Bought a used table saw from 1987 and got it running last weekend

I picked up an old Craftsman table saw off Facebook Marketplace for like 40 bucks three weeks ago. The thing was covered in rust and the blade wouldn't even spin more than half a turn. I spent last Saturday taking it all apart, scrubbing everything with vinegar and a wire brush, and greasing up the moving parts. After I got it reassembled and put on a new blade I found at a garage sale for 5 bucks, it fired right up. The fence is still a little wonky but for the price I cannot complain. Has anyone else brought an old tool back from the dead like this? Any tips on straightening out a fence that seems to drift a bit on one side?

2 comments

2 Comments

white.grant22d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy Mike found a 1950s drill press in a barn and got it spinning again last month.

the_hannah22d ago

Does it feel like half the satisfaction of working on older stuff is just the whole process of bringing it back? I've noticed that with a lot of things, not just tools, like fixing up an old bike or even re-potting a sad plant from the clearance section. For the fence, maybe check if the rails themselves are bent or if the fence is just loose on the sliding part, sometimes a little shim of thick paper or thin wood can take up the slack and make it track straight. My uncle had an old Delta band saw that was missing half its parts and he just kept swapping bits from other broken saws he found at flea markets until it worked perfectly.