Bought this Lion miter trimmer like a year ago and finally getting around to it's restoration. I don't know a whole lot about them besides how they work. I paid $100 bucks for this one and seems to be in pretty good shape minus a few missing parts.
I would like to replace both springs and I am missing the locking pins that go in the wings underneath the 2 thumb screws. I know Grizzly and others have similar models but what I don't know is if those parts will fit. I've spent a couple hours on Google and coming up empty.
Oh…and if anyone knows how to sharpen these blades I'm all ears. Looks like a single bevel on the cutting edge will do just fine.
Blades on my Lion were easy to hone: I used Sc paper on my granite plate, honing the back to make sure it was flat, then same on the bevel. As far as the parts, I do not know. Springs you can get at the local Ace, but the stops, you'll need to take a chance! Highland Hardware sells the import model of the Lion and they may also sell parts. They are a top notch vendor and I would bet they might help you with measurements of the pins.
I would think you could take one of the springs to a hardware and find something very close. I'm not sure what locking pins you refer, I'll take a look at my Dosch (identical) later when I'm in the shop. But sharpening those blades is easy. I did it like AMZ suggested with SC paper and a glass plate. The bevel is so broad that holding it steady is a piece of cake. If you have a wet grinder like a Tormek and the planer jig you could use that as well.
The stops or pins are in the pic below. It's the best I could find to illustrate what I'm missing.
I figured a hardware store might be best bet for springs but wanted to confirm. And good to know a granite surface plate can be used to sharpen the blades. I think I have SC paper up to 3000 grit so that should work quite nicely.
I sent an email to Highland Woodworking to see if they offer parts for their model. I'm willing to bet the design hasn't changed all that much in the last 100 yrs or so.
The stop pins are spring loaded so you can push them down to move the fence over them. The round plates that hold them are held in place by a screw. You loosen that screw and rotate the plate to fine tune the position of the stop for a perfect 45 degree angle. The other stops are like an eccentric cam. You also set those by rotating and tightening the screw to give a perfect 90 degree angle.
The springs on the fences are not critical. Anything close will do. They just help when you are moving the fence. The final fence position in maintained by tightening the wingnut.
I agree with the comments about sharpening the blades . One of mine had a pretty deep nick in it and I was able to remove it without resorting to sending it out.
I described this and posted some pictures in a previous thread:
OK, now I see what it is. I may be wrong, but I would call that a "locking pin" since it seems to lock the wing in place once it's in position (normally against the "stop" pins, located in the base). It locks by being forced down by the thumbscrew. Not trying to be picky, but if you're looking for parts it might (or not) get you the wrong one. For the pin itself, I've attached a pic of mine. Bear in mind, my trimmer is a Dosch…a USA made copy of the Lion. They were made for about the same period as the Lion trimmer, and I suspect the part are interchangeable. If that's true, you made be able to come up with something on your own. The OAL of my pin is .48", that's important because if it's any longer you won't be able to get it installed. The diameter of the shank is .19", and if you had a piece of rod that diameter you could probably peen a usable head onto it. The shank length is .4", as is the head diameter….but the head doesn't have to be that wide. Anyway, good luck!
The pins are spring loaded to permit the fence to swing over them. I haven't looked at my Lion (original USA Pootatuck), but if I remember correctly, the pins are in an eccentric to give the user some adjustment for the wings at 45 degrees. Are the eccentrics present? If so, the pins would be an easy make for someone with a metal lathe. If the eccentrics are also gone, you might be dealing with metric parts from the Pacific Rim.
I cannot make out the pins clearly enough to tell if they are missing, or simply need disassembled and lubed, with maybe the spring underneath the pin needing replaced (common hardware store spring).
Can you post a better pic of your trimmer, particularly a close up of the pin area.
Thanks Fred. Highland sent me a parts diagram for their trimmer and for whatever reason that locking pin is referred to as a rivet. They are going to check if they have them for me.
If not your dimensions and pic will no doubt get me something workable. Thank you very much for taking the time to get that info put together.
Yell at me if you can't find those pins Sansoo. If you can verify that Fred's dimensions will work for your model, I can turn you a couple pretty quick.
Here is the parts diagram Highland sent me if anyone is interested. Part no 8 is the one I'm looking for. The 4 spring loaded pins in the bed all work fine on my trimmer.
Ken - If I don't hear back from Highland by end of the week I will PM you. Fred's dimensions might be a little sloppy in mine, not sure how tight tolerances are supposed to be, but they will get the job done. Thank you very much for the offer to fabricate these if I can't source them.
Quick update - Highland had both of the parts I needed. A gentleman named Ed was able to locate both once I provided part numbers from the diagram. I just got off the phone with them and they should ship out tomorrow.
And since the parts were so cheap and Highland is so awesome with their help I ordered a Woodpecker's 12" dual scale ruler. It wasn't much but I figure why not help out good businesses if I can.
Highland is a great company. If in Atlanta, it is really worth a visit. But plan a long one, I only had an hour and can't wait to get back for another visit.
I had a unit in Atlanta and got to visit the store, a re-organization took me off the unit and my only regret is not being able to go to Highland.. what a store and EVERYONE I spoke too knew woodworking and everything that was for sale… I long to return, but thankfully there is online & they are awesome on the phone
The springs and pins came in today. The pins are a tad loose and black instead of polished but at least I have them. Now that this won't be a 100% historically accurate restoration I'm considering swapping the two large carriage bolts for stainless if I can find the right size. That would also let me ditch the big PITA square nuts on the bottom and add a washer or even a lock washer if I wanted to. The bottom side of the bed casting is pretty rough so I thought having a washer in the mix might help out.
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