Peerless Power Hacksaw

Thanks Jim. Chuck pm'd me . I should have what he needs. Ski
 
I bought a Peerless saw in 1997 while I was going to a machinist school. I soon realized I bought the wrong saw, as it was missing several parts from the feed mechanism and the top v way had a piece broken out of the v. I tried to figure out how to make the missing parts, but didn't know what they looked like, much less how to make them. I got the parts from Ski yesterday, and finally, after almost 20 years I can move forward with this project. I still have cleaning, painting, and some minor repairs to finish before I have a working saw, but I have assembled enough of the saw to prove the parts will work with my saw. This is the best part of joining a forum like this. Ski posted the drawings which helped me find out what was missing from my saw, then sold me the parts I needed. Helping each other from across the country is an important part of this group. Thanks again Ski.
Chuck
 
image.jpeg I finally came up with a use for the Peerless saw base. I spent a bunch of time cleaning it up and prepping for paint, plus adding the leveling casters so I had something invested. I used a 1/4 " piece of steel and mounted my cheap Harbor Fright saw to it. I left the saw base unmodified. The Harbor Fright saw is no longer Unstable upright or horizontal.
 
Ski said:
A question for the moderators is ,do I have this in the correct category? It definitely qualifies as an Antique but maybe it is better suited for the saw section? ? Please let me know. I have been working slowly on the disassembly. So far I have found one major repair that needs a revisit. I will post pictures of that soon. I sent an email to the Peerless Company which is located in Oshkosh, Wi. I received a reply and after sending several pictures ,I now know for sure that the saw is a Standard model 6" saw. It was built in the 20's. I also recieved quite a bit of info on the machines. There are several versions of it with a 3 and 6 speed models out there,at least. This version is single speed. I would like to power it with a 3 phase motor/VFD so I can vary speed by motor rpm. I found "strokes per minute" info In the manuals/adjustment info I recieved from Peerless. With that info,I hope to determine what RPM motor,pulley combo would be best to get the best speed control and power. I have a extra 3 phase motor with a 1745 rpm rate but not sure how slow I could adjust it using a VFD without affecting the life of the motor so it may or may not be the one I need. I hope someone can answer that. The motor on it is a old heavy beadt,GE induction 3 phase that turns 845 rpms but unsure if it is any good.
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I saw one just like it when I was a kid, in a friend's father's shop in Napa, Ca. it was run from the line shaft, as were most of the other machines, then in High School, in the early 1960s, the machine shop that I attended had one, but with three speed motor drive, finally, I bought one just like it at auction in the late 1960s which I have in my home shop today. You are lucky that the one you show has never had the saw frame broken, as so many have; with mine, I was able to buy a new saw frame which made it cut straight again. I note that in your pictures, the part of the tee slot at the back end of the machine under the saw frame, has been broken, as I have seen on many of these machines; it is important to rig some sort of stop in line with the rear vise jaw outboard of the cut so that cut off pieces of stock cannot roll back at the end of the cut and get caught between the saw frame and the base casting, likely breaking the frame, as mine was; the stop on the outer end of the tee slot is just as important to stop the same thing from happening on that end as well.
 
Hope its OK to re-open an old thread, 'cause I just found a Peerless in the dungeon at work and got it running. I will be using it to cut blanks for the lathe. Currently using a chop saw that deflects and cuts crooked so I have to turn a lot of metal just to square off the end.

There is a deceptive coat of blue paint on ours, I thought it was brand-new! What a shock to find how old it is. The seller must have just painted it, and we never used it. The pump belt still had a tell-tale stripe of blue paint on it. They used fire-engine red to detail the "Peerless" logo, some of the shaft ends, the johnny-bar handles, and the arrow on the crank wheel. Looks like something from a tractor show.

I didn't notice any damage, but after reading this thread I know what to look for.

Mainly I wanted to ask about the pump. The pulley on the pump doesn't line up with the shiv on the crankshaft. Somebody had installed a belt of the correct length, but it was wrapped over the internal mechanism at about a 15-degree angle and would rub like hell if it had actually been used that way. It isn't worn so I think the seller just threw it on there to look good. I cut the belt off because I couldn't figure out how to remove it without major disassembly. Also the outside of the belt would have rubbed on the slot where it entered the base.

At first I thought there must have been an intermediate shaft that would make up the offset and probably increase the speed, considering the slow RPM of the crankshaft. But now that I know how old this is, maybe it's just not the right pump. I'm not enthusiastic about using coolant (I would use water-based if I did), maybe use it twice a month and coolant would sit in there all the time or I'd have to bail it out every time.

Should I feel guilty about not using coolant? Should I stand there with a Windex bottle? As pointed out by others, it is fun to watch.
 
You definitely should use coolant, but you are right about coolant spoilage, leave it sit without constant use, and it goes bad; in the Marvel hacksaw that I had, they said to use half light cutting oil and half kerosene, the mixture carries off heat much better than oil alone and the mixture promotes cutting and blade life. As to the belt alignment, I wonder if the pump pulley may be on the shaft backwards or otherwise out of position. The belt was originally round leather and held together at the joint by a with a clip that looks like a hog ring, but not sharp at the ends; I think McMaster Carr has the belting and clips; the belt size, I think is 3/8". The motor on mine is 1750 RPM.
 
benmychree said:
You definitely should use coolant, but you are right about coolant spoilage, leave it sit without constant use, and it goes bad; in the Marvel hacksaw that I had, they said to use half light cutting oil and half kerosene, the mixture carries off heat much better than oil alone and the mixture promotes cutting and blade life. As to the belt alignment, I wonder if the pump pulley may be on the shaft backwards or otherwise out of position. The belt was originally round leather and held together at the joint by a with a clip that looks like a hog ring, but not sharp at the ends; I think McMaster Carr has the belting and clips; the belt size, I think is 3/8". The motor on mine is 1750 RPM.
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The leather belting can be had on eBay much cheaper. Look under sewing machine belts. The new poly belts that glue up may be better but I'm not sure they will.
 
Make certain the pump turns easly.
It would be best to clean out the tank and pump before use as the chips can migrate into the pump and all the gunk
built up in the tank will just dirty new fluid.
By removing the pump you can find out why things are twisted too.
If possible, build a low fence around the pump intake so chips cant jump over the wall or add a filter.
Whatever fluid used, just fill the tank with enough to keep fluid on the cut and the pump from running dry.
 
I usually just apply occasional squirts of cutting oil manually.

When I got the machine (Marvel No. 9A power hacksaw) the reservoir was cracked and I assume it was because a water-based coolant was left in it and froze. I patched the cracks with fibreglass cloth and resin.

However, because I cannot guarantee my shop won't freeze, I will NOT fill it with a water-based coolant.
I tested a couple water based "soluble oil" fluids and yes they do freeze at their recommended mixing ratios.
I have been considering mixing them with automotive coolant instead of water, but never tried it.
Also, folks here keep warning about health affects of ethylene glycol.

Please let us know if you find a coolant you like.

-brino
 
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