The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Dead, but not forgotten

Bout 40 years back when I first started to buy tools
for the shop, Sears sold some pretty good stuff, made
of steel and cast aluminum. I bought this scroller
back then and it's cut more wood and metal than I
care to remember.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/152934069
I've been putting up ribbed steel
sheeting inside the barn for the last few days and
trimming it with this my trusty old scroller saw and
today she crapped out on me. Just flat quit working,
like she said that's enough, I'm ready to die.
Went to Sears Parts and they had a breakdown and all
the parts listed but nothing except for screws,
washers and nuts were available any more.
I can remember years ago buying parts for a Sears
table saw that was 50 years old at the time. They
used to carry all the repair parts it seemed forever.
Man have things changed a bunch since then.
Looked at Home Depot and Menards today and every thing
is plastic and even the ones for $150 look chincy and
poorly made. They sure don't make tools like they
used to.

Denny G

I've got one that's probably the same model, bought in the late 70's I think, use it often, knock it on the floor regularly, can't kill it can't you make the parts you need?

Bill

It wasn't very long ago that a person could go online and get a parts breakdown on 30 year old tools. Thats all gone now. Sears is about as helpful as Walmart. I use a scroll saw like this.

http://www.cpometabo.com/metabo-602298850-sta-18-lt-18v-cordless-lithium-ion-jig-saw--bare-tool-/mtbn602298850,default,pd.html?ref=nextag&zmam=31282435&zmas=47&zmac=163&zmap=mtbn602298850


It uses the same battery as my cordless drills and parts are available.

Denny, I used the same one you have for years. At least since back around mid 80's.
I'd suggest taking it apart and seeing if maybe its brushes or something.

Along these same lines I have an early 70's 3" sander from Sears and it still works great. About 10 years ago it quit due to bad brushes. At THAT time I could get everything for it but the armature. I still use it today, made out of Steel and sits up at attention and works wonders with a piece of wood. I dread the day I have to go to a plastic model.
I'm also still using table saw, band saw, arm saw from the mid 80's. Only replaced the table saw motor a few years ago.

I'm with all of you about what has happened at Sears. What a shame.

It's the variable speed switch that went south on me Bill. It's
kind of special, don't think I would be able to find anything
that would fit in the handle. When I get a chance, maybe this
winter, I'll pull it apart and see if I can't rebuild the switch.
In the mean time I sprung for a new middle of the line Makita
6.5 amp jig Saw at the Home Depot. Looked at the best one they
had, or at least the most expensive one, a DeWalt, it had to
many rollers/levers/dodads hanging off of it and I could just
picture a\ll that crap bending, braking and getting clogged up.

Sears still has the parts breakdown Ken, but every item is
marked "no longer avalable". Lot of good a parts breakdown does
it you can't get the parts, reminds me of the Harbor Freight
stuff. Parts are broken down in the owners manual, but just try
to get a replacement part.

Almost every thing I've got in the shop are Old, Old tools Alvin.
Most dating back to the 50's or 60's. I inherited my dads shop
when he passed away so I've lots of his stuff and I was setting
up my own shop from garage sale tools back in the 60's. I
bought someone's used up junk and did a complete rebuild on
them, down to bare metal, resurfaced, new bearings and made any
worn parts that weren't available. Even as old as that stuff
is, it still performs better than most new stuff.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Growing up I had my hands on quite a few old tools from Sears, Mont. Ward, and Black&Decker. My old man never had expensive stuff, but it all got the job done. The tools I have in my garage are crap by comparison. I can't list all the tools I've burnt up. My old man is still using the same ones he had for years.

I look for old tools like that at auctions. Hard to come by though. I snatch them up when I can.

I have a Bosch jig saw (I think the same as you all call scroll saws), I think a 9.5 amp maybe (not home to look at it) and it is really nice. Probably won't last 40 years but it has got the power and control...

Yes Bosch makes or made good ones, the no tools needed blade change is good.
Bosch isn't exactly cheap.
The blades are more expensive then generic but they make up for it in quality they last.
And they seem to support their products with repair parts.
Dewalt well don't have much good to say about them may as well get it straight from HF and save some money.
The HF 4 1/4 inch angle grinder has out lived the Dewalt by over a year at a 1/3 of the price.
The Milwaukee on the other hand is worth the money.

I'll second that. I have several old Milwaukee drills that I've beat to death, they still keep going.

Milwaukee, Bosch, and Porter-Cable I have had pretty good service out of. I did replace my 20 year old cordless screwdriver with another Dewalt because the first one lasted so long. I dropped the first one onto concrete floors from ten foot ladders several times but the batteries are what finally gave up.

But back to Dennys topic-I have my father's. Craftsman circular saw that is all aluminum and at least over 50 years old that needs a cord and nothing else to run. I still use a new Hitachi that has more power and is a bit safer.

Power tools are an enigma to me. Cheap throw away HF or high-end? I don't work in tools on a daily basis and at 53 I suspect most of them I will not wear out and someone else will use them out.

If you watch ebay, you'll probably find a replacement.

How about this one?

John

Denny,
Any chance a switch out of a modern drill, saw, or whatever could be manipulated to work?
Harold

Denny, maybe these guys will have what you need. Hope it helps.
http://www.ereplacementparts.com/craftsman-parts-c-158286.html

Yep, that's the one John. Again, I think the only thing wrong
with it is the switch and I don't have the time to dig into it
right now. I don't really want to shell out forty bucks if all
I need is a new switch for mine. The new Makita will fill the
gap for right now. I really don't like the feel of the new one,
just something about that old Craftsman saw the makes it feel
right.

Brian, I gotta get my daughter off to work and take the mutt out
for her morning constitutional, then I'll take a look at your link.
Thanks guys
Denny Graham
Somewhere north of Sandwich, IL

Just took a quick look, don't list my saw there and
the ones they do list only can supply logo plates,
screws and nut's, in other words, just the common
hardware, same as Sears Parts Direct.
But thanks anyway.

When any of the old tools I have go out and need parts/repair I always look to Acme Electric for repair (they can find some pretty hard to find parts). That or I look through Grainger's site to find a suitable replacement part. Not pretty but they have quite literately everything http://www.grainger.com/.