# Curbside find: Walker Turner 8" table saw



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

My wife called me at quarter to eight this morning. On the way to drop our boy off at school she passed "some kind of tool" at the curb just down our road. All she knew was that it looked like something that would interest me. So I sprung to life and hopped into the van.

Actually, it took me a moment to realize exact what it is. It's an old table saw. But it does not have the table extension wings. Nor does it have the blade guard/riving knife.

The saw is a Walker Turner (a brand I was completely unfamiliar with). It's their "The Driver Line", which a little research revealed to have been their "budget line" of power tools. But damn, for a "budget" tool, this tool is heavy as hell. All cast iron, except for the stand, which is stamped steel.

I haven't found a model number on it yet but, the best I've been able to discern so far in my research, it seems to be a model #B738. And it seems to have been made in 1938.

Our neighbor happened to be driving by as I was trying to load the saw into the van. Luckily, he stopped and helped. I seriously doubt I would have been able to load it myself. As I said, this thing is HEAVY. Certainly not what comes to mind when I think of a budget saw. Not by today's standards, at least. My upper back is now strained and my already-injured right bicep tendon (at the elbow) has been irritated... again.

The neighbor said he saw it out there last night too. And it poured here last night so the saw got a complete drenching. But it has amazingly little rust, considering its age and having been rained on.

Without further buildup, here's some photos of it.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

The "Driver Line" was sold through various department stores. This one has a Craftsman motor.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Even the miter gauge is heavy steel and cast iron. The adjustment is geared.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Wow, nice find. :thumbsup:

The motor alone is a good find. Interesting to see the gear driven mitre gauge on a "budget" saw.

It does look in very good shape for the age and considering it was thrown out in the rain.

Nice to see this given a second life. :yes:


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## chopnhack (Dec 16, 2007)

Man, great find Steve!! Seems like Lakeland has all the good tools, nothing like that in this area! Are you going to restore it? Dedicate it for dado's or something else?


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

chopnhack said:


> Man, great find Steve!! Seems like Lakeland has all the good tools, nothing like that in this area! Are you going to restore it? Dedicate it for dado's or something else?


I don't know yet what I will do with it. My first interest will be whether the motor works. I did find that the belt pulley in the motor shaft is a bit bent. So that pulley wobbles, but pulleys like that are available at the hardware store. So that's not a concern right now. 

I not at all satisfied with the way the power cord is wired. The motor is wired to a standard wall switch in a junction box. But the line in to the the box containing the switch comes from another box having a duplex AC receptacle.

However, that box (the one with the AC receptacles) does not have a power cord wired to it. What it had - to supply AC power - was a cord that some one had wired with a male AC plug on BOTH ENDS. That's a huge no-no:no: That cord was plugged into one of the receptacle.

So I really need to fully inspect the wiring and install a proper AC cord before I even dare to plug it in. Beyond that, who knows.


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## Lynden (Apr 21, 2008)

Can't beat free. It's similar to an old Craftsman saw I inherited from my Dad. Here's a picture of one like mine.

http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=3151


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

Cool old tilting table saw.

If you don't have a table saw, it would work. If you have a decent 10' ts, and hyave the room to keep this saw, keep it, and keep a dado on it, or have it set up for some other operation. If you don't really have a use for it, keep the motor and sell the rest complete, or part it out. I'm sure some at OWWM, would like to have the miter gauge or other parts. 
A 1/2 hp 3450 motor, would make a useful bench grinder, or buffer, with the addition, of a couple of arbors to told hold a couple of wheels.
When buying a tool from a guy, he offered me a 10" delta, tilting table saw for free. Of course, I had to take it! Turned out the trunions were cracked. I scraped it, but kept the table, and use it as an anvil as well as a small welding table.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

You might want to keep the miter gauge for use on a swa you have. I like to keep old miter gauges around, to have setup, with fences, for certain operations.
But, if you could get $50 for the miter gauge......


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

I appreciate the responses and ideas. I do like the miter gauge. It's probably the most sturdy one I now own. So I'll be keeping it no matter what. 

I already have a nice 10" Ridgid TS. I really don't have the space to set up a second one (even though this one has a small footprint because there are no wings). But if I could come up with a worthy dedicated function that I'd actually get use of I'd certainly find room.

And since there are no table extensions, it's really to narrow to work with any sizable stock. Building support takes would make it larger. Maybe too large for my space. Unless any aux tables are made with other uses in mind.

So yeah, I have no idea yet. Worst case, i'll either convert it into another tool or sell it visa Craig's List or similar outlet.

I'm at my son's soccer game right now. Then I have dinner to go to then a woodworking meeting to go to.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

Offer it for sale at OWWM


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## chopnhack (Dec 16, 2007)

Being that it was out in the rain, you may want to use some electrical cleaner, dryer in a spray can, if you can open the motor up and clean it out gently. You don't want to short the thing out if it still works! 

I hear ya on the wiring, make it safe before you power it up!!


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Nice find Steve. 
And kudos to the wife for noticing it.


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## Faust (Jun 26, 2009)

I have a Walker Turner of similar age. Great little saw. I put a link belt drive on it and it is perfectly silent. Use it all of the time.


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