  But the cuts are not even close to being straight.  I cut oversize in anticipation of this.  I will keep playing with the adjustments.  I do not expect to get any kind of precision in the cuts.


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## mickri (May 10, 2019)

Well I think that I am going backwards.  Or at least not making much if any headway.  I used my machinist square to square up the blade.  That worked pretty good to square up the blade both vertical and horizontal.











I am running into 2 problems.  Both might be caused by the saw blade.  First the blade wants to slide down off of the guide rollers.  In reading the owner's manual it states that this happens because the rollers are not tight enough against the blade.  I have the rollers as tight as I can get them and the blade still gradually slides down off of the rollers as it makes a cut.  The tension of the blade seems to factor into this.  The other problem is that the blade sticks in the cut.   This I think is caused by the blade being dull and old.

Suggestions please.


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## mickri (Jul 2, 2019)

I got a new blade off of Ebay and the teeth are going the wrong direction.  When looking at the new blade the teeth face to the right.  On the old blade the teeth face to the left.  There is nothing on the packaging that references the direction of the teeth.  Did I just get a bad blade or am I missing something?

Since posting the above I have been looking at band saw blades and every picture I see looks like the the teeth face to the right.  Are craftsman horizontal band saw blades odd balls?


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## craniac (Jul 2, 2019)

See if you can grab the blade with gloves on on flip it inside out. That wasn't very clear. Not sure how to say it...

Or, you can put a foot down through the loop and then turn it inside out at the top of the loop. just tried it myself. works.

Tim


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## craniac (Jul 2, 2019)

I have one of these saws I'd like to put into service so following this with interest.

tc


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## mickri (Jul 2, 2019)

That works.  Took no effort at all to flip the blade inside out.  Now the teeth are pointed to the left and the saw cuts.  Thank you, Thank you.

On to the next problem I am having.  The blade guide rollers are held in place by a snap ring.  As the rollers turn they put pressure on the snap ring and the snap ring pops out of the little groove that it sits in.  Then works its way down the shaft until it eventually falls off.  I have tried to clean up the groove.  That didn't help.  I am thinking about threading the shaft for a lock nut.  Any other suggestions.


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## craniac (Jul 2, 2019)

I'm having the same problem, hadn't thought of a solution other than replacing the snap rings.

tc


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## mickri (Jul 2, 2019)

I found the manual online and have downloaded it to my computer.  I have been reviewing the parts diagram and the washers are different sizes and thicknesses on the outer rollers verses the inner rollers if that makes any sense.  Also the outer rollers have a washer between the felt and the saw guide bracket that the inner rollers don't have.  My problem is on the outer rollers.  The guide roller shafts are the same.  My outer guide roller shafts show evidence of galling.  So I am swapping the inners to be outers to see if that makes any difference.  My inner rollers appear to be all original.  On the other hand the outer rollers have a mishmash of different size felts and washers.  I wonder where I can get the felts.  If getting the correct washers in the correct positions doesn't solve the problem then I will thread the shafts and put a lock nut on it.

That's where I am right now.


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## mickri (Jul 12, 2019)

Might have solved the problem with the snap rings coming off.  I picked up some 1/4" push nuts and pushed them onto the shaft.  Did a couple of test cuts and all went well.  Got a pretty straight cut too.  Within what I would expect for a hacksaw.


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## macardoso (Jul 12, 2019)

McMaster sells heavy duty snap rings which should hold on a lot tighter.









						McMaster-Carr
					

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.




					www.mcmaster.com


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## mickri (Jul 12, 2019)

Thanks for the suggestion to McMaster-Carr.  The snap ring I would need is 1/4."  The smallest MC heavy duty snap ring is 1/2."   I think part of the problem with the snap rings is that the groove has worn allowing the snap ring to easily slip out of the groove.


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## mickri (Jul 19, 2019)

The band saw is running and makes an ok cut.  I like to oil my machines every time I use them.  All of the oil points (wrong term??) are one of those little spring loaded balls that push down to let the oil flow down to where it needs to go.  Only problem is no oil ever seems to go in.  The oil just runs over the top.  I tried cutting the tip of my oiler at an angle so the point could depress the ball.  The tip will depress the ball but no oil seems to go in.  I tried a point on a nail to hold the ball down and still no success.

What am I doing wrong?  Or what do I need to be able to oil the band saw?


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## macardoso (Jul 22, 2019)

mickri said:


> What am I doing wrong? Or what do I need to be able to oil the band saw?



I've found ball oilers to be frustratingly difficult to actually get oil into until I switched over to precision needle bottles. I buy them from McMaster (https://www.mcmaster.com/1902t127-1902T47) and absolutely love them. You can push the ball in with the needle then squeeze the oil in. The small hole helps me not waste a ton of oil. The size I linked seems to be a good needle gauge for oils up to Vactra #2.

You oilers might be crusted up inside. In that case I would drill them out, clean the hole, and install a new one.


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## mickri (Jul 22, 2019)

Thanks for the tip on what to use and where to get them.


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## mickri (Oct 9, 2019)

Finally got some wheels off of Ebay.   Without the wheels it was very difficult to move the saw.  Now it is a breeze to move it wherever I want it.







Happened to notice that the motor that came with the saw ran at 3450 rpm which I thought was high.  In reading the manual the motor is supposed to run at 1725 rpm which gives a sfpm of 135.   I have two drill presses.  One is used for metal and the other is used only on wood.  Their motors run at 1725 rpm.  So I swapped the motor from the wood drill press.  I didn't think that having a faster motor on the wood drill press would matter.  I didn't swap the pulleys.  I can adjust the speed of the band saw by changing which pulley I have the belt on.  Currently it is on the smallest pulley which should give a sfpm of 90.  I have also played around with the feed rate.  Other than a faster cut I haven't noticed any difference with feed rate when cutting 1 1/4 x 2 1018 bar stock.


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## rhjo51 (Nov 21, 2019)

Hello All, new Guy here. I recently picked up one of these Craftsman 108.22921 Horizontal Band Saws for a few bucks. It's now disassembled and waiting on cleaning. I will need new tires, can someone tell me where I can get them. I may also need one oiler, any source for these? Thanks - Jim


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## mickri (Nov 21, 2019)

rhjo51  Contact VocaTexas.  He knows of a source for tires.


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## rhjo51 (Nov 22, 2019)

Thanks for letting me know.


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## lafester (Dec 2, 2019)

I just picked one of these up and am currently going through it to make sure it is ready to go.
The cylinder on mine was in pieces so I am not sure I have it set up correctly. Would hate to mess up irreplaceable parts.
Anyway I am just confused as the bottom nut goes about half way before stopping but does not look to be damaged. Is this intentional?
Also confused about the cap. If you set the oil fill screw all the way in so it seals you cannot screw the cap all the way in which seems odd (and then the cap seal is worthless). And, finally, I am confused about the top knob... what exactly is it supposed to do to release pressure?

Thanks to anyone who can show me how all of this works. I am just happy that all the parts were there and not damaged. If anyone has found replacement seals and o rings that would be a good thing to have on hand.

Maybe it is just late and I should look at it in the morning.


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## mickri (Dec 2, 2019)

Here is a link to the manual.  http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=6884  It might have answers to your questions.  If not I will try to help you out.


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## lafester (Dec 2, 2019)

Nah, the manual does not discuss any of my questions. I did notice this manual does have a slightly different parts list for the cylinder... good thing I wasn't trying to check against this one when I was putting it together. I'll be going out to look at it again in a few. I'm sure it will make more sense today.


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## mickri (Dec 2, 2019)

What is the model number on your saw.  There are a couple of variations over the years.  Here is a link to the model that I have.  http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/222/5221.pdf

If you look at your parts the top knob is connected to a needle valve.  As you turn the knob from 0 to 1 to 2 and so on you open the needle value which allows oil to flow from the bottom to the top. This in turn allows the seal/piston to go down into the cylinder at a controlled rate and controls the speed of the cut.  This is explained in more detail in the manuals.

Can't answer your question about the bottom nut. 

As to the fill screw do you have the correct length screw.  It could have been changed over the years.  The parts list for my saw lists it as a 10x24 x 1/4 long.


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## lafester (Dec 2, 2019)

Yeah I took it all apart again and figured out the needle valve. It was screwed on so tight together there is no way that valve was ever going to move. Sure seems like everything is just going to spin rather then open and close but I guess it has been working fine for everyone all these years. I do not see anything in the manual explaining how this works other then to turn the knob which is obvious. 

The bottom threads were indeed damaged so I cleaned them up and now the seal is nice and tight up against the guard. I'm pretty sure I have a 1/2 inch fill screw which I assumed was stock since the seal washer is there. I'll check the parts list but it is reasonable to assume it is the wrong size. 

Thanks for the explanation! I'll get some pics of all the little pieces since I do not think they are posted anywhere.


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## mickri (Dec 2, 2019)

These band saws were made up to 50 years ago.  It is definitely reasonable to assume the screw has been changed to the wrong size.  Glad to hear that you are getting things figured out.  Do you have the same saw as I do?  Model #101-22922.  You will to get a needle oiler if you don't have one to oil all of those little ball check oil spots.  I got mine off Ebay.  Getting the blade to track right took some fiddling.


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## lafester (Dec 3, 2019)

Mine is the 108 model. I will be keeping an eye out for the one that goes vertical and has a stand. 
Here are some pics of the cylinder. I think I am good to go, just need to get the thing filled up. 
Spindle oil is the closest thing I have to 20 wt so hopefully it is not too thin.


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