turn of the century Racine Power Hacksaw rescued

Jeff in PA · Jan 10, 2015

I found an ad on CL for an "old power hacksaw" and since it was close enough to check out, I went to see it.

Guy wasn't sure how old it was but wanted it gone. After making sure it moved by hand, I got it for $80 with no motor.

It's a Racine 14" power hacksaw . I found patent dates of 1908, 1914 and 1918 on the door. Turns out it was originally run off an overhead lineshaft ( flat belt ). It was converted over to an electric motor. I found a Wagner 1 hp motor also on CL for $100. I made a new plate and altered the jackshaft to make it work.

Slide show of my pictures
Racine Power Hack Saw Slideshow by JRD77VET | Photobucket

I got it running and called the guy I purchased it from to let him know. He was glad I got it working as if it didn't sell, he was going to scrap it. When he said that, I asked about the Walker Turner drill press he had and went the next week and picked that up.

Here's my power hacksaw running

I'll have to make ( or find ) another lift pad as this one is worn and doesn't lift the blade all the time.

Jeff

Uglydog · Jan 10, 2015

Great save!!
I may have a manual for this wonder.
If you'd like me to look for it, then I'll scan it and forward it to your email.

Daryl
MN

Jeff in PA · Jan 10, 2015

Uglydog said:
Great save!!
I may have a manual for this wonder.
If you'd like me to look for it, then I'll scan it and forward it to your email.

Daryl
MN

If you have a manual for this style machine, that would be great. PM sent with my email address.

Thanks
Jeff

XYZER · Jan 10, 2015

We had one of those in our high school shop. They cut tons for years.

Jeff in PA · Jan 10, 2015

XYZER said:
We had one of those in our high school shop. They cut tons for years.

It still work well. I use it every week.

rj1939 · Apr 21, 2018

Bringing this one back up, because I have one as well, maybe a bit older.........It says "The Racine" on the arm. Seems to be common to have lifter mechanism gone, mine as well. I'd like to get mine going, been sitting long enough.

RCPDesigns · Apr 22, 2018

rj1939 said:
Bringing this one back up, because I have one as well, maybe a bit older.........It says "The Racine" on the arm. Seems to be common to have lifter mechanism gone, mine as well. I'd like to get mine going, been sitting long enough.

I hate to be the one to tell you, but it can't be repaired. In addition, it can't be accepted at the scrap yard or dump. Fortunately for you, I've been authorized by the United States something or other to dispose of this for you. You will be required to ship it to my, uh, business where I will <cough> dispose of it for you.

Joking aside, please do post pictures. I'd love to see more of these guys. I've been trying to get a small, but not too small, one for years but keep missing out.

rj1939 · Apr 22, 2018

RCPDesigns said:
I hate to be the one to tell you, but it can't be repaired. In addition, it can't be accepted at the scrap yard or dump. Fortunately for you, I've been authorized by the United States something or other to dispose of this for you. You will be required to ship it to my, uh, business where I will <cough> dispose of it for you.

Joking aside, please do post pictures. I'd love to see more of these guys. I've been trying to get a small, but not too small, one for years but keep missing out.

You made me feel better.......I gave a little too much for it some years back (by what other ones have sold for) This one is a very nice size. I figured there would be a lot more information about Racine out there.
I'm sure I can figure out what it needs...or at least how to get the lifter function to work as it should. :cheers:

Will try to get pics when I can get it moved, after the rain finally lets up this week.

rj1939 · Apr 28, 2018

Finally some dry days, moved the mighty Racine out to check it over.

The pics of the lift mechanism, such as it is, don't show up real well.

rj1939 · Apr 29, 2018

The lifter mechanism looks very out of place for a hundred year old machine. The "crescent" shaped piece and the piece that engages it have very fine teeth cut in them.......doesn't look right for the time. Anyway, those teeth are worn and don't hold. Looks like I'll be making a new one, but I'm going to make the teeth larger, for better engagement. The cam raises the arm @ .150 on the forward stroke, so I figured the teeth should be close to that. That would give a pretty defined step to engage.............currently there are probably 5 teeth in that same space.

RCPDesigns · Aug 5, 2018

RCPDesigns said:
I hate to be the one to tell you, but it can't be repaired. In addition, it can't be accepted at the scrap yard or dump. Fortunately for you, I've been authorized by the United States something or other to dispose of this for you. You will be required to ship it to my, uh, business where I will <cough> dispose of it for you.

Joking aside, please do post pictures. I'd love to see more of these guys. I've been trying to get a small, but not too small, one for years but keep missing out.

So I just got caught by my own joke. Serves me right I guess. I've finally located a Racine and I was doing a search in the forum, came along this thread and my heart sunk when I read the words in the reply... "I hate to be the one to tell you, but it can't be repaired..."

Hoping to pick it up this weekend and if all goes well I'll be sure to start a thread on it.

rj1939 · Aug 5, 2018

Pics or it didn't happen.
I can't believe how little there is as far as information on them, it is like there were none before hydraulics.

RCPDesigns · Aug 5, 2018

It isn't as big as the one you posted pictures of, but I do believe it is about the same size as the OP (Jeff in PA).
I don't have it yet... so I'm afraid to post pictures or I might jinx it. It is going to be a LONG week because I'm really excited about going and getting it. I've been looking a long time for a power hacksaw this size.

rj1939 · Aug 5, 2018

Yeah, mine does seem to be longer than most..........but as you can see, somebody has modified it to use shorter blades. When I went to buy blades, wasn't sure what size to even go with, ended up going with some a little longer than what was in it, but not as long as it would handle.
I am finally getting close to attempting to make a new "rack" for the lifter mechanism. It is kind of a crescent moon shaped piece that a pawl engages to lift the arm. The curvature matches a 8.5 inch radius pretty well. I've been puzzling over how to cut the teeth on the crescent......a dividing head seems awkward for the job. I'm inclined to use the shaper and swivel the head for cutting the teeth, extending the head down to where it matches an 8.5 inch radius.
Plan to case harden it afterward, since the pawl is always dragging across it on the way down.
Not a real good setup, or so it seems.

RCPDesigns · Aug 12, 2018

Wonderfully smooth trip this weekend resulted in the Racine making it safely back to my shop! The previous owner had it ready to load into our van and it couldn't have been much smoother. The saw exceeds expectations in about every way. It is very complete, possibly only missing the sliding weight. It is dirty but doesn't appear to be rusted anywhere and moves freely. The lift mechanism works, the clutch seems fine and the auto stop appears to work as well. I have only run it through a couple of strokes by hand as the motor doesn't work and I'm not sure I want to keep the current arrangement (ie; on the cart with a gear reduction unit). It seems to be in such good condition I might just give it a good mechanical once over, lube it up and use it until I have time for a proper restoration. I'm not a huge fan of the cart and will probably build a more proper base for it when I restore it. These saws had such nice bases it would be a shame to leave it on the cart.

rj1939 · Aug 12, 2018

I would like to have some real close up pics of the crescent shaped piece of the blade lifting mechanism. Mine just does not look age appropriate for the rest of the machine IMHO. I am going to attempt to make a new piece with coarser teeth for more positive engagement.

RCPDesigns · Aug 12, 2018

I should be able to do that tonight.

rj1939 · Aug 12, 2018

The teeth on the crescent and the pawl are very fine, much finer and precision than I would expect on a 1910-1920 machine. Whatever it is made out of hardly rusts, something I wouldn't expect to see on that vintage......certainly an alloy. As fine as the teeth are, any rust would render them non existent in short order.
I had wondered if there was a "retrofit" for the original and that is what I am looking at.

RCPDesigns · Aug 12, 2018

These seem pretty fine as well.

rj1939 · Aug 12, 2018

I appreciate your effort.

That is what I have. I'm going to try coarser teeth and engage one tooth at a time for better engagement...........Another idea is to try and sharpen the teeth, they are fairly hard, too much for a file. Possibly stoning them, since they don't show that much wear.........and there is only part of it showing wear. Machine grinding with a form ground stone is problematic since you have to follow the concave.

turn of the century Racine Power Hacksaw rescued

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