Peerless power hacksaw

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stephenc
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Peerless power hacksaw

Post by stephenc »

I've had this peerless power hacksaw for a few years , I use the snot out of it .
It cuts way faster then my horrible freight handsaw . and it makes a square cut .

Mechanically its tip top . works perfect .
But it needs cleaned up and painted . anyone happen to know what color it should be ?
There's evidence its had many many coats of paint since the 1920's .

I'm also considering adding a transmission , the 800 rpm gear box motor I have on it gives about 96 strokes per minute and its marginal on being to fast for steel .
It is three phase so a cheap vfd would fix it up quickly , but I like mechanical things and already have a harley trans for it .

So yea , who knows the right color . I'd like it to be somewhat correct . if not I'll probably go with a dark blue
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Harold_V
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by Harold_V »

I've repainted a few older machine tools. If there's any of the paint left, you might scrape carefully to the base. Unless someone went to the trouble to completely strip the saw (highly unlikely), the original color will still be there, even though it has been painted numerous times. Look where the paint isn't exposed to being damaged, like under the pan, or under the disconnect.

Can't speak for the Peerless, but most machine tool makers did a heavy primer fill to create a better surface for the finish paint job. If you find primer, pretty good chance the color above it is the original.

Luck with the project. Damned nice looking saw!

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
stephenc
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by stephenc »

I've scraped it in a few spots , there is paint there but I'll be darned if I can tell what color it is . might be a dark grey or a blue .

And thank you , other then being absolutely filthy it is a nice saw . it works so good I am starting to feel guilty about not cleaning it up sooner .
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Bill Shields
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by Bill Shields »

Assuming that you have a belt drive from your existing unit...why not just change pulley sizes to get a better speed ratio?
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
stephenc
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by stephenc »

I'd have to do a jack shaft of some sort , the big pulley on the saw is already 12 inches , I'd have to keep going bigger to slow cutting speed
I have the transmission , its no harder to rig up then a jackshaft and step pulleys .
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Bill Shields
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by Bill Shields »

Ah.. well that kind of shoots that idea into the swamp...unless the motor pulley has room to shrink
:roll:
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
stephenc
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by stephenc »

I could go smaller on the motor , just not enough to matter .

If I'm doing the math right and the drive pulleys I have on hand work the transmission will give me a pretty decent working range of roughly 31 strokes per minute in first gear and 84 spm in 5th gear . that'll get me slow enough to cut things like like 4140 ht and most stainless without burning up blades . and still be plenty fast for aluminum .

This saw was originally a line shaft machine so there wasn't a gear box , I've seen pictures of the same saw that had a 4 speed gear box with an electric motor . but the chances of finding one is slim . and we have all seen plenty of line shaft machinery converted to a motor with an old ford or Chevy toploader trans stuck on them .
The Harley trans is just a slightly more compact way of getting there .
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Bill Shields
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by Bill Shields »

Ah...now better understanding.

We have an old Hendy lineshaft lathe with just such an arrangement as you describe.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
stephenc
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by stephenc »

Boy they really knew how to make stuff back in the day , I tore the saw apart yesterday to get started on the cleaning and paint prep . everything is in great shape for being 100 years old .
I found one bronze bearing that probably should be replaced just because I have it apart .
armscor 1
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by armscor 1 »

My 14" power hacksaw does about 90 strokes per minute with coolant, no problems cutting 4140 or stainless, use Eclipse blades and they last a long time.
Good machine and reliable, yes it is slow but I am not in a hurry.
stephenc
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by stephenc »

Coolant wouldn't be impossible to do , just not easy .
If I'm cutting steel I'll pull the saw closer to my mill and use the fog buster on it .
It does help but still isn't nearly as effective as cutting oil would be .

Aluminum doesn't seem to care .. I have a 6tpi blade I put on , hit it with some gulf wax before starting a cut and it's happy enough .
John Hasler
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Re: Peerless power hacksaw

Post by John Hasler »

armscor 1 wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 5:49 pm My 14" power hacksaw does about 90 strokes per minute with coolant, no problems cutting 4140 or stainless, use Eclipse blades and they last a long time.
Good machine and reliable, yes it is slow but I am not in a hurry.
What coolant do you use?
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