The band saw has been sitting patiently in the corner of the garage since sometime in June. I promised to get a few projects completed before starting any work on the saw.
Last week I finally finished the last project on my honey-do list and was able to start the refurbishment. This first thing I did was take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures of every part from multiple angles. I’ll be using these to make sure that things go back together properly.
I’ve done a fair amount of research and to the best of my knowledge, Crescent Machine Co. didn’t make saws with big OSHA style blade guards until they were purchase in1945 by Pittsburgh Equitable Meter and Manufacturing Company, which later became the Rockwell Manufacturing Company. The guard on my saw don’t look to bad but aren’t original and because of that I’m going to remove them permanently.
26" Crescent Machine Company band saw
Lucky for me, whoever modified the blade guards used the original mounts. This is going to save me some grief when it comes time to make blade guards similar to those that came on the saw.
Original blade guard brackets
Taking the saw apart was pretty straight forward. I removed the blade first. My workbench is 46″ wide. I attempted to fold the blade up neatly but almost decapitated myself. After some practise with one of my smaller band saw blades and a pair of gloves I was successful.
26" band saw blade
Once the blade of death was out of the way, the rest of the saw came apart very quickly. I was able to tear it down to the frame while taking pictures and notes in an hour and a half. Here’s the saw completely tore down.
My plan is to start with the frame and then add to it as I work through each of the individual parts. This will hopefully free up room in the garage as the project progresses.
Stay tuned for the next update!
One Tool at a Time 
#1 by Jim Barrett on October 20, 2016 - 4:41 PM
Great article on the Crescent band saw. I bought a Crescent 8″ jointer in the 1980s. I started researching it recently. It has the round head with patent dates as early as 1909. I could not find any photos of it until I saw pictures of The Universal machine. I realized then, that it was cut off the combo machine and had a GE motor added. They also filled the base with concrete for stability. It is likely around 100 years old, and still in service. Jim B. in NH