A few weeks ago I was looking through the local Craigslist tool adds when I happened upon an add for a band saw. The title was simply "Band saw" and didn't have any pictures. This is what the add said:

     "antique industrial band saw runs and fully functional made in the early 1900's great for ripping

      logs up to 12" call for more info"

After reading this and realizing that the saw was only 15 miles down the road, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to contact the seller. The add said to call, but they didn't leave a phone number, only an email address. So I emailed but didn't get a reply. Two days later, I checked the add again, and this time there was a phone number but it only had 6 digits... As you can imagine this was quite frustrating. After some digging, I found another add by the same seller that had a 7 digit phone number. I called and thankfully it worked! I made arrangements to see it that afternoon.

When I got to the gentleman's house, I was a little worried because the saw was sitting under a awning coming off of a shed. The humidity and high salt content in the soil in this part of the country usually makes quick work of old cast iron and unprotected metal. As I approached the saw I realized that the wheel guards weren't original. The size was quite impressive.

 

I asked the gentleman who the manufacturer was and he was unsure but thought it might be made by "General Machine Company". I'd never heard of them and just moved on to inspecting the saw. It's 3 phase, and the power wasn't hooked up so there was no way of seeing it run, but all of the parts moved relatively smoothly. The wheels spun easily, the table rotated and locked into position, and all of the belt tension-er and wheel adjustments seemed to work. As I moved to inspecting the base for cracks or damage I saw who the manufacturer was and almost couldn't contain myself. Crescent Machine Co.! 

Here's a kicker... I had mentioned during the last month or so that I'd like to have a 26" or 32" Crescent band saw someday. Call this destiny if you like. 15 minutes and a handshake later I had settled on a price and made arrangements to pick her up in three days.
 

Tuesday morning came so early but that's okay because I couldn't sleep a wink the night before. I had packed the truck and trailer with anything I thought would be needed the day before and then double checked everything twice. Like a kid anticipating Christmas morning, I slept in 15 minute increments fearing that I'd oversleep and the deal would fall through. My help showed up on time and we headed to get the saw. To make the move easier, I removed the two tables and motor from the saw. I built a pallet to place the saw on, making it easier to move. Using round fence posts and shuffling a little, we managed to roll her onto the trailer pretty easily.
 

With her secured to the trailer and confident everything would hold, we started the journey home. Once home I was able to get a few better pictures. Here you can see the left side. For those of you who know about Crescent band saws you've probably noticed the pedestal base mount. This band saw was originally part of a Universal Woodworker and not a stand alone machine. 
 

 

I'm not as crazy about John Deer green as her previous owner but that will change in time. My plan is to take her apart completely, clean everything up, replace or repair anything that's broken or worn and put her back together. 

Here's a shot of how she currently fits into my shop. My first task in the restoration is to design and build a lower profile rolling base. But before I can do that, my girlfriend has requested that I finish a few projects around the house first.
 

I've got a couple questions for those of you familiar with Crescent's machinery.  
 

1.)  I've been searching for a serial number but have had no luck. In my research I've learned that serial numbers where not put in one "regular" place and that they could be almost anywhere. I have looked in the usual places but no luck. I'm sure when I begin stripping paint and cleaning her up that I'll find something, but do any of you guys know if Crescent stamped serial numbers on all of the pieces of Universal Woodworkers?  

2.)  I've been trying to figure out how old the band saw is. The Universal Woodworker was introduced between the 1912 and 1913 catalogs. Looking at the features on the saw and in the product descriptions I believe that she is from the period of 1920-1930. Does anybody know of a type study or a place where I can find better dating information? I've been researching OWWM mainly.
 

Thanks for looking and I truly appreciate your comments and inputs!
 

Christopher

Can't help you with any information but will say- "That's a Nice Saw"!!

Christopher

That is a beautifull old machine. My advice is to show this to the guys on OWWM. You will get all the Crescent information available on that site. Just google OWWM. Go to OWWM.org.

 

Theo

She's a beauty, nice hunt.

You would probably have to have the serial number in order to figure out the age of the saw.

I'm glad it wasn't listed over here, I would have been trying to figure out how to get it myself LOL

Beautiful piece of machinery.  The old iron may not look as pretty as the new, fancy stuff, but it sure out performs most of the stuff on the market today. 

WOW! What a find, Chris. You got 3 phase?

That's a gem! I always wanted a big old band saw. This is supposed to be easy if you have the serial number. 

Here's a useful link

http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=224

Try the OWW now named http://vintagemachinery.org/

Crescent made some really fine machines.

Gene, I do not have 3 phase but will be researching phase converters and maybe even switching to a single phase motor. I think I can get the rpm's using a 3 to 5 horsepower single phase motor. If you have any advice on either of these ideas, I'd love to hear what you know???? 

 

Gene Howe said:

 

 

WOW! What a find, Chris. You got 3 phase? 

Chris, I actually love the old cast iron. Modern equipment is all square and covered in sheet metal. I love vintage tools because their maker's included a certain amount of class and style that you don't see these days. 

Chris said:

Beautiful piece of machinery.  The old iron may not look as pretty as the new, fancy stuff, but it sure out performs most of the stuff on the market today. 

Thanks everybody for the positive comments!

I've taken your advice and visited vintagemachinery.org. Let me share with you what I've learned about Crescent Machine Company and their serial numbers...

Crescent assigned serial numbers to machinery in sequential order as it was leaving the factory no matter the type of machine. For instance, if a customer ordered a band saw, table saw and a jointer; the serial numbers where stamped before they left the factory. So there's no particular serial number format for a machine type.

I searched the photo index at vintagemachinery.org and looked at everyone of the 26" band saws and universal woodworkers that were listed. There are a few band saws that had been converted from Universal Woodworkers similar to mine, but none of them had serial numbers. I looked at the Universal Woodworkers, and all but one contain a serial number. On those, the serial number was documented as being stamped on the table saw. Currently I'm thinking that Crescent considered the Universal Woodworker to be one single machine and assigned it a single serial number. That would mean that my saw probably doesn't have a serial number.

The next thing I did was look through all of the Crescent catalogs starting in 1913 to see if there were identifiable features on the Universal's band saw that might help narrow down the age of my saw. Starting in 1916, Crescent didn't really change much on the band saws as far as features. There was a noticeable change in the early 20's to the shape of the belt tension wheel. This leaves me to the conclusion that my saw was manufactured sometime between 1916-1930. 

Serial number or not; it doesn't change my thoughts on the saw. I'm happy to have it and look forward to seeing it run before the end of the summer.

Christopher

Chris,

Very nice piece.

Keep us posted! Looking forward to seeing the restoration process of this beautiful band saw.

Christopher, Glad that you got this machine instead of the scrap pile. I can tell you will give this machine a good home and care for it to save a piece of history. I'm sure the old girl will be happy to be back to work. GOOD LUCK with your find.

A nice find. I just picked up a 26" Silver and a B-36 saw, both in working condition. I hope to do the same. Check out the OWWM site

A nice find. I just picked up a 26" Silver and a B-36 saw, both in working condition. I hope to do the same. Check out the OWWM site

Welcome Antonio, glad you made it aboard with us! If you have images of your saw at the OWWM please link them here in this discussion, or give a link to OWWM where your images can be seen, there are many woodworkers and folks who have never heard of OWWM, and a link is always helpful. I'd also like to encourage you to start a new topic about your saws and post some images, we'd love to see them up close. Thanks Antonio!

Crescent did sometimes stamp serial numbers on the shaft of the upper wheel. It is located on one of the sides and the corresponding number will also be stamped on the frame adjacent to the shaft. They did not always stamp their machines, especially in the early years. My guess is that the saw did come from a universal woodworker.

 

As for 3 phase, you have a couple of options. A rotary converter, a VFD or switching to a single phase motor. Depending on the HP of the saw now a single phase will probably be the most expensive option. A VFD is a really nice option and is very easy to wire and install.

Very Nice find Christopher. Will be watching to see the restoration.

Hi do you still deal with crescent bandsaws I recently bought one and I'm wondering if parts are still available