u/Equal_Association446

I'm waiting for a few odds and ends to finish the restoration work on the A-3 sanders I posted recently. While I'm between projects, I decided to tackle the belated restoration of the Porter-Cable K-10 10" circular saw that fits the older of my ERA radial arm attachments. Built around 1941, the saw alone cost 155.00, with the ERA running an additional 199.00, quite an expense for the average homebuilder, who was the main market for the design.

Well built, accurate, and ( with the right choice of saw- the ERA could accept eighteen different saws and two routers with the right mounting bracket ), the ERA still proves so handy that I have two of them in my shop!

It's been exceedingly belt sander heavy here in my repair shop. Having fitted new seals in a Porter-Cable 500G2 and major reworks on a pair of Rockwell 503s, it's time to tackle a group of A-3 sanders. Three of them are Porter-Cable versions from the early '50s, and the fourth is a Rockwell-badged 504 from the late '60s/early '70s. Of the four, there are only two with viable worm gears, so the best pair ( an A-3 that was made for the Canadian market, and the Rockwell ) will get sorted out right away. The best of the two remaining will be in drydock until I find someone willing to pay for a new gear ( it was given to me, but I have all the A-3s I want, so a new home is in order ), and the last one ... Well, it will give the gift of life to another sander some day.

Debuting in1944, the A-3/504 is the longest produced handheld power tool of all time, being made virtually unchanged until 2009. Far and away the most popular of Porter-Cable's worm drive sanders, it was even offered with an air motor, a version known as the 61E.

I've worked on every model of belt sander that Porter-Cable offered over the years, from the original B-5 to the doomed 371 , but the A-3 is by far the most frequent patient. At this point, I would estimate that I've repaired 120-150 A-3's, a testimony to how valued this classic workhorse is to craftsmen everywhere.

I'm in the midst of making spindles for our new stair railings, and have spent a fair bit of time in front of my c. 1925 Hutchinson Manufacturing " Handy Hutch" combination machine ( 12" table saw, 6" jointer ). Based in Norristown, PA, Hutchinson specialized in various combination machines, like the Ever-Ready and Beaver RAS/table saws. I like to describe Hutchinson products as painstakingly half-assed; while the mechanism for adjusting height or tilt ( which works by moving the table in relation to the stationary arbor ) is an elaborate twin captive screw helical geared arrangement that would be trick to mass produce even with modern equipment, the fit and finish of anything else is roundly ignored. When I got this machine, the motor couldn't be adjusted because the mounting bolt slots were irregular holes cast into the base. I spent quite a while fine tuning a lot of details to turn a good table saw into a truly great one. The founder, Mackintosh Hutchinson, would probably consider such things frivolities, but he's dead and it's my table saw.

The former owner of this saw received it many years ago from his neighbor, a grizzled old carpenter who went by the name Spike. Spike used this saw on the job site as a younger man, building houses. Later on, he spent his retirement volunteering his skills pro bono to homeowners in his area who didn't have the money to repair their homes.

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I've made some changes in this machine- I upgraded the original 4" jointer for the 6" heavy pattern version, added a dust collection shroud, an extension wing, a modified Delta 12/14 table saw fence system, and amm out feed table that can be raised/lowered and tilted with the main table. Oh, and the ceiling mounted guard? That's my take on a design developed by Rockwell to cut thermal tiles for NASA.

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Resto mods and finessed details aside, that Hutchinson remains the same no-nonsense workhorse it's been since day one, and I can't help but be impressed by a table saw that's survived to cut lumber from trees that weren't even planted yet when the saw was made. Maybe old Mackintosh would approve, after all.

Porter-Cable is generally thought of as a premier manufacturer of high end wood and metal working products that has sadly passed into tool history. That's only part of the story, though.

Porter-Cable has made everything from metal lathes to automotive parts, band saws to parachute harness parts and fighter plane fuel tanks in their 120years in business, but one of the most forgotten lines was the lawn and garden equipment. From 1938-1960, Porter-Cable offered various yard tools, both electric and gas powered. There were hedge trimmers, chain saws, riding mowers, and even a line of tillers that would become Troybilt. The subject of this post, however, is the Mark One Suburban Tractor.

Offered for only a few short years during the late '50s, the Mark One was a horizontal shaft engine ( Kohler or Briggs and Stratton, by request) powered, three speed design of fairly conventional layout. This machine could be outfitted with a plow, snowblower, or twin blades deck. The deck shared the same peculiarity as the riding mowers of running counterclockwise, discharging to the left front of the deck.

Equipped with agricultural tires and an extremely sturdy rear axle, the Mark One excels at pulling, as shown in ads of the time by towing a passenger plane down a runway.

My particular example was found some fifteen years ago, moldering away in a barn in Eastern NY. When I received it, the only parts that moved were the wheels; the steering was frozen solid, and the original hood and steering wheel were long gone, along with the battery cover.

Originally, the Mark One could be had with an electric start Briggs engine. This starter , made by Presto-lite and designed for outboard motors, had no provision for charging. Due to the poor condition of the tractor, I decided to abandon a restoration and modify the machine. Over the years, I have fitted a Remy-Delco starter generator, Ford tractor headlights, taillights from vintage bicycles, retrofitted Wheelhorse rear fenders/tool tray, found a replacement OEM hood assembly, and built an adapter to move the seat back ( I'm 6'3". The man who designed this was decidedly shorter ).

The Mark One gets used year round, and has a number of accessories from other manufacturers adapted to fit, such as the Sears dump trailer, a Wheelhorse snow plow, and a Simplicity grader blade. It's proven indispensable for yard work on a property, and is frequently the only way to transport materials through our marshy backyard ( the Mark One is so light that I used to load it in my truck by hooking the front tires on the tailgate, lifting the rear end, and sliding it forward ).

Sixty-five years later, this don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it piece of history still has what it takes.

The other day, I decided it was time to dig my grounds crew out of mothballs. The Mark 26 riding mower needed some minor adjustments to the speed control reeves drive, but the Iron Horse push mower fired up on the first pull.

Offered for several years , the Iron Horse was the first true Lawn-Boy, featuring a light, cast deck, and under deck exhaust, and the peculiar staggered wheel that gives it excellent trim mowing properties. When my wife and I were first married and had no money, we needed a lawnmower. That same week, a man rolled this Lawn-Boy into the repair shop where I worked as a power tool repairman, asking us to scrap it.

" What's wrong with it?", I inquired.

" Nothing", he replied. " I'm just sick of looking at this goddamn lawnmower".

Needless to say, I tuned it up, took it home, and have mowed with it once a week for over twenty years. I did a restoration many years ago; at the end of this season, I'll freshen up the paint so it looks it's best for the seventy-fifth mowing season. Truman was president when this mower was made, and it stills works just fine.

The Mark 26 was found in an outbuilding on the property of a highschool friend's grandparents when their estate was being settled. I dug it out from under a collapsed pile of scaffolding, restored it, and waited eleven years to have a yard big enough to use it. Part of Porter-Cable's short-lived outdoor power equipment line, this mower was only made for two years. The Mark 26 is a bizarre design, with tiller steering, a left hand mower deck, fender skirts, and an exhaust that exits from the rear like an automobile. Nevertheless, the Mark 26 is a credible machine, being both quick and extremely nimble.