Walker Turner 16 inch Bandsaw FAQs
- 1. What can you tell me about my bandsaw or Walker-Turner?
- 2. When was my bandsaw made?
- 3. Where can I get replacement parts?
- 4. Where can I get blades?
- 5. What length blade should I get?
- 6. Where can I get tires?
- 7. How do I replace the tires?
- 8. Should I crown the tires?
- 9. How do I crown the tires?
- 10. How do I get the wheels off?
- 11. Should I replace the guides?
- 12. Should I repaint my saw?
- 13. What kind of paint did you use?
- 14. Can I put my bandsaw in a mobile base? What kind?
1. What can you tell me about my bandsaw or Walker-Turner?
I can't tell you very much about your particular bandsaw. The Walker-Turner Co., Inc. made woodworking machinery starting in about 1931. Walker-Turner originally was located in Jersey City, NJ but sometime around 1933 relocated to Plainfield, NJ.
In 1948, Kearney & Trecker acquired Walker-Turner, which became known as the Walker-Turner Division of Kearney & Trecker.
In 1956, Rockwell Manufacturing Co. acquired the Walker-Turner Division and continued using that name until some time in the early 1960's. Rockwell also owned the Delta name that everyone knows today. As far as I know, Delta still owns all of the rights to the Walker-Turner name, but has never used it since the 1960's.
Among us crazy antique woodworking machinery nuts, Walker-Turner is known as "W-T" and is well-regarded as making good quality machinery, but with a few quirks and flaws.
W-T started out with a line of light-weight, inexpensive machines known as the "Driver Line," sold through department stores, such as Sears, Roebuck & Co., aimed at the home hobbyist. W-T also made machines for those stores badged with the store brand name. Sears had an early line of machines bearing a "Companion" badge, some of which W-T made.
W-T's early line of machines included small lathes, small tilting-top table saws, small drill presses, small jointers, jig saws, a 10" bandsaw, a 12" bandsaw, grinders, motors, a lightweight spindle shaper and various parts and accessories. Production grew rapidly and by the 1940s, W-T produced several full lines of smaller machines as well as larger, industrial production machinery, including 12", 14" and 16" bandsaws for metal and wood.
The 16" bandsaw, floor-standing drill presses and radial arm drill press today are sought-after and well-regarded machines among those familiar with W-T machinery.
Although their earliest machines are quite small and light-weight, their machinery in general is well made and solid, with high-quality castings and nicely machined steel parts, which make them long-lasting and smooth running. But for some reason presumably known only to the engineers and bean counters, W-T used odd bearing sizes and custom thread sizes in certain applications. They also used a lightweight potmetal for the trunnions on tilting bandsaw tables and table saws, which can be prone to breakage, especially when people who don't know any better try to move the machines by grabbing the table or tipping the machine over on its side. Also, the casting that houses the table tilt mechanism on the 16" bandsaw is thin and often is broken or missing.
For even more detailed information about W-T (or for most any other old woodworking machine), the best resource on the internet is the Old Woodworking Machines website ("OWWM"). Another fantastic resource is the companion OWWM Forum, where you'll find a bunch of incredibly nice and incredibly knowledgeable people, who all are very willing to share their knowledge and help someone with an antique woodworking machine.
(Back to top)Hard to say without a detailed study. But the Walker-Turner dating page from the OWWM "wiki" might help you get close. Also spend some time looking at the old catalog and manual reprints (what we call "dirty paper") - sometimes that's the best way to narrow it down.
(Back to top)3. Where can I get replacement parts?
Unfortunately, since W-T no longer exists and hasn't for a generation or more, replacement parts can be hard to come by, depending on what you're looking for.
Bearings can be replaced. I recommend calling Lynne at Accurate Bearing Co. at (800) 323-6458. Tell her you're a woodworker with an old Walker-Turner bandsaw and she'll very gladly help you.
For the 16" bandsaw, the bearings should be:
Top wheel bearings: 6203
Bottom wheel bearings: 6204-3/4
Note that the bottom bearings have a 3/4" bore, which is not standard for a 6204 bearing, so you must specify the 3/4" bore. I recommend getting sealed bearings, rather than shielded or open. Lynne can help you with that. Bearings are cheap, so it's worth getting good ones - don't cheap out.
You also might be able to get certain replacement parts from Jeff at Walker Turner Serviced Machinery LLC. His address is PO Box 666, Coventry, CT 06238 and e-mail is wtsmllc@juno.com.
Other than that, look on e-Bay, Craig's List, etc., for other incomplete machines that you can take parts from.
(Back to top)Suffolk Machinery sells Timber Wolf blades.
McMaster-Carr also sells blades.
Starrett blades have a good reputation.
I also have heard good things about Lenox blades.
(Back to top)5. What length blade should I get?
The Walker-Turner paperwork states the blade length as 114-1/2 inches.
(Back to top)I recommend Carter rubber tires. I do not recommend using the orange or blue polyurethane tires.
(Back to top)7. How do I replace the tires?
Carter provides detailed instructions with their tires. It's actually pretty easy.
(Back to top)Yes. Crowning will make the blade track true. Which is why I recommend the rubber tires. You can crown rubber tires, which you cannot do with the polyurethane tires.
(Back to top)There are various ways to crown bandsaw tires. Here is how I did it. Here are some other examples:
- Using an Oliver 34 30" disc sander.
- On a lathe
- A neat jig for producing a rounded crown on a disc sander
- On a lathe with a homemade sanding disc
- Using a sanding disc on a radial arm saw
- A special jig using a die grinder to do it with the wheel on the saw
- On an Oliver 102 Pattern Mill using a tungsten carbide steel sanding disc
- A jerry-rigged jig using an angle grinder with the wheel on the saw
- Using an end mill in a vertical milling machine
- Another disc sander crowning jig
- Another disc sander setup
- A cautionary tale about using a disc sander for crowning tires
- A benchtop rig using a Foredom grinder
That should provide enough ideas for you to cobble up your own approach.
(Back to top)10. How do I get the wheels off?
The top wheel should come off pretty easily. You might need a wheel puller to get it moving, but it shouldn't put up much resistance. You will need a wheel puller for the bottom wheel. It is on a tapered, keyed shaft, and that taper locks in pretty tight. If it won't budge, spray it with Kroil and let it sit for a day. Repeat a couple times. Then go at it with the wheel puller. When it finally lets go, it will pop off with a loud bang, which will startle you and you'll think you broke something.
(Back to top)11. Should I replace the guides?
As long as your guides are all there, there is no real good reason to replace them, unless you want to dedicate the machine to a specialty operation (such as resawing, or tight scroll work). I would clean up and refurbish the original guides as necessary, get them properly adjusted, and use the saw for a while. Then you can decided whether you need specialty guides,which are available from Carter and others.
Here is what the original guides should look like: upper guides; lower guides; except that the thrust bearings shown are not original.
(Back to top)Whether or not to repaint is largely personal preference. To me, more important than aesthetics is that the machine functions properly. Many old woodworking machines enthusiasts focus only on getting the machine running smoothly. As long as it functions well, they leave it at that. If the machine is all rusty, though, I believe it is worth cleaning it up and repainting, to protect it from further rust and decay. Whether or not to match the original paint and try to make it look like it did when it came from the factory is the subject of another debate, and as far as I'm concerned is really a matter of personal preference.
(Back to top)13. What kind of paint did you use on your saw?
I used Rustoleum Hammered spray paint in powder blue.
(Back to top)14. Can I put my bandsaw in a mobile base? What kind?
Yes, you can put it in a mobile base, but you'll have to be careful when moving it about. A full-up 16" Walker-Turner bandsaw weighs about 500 lbs, and a lot of that weight is several feet up off the floor. The small footprint makes it a bit top-heavy and it is possible to tip it over when you push or pull it to move it around if you're not careful. I have put mine in an HTC2000 mobile base, but if I were to do it again, I would get the Jet 708118 Universal Mobile Base.
(Back to top)Please let me know if you have any other questions or information that should be added to this FAQ.