Another Rapidor saw - project pending

[MattF]

Chuffed as punch. Finally managed to get my hands on one of the old Rapidor 6" saws today, in pretty much original, (equipment wise), condition. Needs quite a bit of work to strip, clean, repaint etc., but it still has the original flat pulleys and the like, (looks like it still has the original motor too, not that I'll be able to use that as it's 3 phase). One of these:

The chap I bought it from, (lovely chap he was too), has kept it generally well greased overall, (there's more grease points on this devil than you can shake a stick at ), so the overall mechanical condition is quite sound as well. The vice needs sorting, but with it having a T-slotted bed, there's plenty of scope for alternatives on that front if the original is unrepairable. Not been able to take a photo of it complete, (it's mostly dismantled now so that I can manage to lug it out of the vehicle down to the shed), but this is the pic from the listing:

It's built like a brick outhouse. Couple of photo's of the mech as I'm stripping it down in the back of the Surf:

The coolant pump is chain driven directly from the crank on this model, and the pump sits atop the bed rather than underneath and being driven from the pulley. Plus, it's geared down via gears rather than the sized pulleys method.

All in all, I'm quite chuffed. Did my usual trick though and forgot to drain or put anything down to catch the hydraulic fluid from the damper. Yet another oilstain on the rear carpet. I'll learn one day.

 

[ronan]

There has been a rapidor saw in nearly every place i ever worked, and one in secondary school, the first saw i used. some info on the atlas works about a third of the way down this page,

http://www.levyboy.com/streets_where_you_lived.htm

 

[Flathead_Dave]

That advert is from around 1932.

 

[brightspark]

ive had mine over 30 years it will be running another 30 years after im dead and buried

 

[MattF]

Aye, most of this old kit should merrily see most of us out if correctly maintained. It's survived for this long through God only knows what.

That advert is from around 1932.

It is indeed. The machine should be from around the 1936 to 1957 period, working from the BSS standard on the motor spec plate, (provided it's the original, factory supplied motor). I try to have a cut off point off around 1950 for machinery, so it meets all of the requirements, (especially the requirement that it has to be a sexy looking bit of kit ). Occasionally I get some newer kit either through necessity, lack of availability of older kit or simply for the fact that there was nothing I personally like produced before then, but I try to keep to late 19th and early 20th century kit wherever possible. That Rapidor Major I appropriated is let down by that one thing alone. I'm guessing that one, (just due to the styling and suchlike), was probably produced somewhere between the 50's to the 70's/80's, so it is a bit younger than I prefer. It's a non-point in reality, granted, but I like consistency where feasibly possible.