Another new toy.

[martinka]

PT, I am hoping I have enough parts to bolt the green one together so that it can be used, hence tackling the rusty one first. I'm already fed up of scraping rust off. The casting of the legs and top is terribly rough on the inside so it is very difficult to clean. I'm afraid it's going to be a matter of getting it clean and dry and using lots of smooth Hammerite. I can't really afford to have it blasted and I get a lot of pain in my hands which cuts down on the time I can spend on it in one go. I've got a pal looking out for a needle scaler for my compressor and I'm also considering trying electrolysis rust removal, but I can only work inside the garage, so it's a bit dangerous. Still, it's not a race so I can take my time coming up with a solution..

 

[Dalboy]

Small parts can be cleaned with citric acid which can be brought from the chemist. And when finished with it it can be put down the drain

 

[martinka]

Small parts can be cleaned with citric acid which can be brought from the chemist. And when finished with it it can be put down the drain

How effective is it? I wish it were the small parts that's the problem, but I have an 8" wire wheel that makes a nice job of those. Makes a good job of my finger ends at times too, if I'm too lazy to make a jig to hold the parts. The legs, the treadle and the top bar are the real problem.

 

[Dalboy]

I found it very good on some tools I got. It will not remove heavy rust, and once you have got the rust off it is important to dry everything well and prime or paint as soon as posibble afterwards. You buy the citric acid in dry form and mix with water. Citric acid is used in jam making, you may be asked what you want it for.

 

[powertools]

Quick update.
The main metal work on my machine is not in too bad condition so I will approach the rebuild in 2 separate stages.
The biggest problem I have is the arms are bent and the metal straps that should stop this from happening are useless and the crude adjustment is at it,s full extent.
I have had a large chunk of what I think is beech for some time and I have cut a slice from it that will be enough to make 2 new arms.
I have tried to show the arms and the beech in the poor quality photo.
It is my intention to then come up with a better way of stopping the arms from bending when trying to tension the blade.
This project is not to restore the saw to what it was when it was made but to try and improve it.

The main metal work will be finished in blue smothrite because I like the colour and I have enough to do the job.

 

[martinka]

Been doing a bit of cleaning up and painting and made an arm from treadle to lower pulley. No idea what the wood is, it's from an old kitchen cupboard door. Had to cut it with the circular saw as I couldn't cut it straight enough with the scroll saw.
37C here in the garage soI'm dribbling sweat all over the paint. :mrgreen:

 

[powertools]

That is good progress.
I have made the new arms for mine.
They are a bit thicker and not as tapered as the originals I have included an original in the picture for comparison.
I have not drilled the holes yet because I want to replace the original roofing bolts that held it together with something more suitable and will then drill the arms to suit the new bolts.

 

[martinka]

I suppose there's chance these old kitchen unit doors could be beech, but I don't know one type of wood from the next. It feels strong, so I am hoping I have some more pieces down the cellar that are big enough for the arms. I've just painted the first coat of red smooth Hammerite on the lower pulley but when I came to clean the brush with Hammerite thinners, it won't touch it. Trust me to use my only good brush this time. I generally use Poundland brushes for Hammerite and throw them away

 

[martinka]

I decided to paint the pulleys bright orange to match my bike and the Hegner. :mrgreen: Not really, they are actually bright red. The strip lights probably make them look orange.
I can't get the pulleys to line up, no matter what I try, yet everything appears to be in line until I install the pulleys. I'll have to take it apart again and check to see if there is any twist in the legs.

 

[martinka]

Dunno what to do about the pulleys being out of line. I'm beginning to think it may be made up of parts from different versions of the A1 model. The parts are like a jigsaw in that they can only fit together one way, and you can see from the photo that the top pulley is way over to the right. In fact the top of the right leg has had a piece cut out of it where the belt would run, except the belt still hits the leg. It's not quite as bad as it looks in the photo, but it's still a good 10mm out of line. I could possibly alter the top plate where the arm/table/pulley bracket sits, but it would also mean drilling another hole. I think I might put this 'restoration' to one side for the time being and concentrate on the newer saw.

 

[Dalboy]

Martin I have a friend that has two hobbies machines. I should be seeing him within the next week or two. I will have a look at his machines if he take them to the rally as he puts them on display. If he has got them I will have a look and take some photo's if that is of any help

 

[martinka]

Yes please, Dalboy, that would be very much appreciated.
Martin.

 

[powertools]

My A1 is the same as your green one so I assume that because you have both models they must be different. The base of mine is still complete and I will take pictures if you want me to but they will only show what you can already see on your other saw.
It,s hard to tell from your picture but it looks as if the 2 supports that the shaft runs through are closer together on the old saw perhaps the small pulley should be the other way round and on the other side of the bracket, could also be that the legs of the base are out of line and therefore putting the large pulley out of line.
As you will already know there is not much precision about these machines

I haven't done anything to mine since making the new arms it has been to hot and not much fun being in the workshop.

 

[martinka]

PT, according to the info I have, which is just old pic's really, there were a number of changes over the years for the A1 model, hence me wondering if it's a hybrid. If you look at the bracket for the top pulley, you can see that the left side of the pulley bracket is in line with the lower pulley. I can't see any way to alter this without physically altering one or more parts. Putting the pulley on the other side of the bracket puts it even further out of line, but anyway, you can tell from the corrosion where the parts have spent their life. I know there's no great precision with castings, but there are bits (technical word) that locate the parts so that they can only go in one place, at least for the major parts. I've got it apart at the moment but I'll have another look tomorrow. Supposed to be steam rallying today but the overnight rain may have put paid to that. I have very little feeling in my feet so walking around on wet grass can be a bit precarious.

Martin.

 

[martinka]

I decided to have a go at electrolytic derusting using washing soda, having seen it on youtube. To try it out I used the top pulley and spindle off the newer A1. The pulley was rusted solid to the spindle and the grubscrew was rusted in. Someone had already had a go at freeing the grubscrew but it was still stuck. A 99p bucket, a £1.50ish bag of washing soda, 1.5 gallons of water, a piece of old thin plate I had lying around and a battery charger were all I needed. I set it up and within minutes it was bubbling away. I left it about 3 or 4 hours, then took it out and gave it a quick brush in clean water, dried it off and coated it in Liberon wax to stop it rusting again. The grub screw came out without too much trouble and the pulley came off by hand. To be honest, I reckon I was just lucky there. Photo's of the cleaned up spindle and the sacrificial piece of metal after the horrible black gunge was cleaned off.

 

[Dalboy]

Martin that looks very impressive. Would you have a link to that on u tube.
Also an apology I have just got back from a weekend away and the friend I was going to see about the two saws he had was not at the show as he had just come out of hospital, so sorry no photo's unfortunately I only ever see him at the steam rallies I go to.

 

[martinka]

No problem, Dalboy, I'd forgotten anyway. :mrgreen:

Click this when you have lots of spare time.

Martin.

 

[scrimper]

Click this when you have lots of spare time.

Martin.

Some interesting stuff in that link.

 

[Akela]

Hi, I am a new member and am after some help. I am currently renovating a Hobbies A1 fretsaw that I inherited many years ago from my Grandad, it has been in the garden for a number of years and I have had to strip it right back and re build it. I have used all the original parts although due to the rust pitting on the table and the other plated parts these have now been painted. My problem is that I am missing the top blade clamp mechanism, I intend to make a new one copying the design of the lower clamp and have seen pictures of the tensioning cam but wondered if anyone could give me the dimensions to enable me to get the correct length and correct shape of cam?

 

[powertools]

Hi. Akela and welcome.
This is a picture of the A1 top clamp assembly.

The round part is 20mm diameter, the lever sticks out from it by 40mm and the 2 parts that hold the blade are 60mm long.
The round part has a notch in it to lock it in the tensioned position by engaging into the flat plate.