Restored vintage Skil 534 6-1/2" sidewinder

looks very good ….....better then brand new ….......GREAT JOB

-- Tony---- Reinholds,Pa.------ REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE FUN

Another great restoration! Keep up the good work, they don’t make em’ like they used to!

-- "Lack of effort will result in failure with amazing predictability" - Me

I know you’ve done quite a bit with Skil and Rockwell, have you ever done anything with vintage Stanley power tools? I found a fairly old worm drive Stanley safety saw complete with case and a really unique handle consisting of two different hand positions with two triggers. I’m seriously considering this saw but like most of the older stuff from every maker, save a select few, many of the wear parts are no longer available and therefore require detailed inspection to see if they’re worth it. Here is a link to the saw: https://cleveland.craigslist.org/tls/5729020965.html

-- "Lack of effort will result in failure with amazing predictability" - Me

I haven’t personally done much with Stanley tools, with that said, bearings are likely sourceable, the switch almost looks like a Cuttler Hammer which Skil used a lot… they are harder to source, but can be sourced and if nothing more, can be stripped, cleaned and reassembled as long as the bakelite isn’t cracked. The brushes can likely be sourced or adapted. Brush caps look pretty universal and can likely be sourced.

If you have a multimeter, ohm out the coil to check if the resistance is correct, provided that it lists an amperage somewhere. Generally most amperages for tools were based on 125v. Use the formula I=V/R where I = amperage, V = voltage (125v) and R = resistance in ohms.

The worm gear is obsolete and the only way to source a new one would likely be to have a machine shop make one, which could be in the hundreds and pretty much isn’t worth it to most people.

The coil and armature are also likely obsolete, but with that said, you can likely get them professionally rewound for around a $100, so not terrible if your looking at it as a functional collector piece.

Obviously housing pieces are obsolete so any broken parts there will be very difficult to source.

The Stanley safety saw is a bit older than the Skil blue label and I haven’t seen nearly as many, so overall, sourcing obsolete parts would be very difficult, if not impossible.

With that said, see if you can talk them down to $65~$70 and it would be totally worth it, and worst case scenario, you part it out and likely make well more than that selling the individual pieces on ebay.

Just my two cents.

-- Just a girl with way too many tools.

I ended up buying the saw for ~$20 a few months ago, its a W8 safety saw, very unique piece. It has an oddball sized arbor so sourcing blades will be tricky, other than that everything is there and works. I’m in the process of tearing it down and replacing whatever I find worn. The big surprise is the gearcase is grease packed instead of being filled with oil like the Skils. At first I was certain the worm gear would be trashed as I can’t imagine very old cease being nearly as slick as oil in high friction gear set such as this. Much to my delight the worm like like new and the worm gear show a little wear but should be very reliable for quite some time to come. I need to confirm from someone that grease was correct for this saw then find an appropriate, new equivalent. I may be able to post pictures if my camera can be fixed or if I replace it soon.

-- "Lack of effort will result in failure with amazing predictability" - Me

Those little Skil sidewinders were prized by finish carpenters. I had one used (from the pawn shop) which I was quite fond of. Then something went south on it, and I decided not to repair it (don’t remember what it was). When I went to purchase a new one, turns out Skil doesn’t make them anymore. The tool guy at my hardware store said a lot of guys have asked for them, to no avail.

That, and the mod 77 worm drive, were the only decent saws Skil ever made, as far as I know. They made Craftsman sidewinders at one time, and in my experience they were basically crap. Cheap bearings and noisy gears. Sears’ salesman told me they were supposed to sound like a bunch of marbles in a can. I wasn’t convinced.

-- I admit to being an adrenaline junky; fortunately, I'm very easily frightened

Few years ago, $5 got me this metal box…

Little saw inside

Other than replace the plug, not much else has been done to it

Have used it a lot more than my other Vintage saw..

Mainly due to the difference in weight….

-- A Planer? I'M the planer, this is what I use

Oops.

-- I admit to being an adrenaline junky; fortunately, I'm very easily frightened