Heads Up - Big Wadkin bandsaw for sale!

[Jester129]

It looks a beauty and up for sale on Facebook from a workshop in Leicester. It's big and it's green and it's a steal at the price they are asking.
Have a look.
I can safely state that I have no affiliation with the seller, it's something I thought someone on this forum might be interested.
It really is a bargain for someone.

 

[Ttrees]

Not bad price for 550, provided that 3 phase motor is a dual voltage one, so it can run on 240v with a VFD, see 240v stamped on the motor nameplate, then you know
Could also mention it should be either 2 or 4 pole, i.e running at normal RPM's ala 1740 or 3000 (ish)...
seeing as some Wadkin's are as old as the hills with real strange motors, but the Wadkin Bursgreen company aren't likely so old as to use something strange, ie not either one of those RPM specs stated.

Looks about 3 horse, which can run from a domestic supply, if considerate.

It's seemingly not got a fence, which makes me suspect it ain't running too good.
Guessing both wheels are cast iron, I don't have experience with the Wadkin machines, but seen mention of one being alloy on the larger ones, though unsure if it's from this line.
I'd hope that both wheels were the same size, open that lower door to check'em!

Why might cast iron wheels be that important, and not just the case of being a snob?....
Fence missing kinda suggests there might be some wear of the wheel bore, (the wheel bearing journals) which is the most important thing to look for when buying a bandsaw,
hopefully not, and it's just the tires are needing attention, which is just as likely reason for that.

Should that not be the case hopefully, you really got to check that bore, with & without blade
then one would hope it was mostly unused, and never ran right from day one.

That's quite possible, as there are very few machines out there what feature an adjustable motor,
(to align with the upper wheel)
The original welded sheet metal design Centauro CO, some Multico's and Meber's are the only
saws I've seen what can actually be set up properly,
and nearly everything else is pretend.

So yeah, seems like it might be a good machine to go looking for...
well compared to something new and made from biscuit tins,
as I wouldn't be too happy having to bolt on an adjustable plate otherwise.

There's your bargaining chip, should some kind of "misunderstanding" crop up.
Though, you might be talking to someone who reckons the upper wheel is not the datum
for the lower wheel and motor to be aligned with.

Likely not a popular opinion, lol!

All the best

Tom

 

[Ttrees]

By comparison, the first ilk of Centauro CO series seems readily adjustable,
though not sure when they changed that, as google isn't the best these days.
So bad, infact that I'm not even able to find a picture from the back of a CO 500 from this era.

The older CO 600

So you'll have to make do with a pic of the CO 450

Guessing, but not sure if you could get a Technomax, seemingly Minimax in USA with Yankee motor..
Some of Centauro's Minimax series feature this, not been able to find this on our side of the pond.

Some Multico's feature a readily adjustable foot mounted motor also

Some Meber's also feature such a design

And there's little else, the Centauro's seem the nicest having solid cast iron wheels,
and what's seemingly the deal breaker to some retailers, who service these Centauro machines,
but don't provide a service like Chris Vesper, i.e crowning or vulcanizing...
would be going for the ones with snap on tires, unlike the vulcanized ones on the earlier CO machines.

It might be a strong possibility that there's a long run of them made after the ones I've shown,
and one noticeable difference would be the door handles differ on newer models,
changing to a latch design.
Not sure when though, so worth seeing those important features for one who want's the best
without compromise, but with as little effort as possible needed,
i.e someone who doesn't have time to sort issues with a flange or face mount motor,
and breakdowns would be needing sorting today, with replacement tires already in the filing cabinet.

Would love to get a bit more info on when the Centauro machines made those changes.
I had likely all that information on my old laptop, with the huge collection of bandsaws what were
on it for research when Centaurolizing my own ACM saw, which did lend itself well to that mod very
nicely, compared to some other manufacturers motor/pulley design.


Incase you've not noticed, I'm kinda on a bit of a quest to sort that one out,
and likewise, I'd like to see the rest follow.
But perhaps.... one likes to see the screaming deals like the saw above,
what wouldn't be so cheap otherwise.
That's a good point, but it's worth noting there's plenty of machines today what's making
wheels featuring vulcanized rubber, and there's not anyone like Chris providing a service for a reasonable cost, and with seemingly no information regarding such a service,
one is clueless whether it could be just someone bodging things like Keith Rucker's videos,
whether they understand the correct crowned profile on the Italian machines,
and if they're doing any other favours at the same time.

So it's still quite likely there will be plenty of deals in the future,
as that seems to be the game plan for the manufacturers.

All the best
Tom

 

[worn thumbs]

A couple of points about that Wadkin,I shared a workshop with a similar best for a few years.If you need to cut bevels the table is a huge pain to shift as it isn't balanced and has far more mass on the column side of the pivot point.Second,and still on the topic of bevelling,the tilt may be limited to 30 degrees.The other minor grumble is that the extraction isn't all that great,due to the location of the port.The positive is the considerable width and depth that can be cut.

 

[Ttrees]

Good to hear from a users perspective, I see New Yorkshire workshop on YT,
has something quite similar,
though I'm not familiar with much else apart from the Italian machines.

Possibly a random one, but worth noting if the same,
but on some of the CE certified Italian machines, the tilt is limited for some reason,
but this is easily changed by swapping the lower trunnion segment around.
https://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/forum/tools/power-tools/39329-a-bigger-bandsaw/page2
Though there are jigs for such use, I'd guess in Mark Duginske's video


Can see where you're coming from regarding the effort needed regarding tilting,
but it's waay down my list of importance, and compared to many of the cheapie's
what might be easier to tilt at 45 due to the lightweight nature of many,
but you give up space for cutting tenons, (without an infeed)
and what's more important to me, you're far closer to the blade if going with
something which has a smaller table.

I wonder if the likes of Grizzly might sell an upgrade kit for some of their machines,
in regards to the rack and pinion on some.
Plenty of different takes on this though.

All the best
Tom