Does anyone know where I could get ahold of a shipsaw? im on the east coast. Thanks!
Does anyone know where I could get ahold of a shipsaw? im on the east coast. Thanks!
Do you mean an old cast iron bandsaw where the bandsaw moves and the table stays horizontal for ships outer rib bevel cutting?
If so they're rare beasties. Only ever seen one Sagar (pre Wadkin) for sale in years this side of the pond...
I know of one in New Jersey, but when the own gets sick of it sitting and rusting in his yard, where it has been since about 2000, I am buying it.
There is a joy in madness, that only mad men know. -Nieztsche
I wonder what happened to the one Leo Goolden had. I don't believe it made the move with him, nor does he have much use for it any more. Wrong coast, but there is a decent chance it could be available.
I wonder if engineering a carriage for tilting a modern bandsaw would not be rocket surgery and might be less effort/cost than transporting and refurbishing an ancient behemoth.
Has anyone seen such a thing?
Didnt Louis make a contraption for tilting the table on a standard bandsaw for cutting rolling bevels in one of his videos? Maybe the one for the sport dory?
Louis did adjust a small bandsaw to do a rolling bevel, but you can only cut timber up to a certain size/weight on it because the table tilts instead of the saw, and so heavy timber is going to want to slide off while your cutting.
Yes, I own one in Wa state that I am trying to get to the east coast and know of another also in Wa that is for sale.
Nicholas
I believe there is one just sitting in a building (falling down around it) in Greenport Long Island.
I had some pics, .. I'll see if I still have them.
I'm not one for saying when stuff's for sale, not connected etc, but there's a ship saw gone on UK Ebay. These are useful bandsaws for building that sawn frame 30ft cutter. The bandsaw not the table moves, upto 45 degrees for heavy timbers while one guy pushes the wood, the other dials the bevel angle.
A Bursgreen (a few years later incorporated into Wadkin to become Wadkin Bursgreen in the later 1950's) these were the version Sagar of Halifax made before they were bought out and the rights changed hands. The basic bandsaw the MZF, but this is the 'ship saw' version and they are rare as hens teeth.
This one looks in decent condition, though no fence. It's 415v 3 phase so suitable for a small commercial builder. For small boat building its not necessary to use a ship saw, but for bevelling futtocks it was quite the tool back in the day I believe.
There look cast iron, but I think are actually welded steel. Still very heavy, several hundred kilo's. The motors are pre dual voltage so its not a simple job to wire an inverter, you'd have to pull out the star point inside the motor and change it for that. Also old motors (this one is 1951 it appears) can have degraded insulation on the wiring. I think these were flange mounted too, so a new motor might need some surgery to fit...pulley size and location also if it was swapped, to go 240v. Dust extraction wasn't even an afterthought and no brake etc back then. On the good side the small MZF range fit under normal ceiling heights - in domestic garages etc, they are not too tall as alot of commercial stuff is.
Anyhow, the last one I saw go for £500, this one is double that, but if you want one, there's no choice in the matter. A small commercial yard would see the usefulness though. I think they have 250-300mm under the guides. There is a basic (non ship saw) MZF data sheet in Wadkin's online archive. The Sagar MZF ones predate the Wadkin ones as they came before.
https://www.wadkin.com/wadkin-mzf-bandsaw
It might not get any bids, his not giving it away and its heavy. If you bid you'll more than likely be buying it. Just letting UK peeps know. Oh and its up North (Mansfield). Needs to find love and appreciation in a small boatyard.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385419087...Bk9SR_TP87XLYQ
Last edited by Edward Pearson; 02-16-2023 at 01:34 PM.
Hello,
I wonder if our friend from JSTARBOATS might be interested in this saw?
He might be able to put it to good use as he gets further into restoring his James Silver Motor-Sailer.
Alan