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My Old Beaver Tools

18K views 52 replies 15 participants last post by  905maxp 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)




hi new member here, and after some requests im going to post some pics of my old beaver power tools

first is the cornerstone of my shop and my work truck

two 1940's beaver 3200 tablesaws

i started with three of them, rebuilt them into two really nice user saws. one drifts around between jobsites, the other is a permanent fixture in my shop

the body is a one piece aluminum casting, castiron top and massive castiron guts underneath. the worktruck saw has a modern fence system and router table, the shop one has the old beaver cast iron fence and a beaver castiron legged stand and the old guard setup

they both perform flawlessly, the jobsite saw gets plenty of appreciative looks from clients!!
 
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#2 ·
Nah! Ya gotta spend $6,000,000 on a complete new shop with everything.
Now, having said that stupid remark, work with what you've got.
I worked for years with a RAS without exploding any walls or fingers.
I have an issue with those who want to spend their way into excellence. Native guys/gals lived for centuries with good sticks and sharp rocks.
Now I'll go back to cleaning my dust collector.
Not tryin' to be a smart a$$. I just want to use what I have to the max.
Great job on the resto.
Bill
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
thx bill, all three saws were unusable for various reasons when i got them, just combined the best of all three into two, built a nice cabinet for one, the other is on a cheapie modern stand(the work truck one)
both are used everyday
no warrentees, no service agreements, no waiting for repair guys, no crappy aluminum extrusions, no plastic bits to break, just plain old north american quality and knowhow
after 60 years all i had to replace was the arbour bearings for a total cost of 20 bucks per saw, one of them needed a new drive belt, cant remember which one, even the motors are 60 yrs old

wait till you see the bandsaws!!
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)




and my two old bandsaws, a beaver 15 inch and a craftmaster 12 inch

both were sold by MW stateside and the craftmaster was also sold as a portercable

the beaver is unique with its one piece aluminum body casting, and i mean one piece, four feet tall, the door is a three piece aluminum part, the wheels are lathe turned aluminum also, heavy as hell, lots of good aluminum in there. resaw capacity is 7 inches and it will do it easily in hard maple

the little henry/craftmaster was made in london ontario and also sold by portercable, almost jewellike in its details, great little saw for fine work, mostly cast iron, some details are aluminum not "pot metal"

both are powered by "period" motors, the beaver with a 3/4 hp leyland, the henry with a delco RI 1/4 hp

both date from the late 40's

the jointers are next as long as there is interest
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest, Interest.

I just HOPE that I showed enough interest! Those machines are gorgeous, beautiful, sexy, awesome, amazing!

Yes, please post more photos & info!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#8 ·


okay, here's the lathe, again late 40's. like the rest of the beaver tools, designed and built by the callander foundry(beaver), this machine was made for decades, there are many of them in use still up here in canada

all cast iron, shopbuilt stand, modern tefc motor, added a beaver/rockwell 2 speed jackshaft for 8 speed

done a lot of turning on the old machine, this is an older pic before some upgrades were done recently
 
#11 ·
I clicked on the "watch" button to follow this topic. As I was checking e-mail today and reading replies, I open one and find a young girl, 24 years old, looking for "love". When I clicked the link to go to this site, her post is not there. Was this deleted by those that run the site and this slipped through to my e-mail, or did I get contacted by someone not throught this site? First time I've seen anything like this on this site.
 
#15 ·
You obviously spend time over at OWWM. I love to go there and just look through the photo archives. I have mostly old Craftsman and Delta stuff, and a DeWalt MBF RAS. I was using a friends brand new RIDGID table saw and hated the plastic wheels and aluminum top. Nothing like a nice polished cast iron surface and a capacitor start motor. And the best part is that you can sometimes find the old stuff for a song. People look at it and scratch their heads and think new is better.
 
#16 ·
gee i got one of those emails, "looking for love too", and i thought i was the special one, my hopes are crushed!!. the mods must have deleted the posting after the emails went out, rats

a little history next.

the callander foundry started way back in guelph ontario, canada before the second world war. during the war they made war stuff, tank and truck parts etc etc. after the war ended, they developed the beaver power tools line. in 1954, rockwell purchased the foundry and the beaver line and continued making the tools for several years. the lathe survived the longest, well into the eighties. rockwell also made many of the rockwell designs in canada, most famous of which was the unisaw and 37-220 jointer at the guelph facility. rockwell already owned delta, so many delta tools were made there too. unfortunately its all gone now
 
#17 ·








next is my favourite, the 3800 jointer. its a short bed, 6 inch machine. all cast iron, it weighs a ton!!
the fence system is almost rube goldbergish in design with all kinds of linkages and strange barrel for the tilt function. the cutterhead is massive with integral tapered roller bearing and integral pulley, there is no shaft for it. the bed extensions are a very rare option. this jointer uses an older delco 3/4 hp induction motor
 
#20 ·
ALL the castings are beautifully done, both iron and aluminum. that porkchop was busted when i got the machine, i had it welded then i filed and repainted. thats the nice thing about real aluminun vs "potmetal"

the callander foundry guys were masters at casting aluminum, remember the bandsaw body is one piece aluminum as is the tablesaw base

as far as cost?, none of them cost more than 100 bucks, most were closer to 50. average rebuild cost, between 50 to 100, mostly just bearings and paint. the cabinets are just beaver cast iron legs that came with some machines and plywood laminated with formica
 
#22 ·
a little history of each machine that i have

the first was the lathe, i was using a tiny poorly built old lathe and wanted to expand, so i found two of the beaver 3400's near me. what one didnt have, the other did. found a third, then a fourth all around 50 to 100 bucks, so i rebuilt them into one really nice user machine and rebuilt the left over bits into a couple more and sold them off and i continue to do that, buy a junky one, add parts as needed from my stash, replace bearings and belts etc etc

so a tidy little side business, parts and rebuilt machines, no money in it, just the pleasure of bringing an old neglected beast back to life and getting a new woodworker a nice machine for a bargain and a nice stock of parts for those that need them, thats all

the machine in the pics is from around 1948 or so, has mt2, mt1 and 7/8 thread in the headstock and mt 1 in the tailstock and is actually a combination of several machines, all from the same era

done a lot of turning on the old beast, from shaker cabinet door knobs to 16 inch diameter shaker tripod tabletops, pepper mills etc etc

the chuck of course is a modern addition
 
#25 ·
lathes with some nice accessories(no chuck) with decent motor, i sell for around 250-300. fulley rebuilt and painted
jointers are a different matter, the little 4 inch machines are virtually worthless and common as mud. the 6 inch machines are quite rare.
tablesaws are very common around here even the old 3200, the problem with them is the fence handle is usually broken. ive got a source for new handle castings and parts for two more saws, so thats the next project
i'll certainly never get rich doing them, justa paid for hobby!!
 
#26 ·
I can't believe that in all my years of searching for old tools at auctions, flea markets, garage sales and now Craig's List, I have never run across a Beaver tool. I never heard of them till this post. I now have a new mission: find some Beaver tools!!! I love the quality of old tools and restoring them is very rewarding. The Beaver tools look like besides quality, they were designed to look good too! Thanks for the story and the pictures. This is what makes this hobby so much fun!!!
 
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