Liquid Wrench saves the day...

Restoration can be a painfully slow process when life keeps getting in the way!  Work piling up at the office and grass growing like crazy due to an early spring has kept me away from the toolshed, but I finally managed to get back to the DeWalt 780 and try to figure out a problem that I was having with the miter function.  Try as I might, I couldn't get the miter lock to release so that the radial arm could be rotated on the column.

Although I have a photocopied version of the DeWalt Instruction and Maintenance Manual for this saw, the photos leave a lot to be desired and the instructions just didn't seem to jive with any of my attempts to unlock the arm.  Further complicating matters, my manual lacked a parts list or schematic, so I had no corresponding visual representation of how the component parts were supposed to function.

A missing part found...

In my post of February 11, I discussed one of the problems that I was having in restoring my DeWalt Powershop 780 12" Radial Saw...that being, that the height adjustment mechanism needed to be reworked in order to prevent it from turning inside the main column.  I had to dismount the saw from the stand in order to get  thing home and assumed that I had lost a critical piece in the process of doing so.

Craftsman 16" Scroll Saw - Model No. 113.236110

Manufactured: 1986 (est.) / Acquired 06-12-2011.  It's always refreshing to buy a tool that has absolutely nothing wrong with it mechanically...especially when it's cheap - or even better - free.  I've always thought of the scroll saw as being more in the realm of "toy" than "tool" - a saw designed for making crafts and not one particularly suited to the needs of a serious woodworker. My opinion changed the first time I used this one.

A product that delivers...

The folks at Boeing market Rust Free in conjunction with their wonder lubricant, Boeshield  T-9 (more on that later.)  After reading a number of favorable reviews about these products, I decided to give them a try  Unfortunately, I didn't catch them on sale and paid nearly $30 for a combo-pack at Sears.

Although a bit pricey, this product does exactly what the manufacturer says it will do...it removes rust from metal, does so quickly and is a terrific aid in the restoration process.

Craftsman 10" Table Saw - Model No. 113.298720

 

Manufactured: 1987 (est.) / Acquired 02-04-2012. The purchases are getting newer and more expensive...but relatively so.  This one set me back $100, but was a steal at the price and again, my bargain hunting was aided by a very poor Craigslist ad comprised of two very dark and out-of-focus pictures of something that resembled a rusty truck bumper and some text describing this as an "old table saw" that "runs good."

DeWalt Powershop 780 12" Radial Saw

 

Manufactured: 1980 (est.) / Acquired 01-19-2012.  I'm still "on-the-fence"about this purchase...but sometimes, you buy something for the component parts that make up the whole and not for the whole as assembled.  In its day, this was a top of the line radial arm saw sporting a full 12" (rather than the more common 10") blade.  Again, the reputation of the manufacturer (DeWalt) factored into my decision to part with $50, but it was not the deciding factor.

Rockwell Delta 11-280 32" Radial Drill Press

Manufactured: 1973 (est.) / Acquired 09-06-2011.  It’s not going to be the prettiest tool in the shop, but I can’t wait to get this one up and running.  After scouring Craigslist for months looking for a good, cheap floor model drill press only to show up "one caller too late" to the guys who bought the ones I wanted, I hit upon the ad for this one at 8:30 in the morning before heading into the office.