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The worm gear is obsolete and the only way to source a new one would likely be to have a machine shop make one, which could be in the hundreds and pretty much isn’t worth it to most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

I’m hoping to pick up a 534 for $10 within two weeks and get it back into top working condition, it won’t be as pretty as the restored one but it will work perfectly when I’m done with it. I already have a 552 and the quality of the older Skil sidewinders doesn’t disappoint, the allure of a worm drive saw isn’t quite the same but using them is a joy.

I finally finished rehabbing the Stanley W8 I picked up in ‘17 and left sitting disassembled in it’s case for over three years. I managed to clean all the grease out of the gearcase and after cleaning everything and reassembling, it was filled with a proper worm drive oil and runs like a dream. The blade is crap and I really need to replace it with a modern carbide tipped blade but finding one with a 3/4” bore vs. the standard 5/8” is going to be a challenge.

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

Not a diamond knockout like the 77? You might be able to easily bore the blade out to 3/4” with a step drill, providing the steel in the blade body isn’t too hard. Step drills really do work very well.

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

Not a diamond knockout, a step drill might work, one concern is most blades that size do have a diamond knockout and I’d be getting very close to the edge of the diamond while reaming it out. Another concern is how well I can maintain concentricity with a step drill. A non-concentric blade wouldn’t cut well and could vibrate like crazy.

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

But does the saw require a diamond knockout? There are many 6 1/2” blades with round arbor holes. Starting with a round hole (5/8” presumably) a step drill will make a hole that is perfectly concentric, unlike a regular twist drill, which can be problematic.

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

Know any electricians? You could use a 1/2” conduit knockout punch to punch it to 7/8” and then use a 7/8 to 3/4” arbor reducing bushing like Freud makes to reduce it down to your arbor. To ensure centering, you could get a piece of 5/8” rod and a 3/4” to 5/8” bushing and mark out the hole before punching it.

If I’m correct, the W8 accepts a 8” blade, which Freud also makes which has a 5/8” arbor and no diamond knockout so you could punch it out and reduce it or just drill it with a step but without concern of popping a diamond knockout

-- Just a girl with way too many tools.

I think it might take an 8” blade, it definitely doesn’t accept an 8 1/4” blade. The spindle itself is actually 5/8” but the outer blade washer has a 3/4” diameter projection toward the gearbox that the blade sits on. If I had a spare, I would turn down that projection to 5/8” but being unobtainium, I’d rather not risk it. I think I’m going to try the step drill method (I have a few different ones to experiment with) on an old 7 1/4” blade to see if it’s feasible on something a little less disposable.

I’m picking up the 534 next week and unlike 90% of the older saws I’ve procured, it has a good blade AND a good cord, quite the rarity for only $10.

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