Sears Contractor Saw Renovation Part 1 Evaluating the Saw

In this presentation, an old Sears saw (that most woodworkers would have thrown into a landfill) is shown in it's present condition. The saw, which has a damaged top and more rust than you can imagine, is shown "as is". The first part of a series, these videos will show how to turn "junk into a jewel" and is a "must see" for owners of old Sears saws that would like to make their saws "jewels" also. You won't believe how poor the condition of this old saw is in, and if you watch the entire series, you will be amazed with the results of this project.

[@jamesbaldwin2696]

I started in woodworking when I was very young. My parents best friends were Bob and Theresa Beckett. Bob Beckett was the guy who could fix anything. He also built houses and did woodworking. He taught me allot about wood working. When I got in to middle school I started in a plastics class but then moved over to woodshop. I took woodshop all the way through High School. Fast forward to the early 90s. I was a fresh Airman in the Air Force and bought my first brand new table saw. I took one of my deployment advances and bought myself a Craftsman 113.xxxxxx saw and I still have it today and its still going strong. I am getting ready to give it some much needed love and thanks to Jerry, am upgrading it to his machined pulleys and trunnion PALS. This saw has been the mainstay of my shop equipment and I'll have it until the day I die. Thanks Jerry for everything you do to promote woodworking and help all of us keep our beloved saws running at their peak for years to come.

[@fernyblue]

This is exactly the type of video I was looking for. I'm restoring a Craftsman 100 Table Saw. I've recently become very interested in vintage American made machinery. This is my first restore but it's not going to sit in a museum I'm putting it to work as my main saw. Thanks again. Looking forward to the whole series.

[@brediaable]

I know this was 7 years ago but I stumbled upon your video because I recently acquired a 100 saw and after watching your series I was truly touched not only did I learn a tremendous amount not to mention I guarantee the presentation was spot on so what does a bachelors degree have any thing to do with someone who has a true gift and on top of that really knows what he his teaching Jerry F--K all those idiots who said you weren't qualified to give a presentation because you have forgotten more than they will ever know you are the greatest keep up the good work I learned a lot from you I hope you get this comment because you are GOD sent Thank You Brett

[@takeniteasyfriend]

There’s something disrespectful about holding book knowledge higher to practical skill and “tinkering a situation” to success. Survivability and long term progress I’ve found depends on teachers like you. Much respect. Thanks for sharing this presentation as I refurbish my 315 Craftsman. Best!

[@fusiongurudotcom8195]

And just think now they want forgiveness for their student loans!

[@pablogazmuri5656]

Jerry: You don't need a degree to be a good teacher. You need a natural gift to be able to teach and you have one. Thank you for the video. I have the same saw that I have kept up for over 35 years and although I look at the new saws with envy I cannot justify the expense. Looking forward to the next video.

[@NMranchhand]

“ WRONG!!! “ Great learning point-out! When the master gets it wrong on the first pass...man!, that’s learning GOLD. Experience for free. Assuming, of course, he’s man enough to point it out. Thanks.

[@RangerM98]

I am an Engineer and really appreciate people like you that are willing to teach. As you know, a degree is not much more than a piece of paper to most truly knowledgeable / and especially...to most who are truly...wise (compared to the mass...even those with 'papers'). Thanks again.!

[@keithlucas6260]

Most colleges and universities are nothing more than "paper mills" stamping out "no child left behind" and those trained to regurgitate the narratives of politically correct professors. I was an engineer for Deutsch electronics back in the seventies with an associate degree and machine shop certificate beating those with the four year degree.

[@raulciprianoyahoo]

Man that school missed out. I'd take a professor with with years of experience over one fresh out of school. I'm studying to be an engineer and you can tell which professors have never worked in the industry the material is always dry and there is no connection on how we will actually use what we learn. Anyways to me you are a great teacher and I enjoyed the video and look forward to watching the rest of the series. Thank you professor Cole.

[@mathguy829]

Great video. I'm new to woodworking and in the market for a used table saw that needs a little work. This video was very enlightening. Thank you.

[@diegohperez6434]

Oh I like that you so honest to explain people like me how when you poor is difficult to start anything but in my country Colombia people don’t have machines rusting away in the garages in America is every where cars bicycles machines lot things people don’t use any more any way I like you initiate something to helping people learn wood work I personally admire that this days people don’t care about other people thanks for that I’m from Colombia but I live in London here is different as well but I prefer America is more opportunitys to get rusty machines anyway thanks again 🙏🙏🙏

[@keithkasperek3547]

Thank you for what you do...that school missed out bad..keep the vids coming.

[@j.stribling2565]

Jerry, I'm glad you didn't let the academic snobs discourage you! You are a natural born teacher. You are obviously intelligent and your pacing and delivery is just right. Hey, if they didn't let you teach at their institution it's their (and unfortunately, their students) loss. I'm learning a lot from your presentations -- ordered a copy of your book and DVD. Keep up the good work.

[@inlinedubby]

John, It's nice to hear comments like that, and I appreciate it. If I can get back in front of the camera, I'd like to finish off that old Sears, and find a young person do a video with me about how simple woodworking can be. I can't divulge what we'll do, but I guarantee it will "knock your socks off"!

[@lstanczykRC]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Also what a great example you set of turning a bad situation (the school thing) and finding a way to make something great out of it!

[@NianticRiverWoodcraftingChrisN]

I just finished refurbishing my 1963ish Craftsman. The arbor had a good deal of wobble to it so I opted to buy a new one from Sears. Yes they are still available. Piece of cake to replace, followed by aligning it with one of your Pals kits. Good as new, and your Dubby sled is perfect on it!

[@pauldixon6654]

Welcome to my home in the UK & Man am I impressed with your knowledge. sir you remind me of my father who did model engineering as a hobby. He too was ask to take his steam engines along with his vast knowledge lol yup like yourself he was turned down because he had no oligys Its such a ashamed that people who have a lot of years under there belt with learn as you go which he did. Its their misfortune you make the film I will sit and listen and learn because I have respect for you .

[@draksmith]

Hey Jerry, Read me :) This is the guy down in GA that ordered the Pals and Pulley and Belt combo about a month ago. We talked at length about you creating this series, and I'm so happy it's being uploaded now. I've disassembled and cleaned every inch of rust off my dad's '84 Craftsman 113.298032 and gave her I fresh coat of enamel. Every medium to small sized component was sand blasted at my job and I'm in the stages of putting it back together now. I'm hoping these videos are going to be coming rapid fire I'd love to follow along when it comes to squaring the tabletop to the blade as well as seeing the pals going on this saw. I assume because you sell them you will be talking about how much and how inexpensively one can improve these saw's performance with your aftermarket Pals and Pulleys. I've picked up a few good inexpensive tips throughout this experience that you may find interesting and would like to share. I picked up a tip over at the NelsonStudios channel about melting powered graphite $2.00 (autozone/advanced auto) into candle wax to make a fast holding dry lubricant that seems to have worked very well on all the threaded components and trunions. The general consensus on lube for the pin where the arbor assembly mounts is detergent free 30W oil (autozone/advanced auto) also. It may be worth mentioning that Advanced Auto (the one I used) and other automotive parts stores will have the equipment free and on hand to pull any stubborn pulleys and was invaluable when it came time pull the arbor bearings off the arbor for replacement. Speaking of Arbor bearings...I purchased very high quality Japanese bearings for my arbor for less than $14.00 shipped from Accurate Bearing (another community favorite). I hope this finds you well, Jonathan Jones.

[@inlinedubby]

+jon jones Jon, thanks for the input. I will be sure to point out some of these tips in the upcoming segments.

[@patrickthedestroyer6427]

Just picked up an old westcraft 8083 table saw. Picked her up for 15 and got a motor for 5 plus 2 for an old wood scraper. Now I'm going to watch your video to see what I might've just done wrong. I already cleaned it up in the garage. Need to build a cab for it.

[@keithlucas6260]

In Texas you can teach with an Associate degree and experience. I was the number one pick for teaching machine shop, unfortunately the industry was having layoffs and few were signing up.

[@robertontko8588]

I have many degrees on my rectal thermometer and you know what you do with that.

[@tombaker2523]

I have a problem maybe you can advise me on it the saw arbor housing arm that pivots on the shaft is not froze up and I've been spray lubing it to death it's designed is awkward for a puller any suggestions

[@jacobf9508]

This guy is legendary

[@carlsmith6082]

How do I find the manufacture date on a 113 model saw

[@claytonlemieux4090]

use,a tread file to repair the treads easy ànd the past owner did not know hot to lubrication of the two end trunnion with a non oil or grade I used silicon spay into each trunnion I have no problem with my tilt handwheel turning I also silicone on the elevation screw ànd the tilt screw in Sear manual it say to use no 20 or 30 engine oil that is not a good lubrication it attracts saw dust

[@diegohperez6434]

Im a mechanic and if want this table saw to work again is easy take everything apart clean up paint the parts supost to be painted it take time but in the end is the satisfaction see working again in Colombia we don’t trough any thing away even if rusty is like god give us second chances to live same machines o anything you want to protect o keep it for many more years look new machine o anything new is not the same quality like 50 years ago 🙏

[@mrgcav]

Complete disassembly is required here.

[@cokdnlokd1238]

Bingo, someone just gave me one of these (same model) and I will restore it. I have done quite a few restorations but not a table saw.

[@Rebel9668]

Could a DIYer without a machine to redo the entire top just take something like JB weld and fill in the gouges and scratches, then sand them down flush, clean up the rest of the top and then wax the thing?

[@jamelynch4474]

I bought this saw a few weeks ago an got some decent use out of it . It threw the blade pulley twice so the second time I put epoxy on the keyway and loctite on the set screw. When I went to fire it up I couldn't get the blade height to adjust at all and it appears as though the gear screw is backed too far out . ANY SUGGESTIONS HOW TO GET THIS BACK WORKING WOULD BE APPRECIATED

[@melodynpepper]

I obtained a craftsman contractors table saw from a landfill-needs extensive rebuilding and cleaning.first thing I noticed is the missing motor and possible mounting brackets for motor. everything else works ok. Where would I look for specs on this saw so I can obtain proper parts and where could parts be located for saw in question?

[@bobkeller8383]

This would be a easy refurb. Just time consuming. Probably not worth it though. Would be fun little project 🙂

[@RangerM98]

Oh yeah...and I got mine from the dump!....still working on it, but it was/is obvious to me that you can make a great saw from the old Craftsman that people quite often whine is 'not accurate'....mediocre at best, etc.

[@keithlucas6260]

I bought a cement mixer back from the scrap yard someone ran across the scales for twice the scrap price. The drum had a few spots rusted from not pointing it down but not bad enough for me to take a body grinder to it and then wrap it with fiberglass. I've used it a few times with no issues. I look at it like it's not going to a hot rod show, and dosen't have to be a precision piece like in aerospace. It doesn't have to be perfect, all it has to do is be right and work. And I'm a master toolmaker for the industry.

[@JoeKhleif]

Good for you sir

[@robertboyce7919]

At 8:39 you will see he is kind of pointing at a silver lever just under the deck, is this a lock to hold the saw blade at the proper height? I have a Sears #100 saw and I have a problem keeping the blade at the same height. I set it at say .50 inch and soon it drops to .45 or .40 this makes it difficult to use dado blades. That lever is very loose, how do I take it off?? Anyone got an answer?

[@gregmaggielipscomb9246]

Hey Mr. Cole that is so much B.S-!

[@andrewbetschman3175]

@Jerry Cole what is your thoughts on extruded Aluminum Fences found on like the ridgid ts2412 and ts2424?

[@vernoncrown]

I just bought and installed a Delta fence on my 2 HP General contractor saw with a 27x40 cast iron deck. It was the second cheapest fence on Amazon ($250). Kit includes rails, all parts and tools necessary for installation. It's a high quality fence that's easy to install and when I put the fence on the newly installed rails it was dead accurate to the blade and miter slots and runs smoothly across the table. I did a lot of research including KZbin videos on fences before I made my purchase.

[@davidcouture6885]

Do deep scratches in deep gouges can you take a welder weld mm then resurface them

[@jesushuerta1852]

As Ignorant as I am, I would probably have drowned the thing in penetrating oil, worked it loose and lubricated as needed. I would have sanded the surface lightly (pits be damned) and adjusted for square and that saw would have begun to see use after a few hours. What do I know.

[@alanfalleur6550]

These things are a dime a dozen on Craigslist, at least where I live. Even beaten up ones can be a good deal as long as you don't have to replace the arbor. If you do have to replace the arbor, I would insist on getting it for next to nothing because that part will cost you more than $100. I bought my Craftsman table saw (model 113....) used for $130, and I thought that was a good deal at the time. It had only a 1 HP motor, the original motor from 30 years ago, and I had to replace the pulleys, and the threaded rod that controls the blade tilt is messed up somehow because the blade can only tilt to 45.6 degrees before it hits the stop nut, even when it's all the way back on the threaded rod, but I don't do beveled cuts very much, so I don't really care. I mostly use it for precision cross cuts and precision joinery because the cut quality is still excellent. The people I had bought it from actually used it to make furniture before they upgraded to a massive cabinet makers saw, so it had been reasonably well taken care of for at least most of its life.

[@falstaff0808]

Got my 1954 103.20003 for $30

[@jamesritchie8540]

Just a quick question PLease....I have a saw very similar to yours in t he video. The base panel where the tilt handle is located tends to be rather flexible. When you try to tilt the blade with it the panel moves with the force applied by the handle varying your accuracy of tilt. what do you do to address this?......re-enforce that area of the base? thanks Jim

[@paulhagan996]

James, to stop the side panel from flexing on my Sears 315 saw I bolted a 1" x 1"x 1/8" angle iron vertically on the inner side of the side panel next to the blade tilt crank screw. Put one bolt at the top, one in the center next to tilt screw bearing housing, and one at the bottom. A second angle iron on the opposite side of the tilt screw would add even more rigidity, but I think one is adequate.

[@NTF-zb9wi]

It might not have worked; but, my 1st try at fixing the gouges on the top would've been a very thin coat of JB Weld, followed by some light sanding.

[@NMranchhand]

I think the better approach would be filling by brazing. It’s a vital skill that is MUCH easier to acquire than you would think, requires only small outlay for small jobs, and is a WORLD better than JB Weld, which I find to be really quite unremarkable and certainly not the “magic”, get-out-of-jail-free repair tool that people think it is. You can put “weld” in the title, but it’s still epoxy. Group it with things that are handy like duct tape and WD-40...not in the group with Aladdin’s Lamp, and The One Ring to Rule Them All.

[@michaelhouy1382]

@@NMranchhand I

[@silveravnt]

I would not worry about a 7 thou deep blemish. It will not be noticeable in woodworking operations that this tool will be suitable for. The difference in the surface of the top and the surface of the throat plate is far more.

[@keithlucas6260]

I've always been reminded "we're not building pianos".....just stone it out and be done with it. Machine shops charge by the hour up to $120.

[@webstercat]

If this is an enjoyable project go ahead but the surface is not nearly as important as blade alignment with top & fence

[@mtabernig]

wow that saw was not use for wood work but on a black smith shop.

[@travisthompson3700]

Cool, I own your products and intend to use them more... Just have to find the time...

[@cpeterson877]

Are you still active? This series is a few years old.

[@webstercat]

Bachelor degree in carpentry? Most absurd requirement to teach!

[@frognugget]

I could listen to this guy read the dictionary

[@axnbjsbdudbydvydubu9355]

the sound is too low

[@Will-tm5bj]

axnbjsbdu dbydvydubu turn the volume up.. I can hear him just fine

[@railroad9000]

I'll take street smarts over book learning anyday as the saying goes! Where I worked before I retired, you could only become a manager with a degree; did not matter what the degree was in as long as you had that scrap of paper. The ones that went and got the degree had no clue about the product or system they "managed". What a joke!

[@aussiefarmer8741]

Yes the saw is shit, The dings in the top wont affect the performance, It just needs a total strip down, clean & lube & a lot of work. Most things are fixable. By the amount of work involved I wouldnt have paid anything for it as the time to fix it would have been hrs & hrs. Like you I cant stand seeing stuff like this in such poor cond, I have to fix it & make it work again. I will watch the restoration with great interest. Ps , dont get hung up re the bureaucrats with not teaching. There are far smarter people out there like us.

[@jimmytate7587]

While this video has been very informative and useful I would never try to rejuvenate that particular saw. I have owned one of those and I can often pick 1 up for less than $50. I have seen Powermatic and Unisaws also for around $300 to $500 and I cant justify the amount of labor or money for parts on a low end Craftsman that would be needed to put 1 like that back into shape.

[@NMranchhand]

Just to take the other side (from the excellent points made in your comment), I find that this type of work more than rewards the doer for his time and small (very small) outlay. We shouldn’t be niggardly with our time and labor when learning and experience are in the offing. Young people and old often use the “waste of time” excuse to avoid of valuable learning experience.

[@bernynhel]

8 mins just to say there's rust and that you need to take it apart?

[@836dmar]

The title says “evaluating” and that’s exactly what he was doing. It’s how a new buyer would need look at a saw as he explained at the beginning. Sorry your having a bad day. Nice constructive comment though.

[@stanhafers2462]

Can not hear you, work on your volume.

[@mrgcav]

These were dangerous saws. The 113.xxxxx saws were made by Emerson Co. and the 315.xxxxx series were made by Ryobi. I have a whole restoration document on how to restore and improve sears contractor saws 113.xxxxx series. It makes then safer, more accurate and run better. It is free on my google drive for download. A proper restoration will cost $600.00 to $1250.00 in 2024 depending on the starting condition of the saw and assuming you do not need a motor. Just reply for a copy.

[@K31swiss]

I never understood why you need a college degree to teach 4th grade math.

[@m06atc11]

If you know everything about a particular skill, occupation or career but, cant actually do it, become a teacher !

[@garygerard4290]

at 5 minutes into the video you seem to be focusing on scratch marks and gouges I fail to see why they are important and fully believe you can drill a 1/2" dia. hole in the table with no ill effect. I'll continue watching and see if I learn anything or if I'm wasting my time

[@garygerard4290]

at 12 minutes I find I am wasting my time, 'later