I was sitting home yesterday, not really planning on going out, when my phone rang. Noting that it was a friend of mine, I answered it. (as opposed to a client who would just go to voice mail) Me asked me if I wanted a cold saw... Not really being fully awake even though it was late in the morning, it took me a moment to figure out what he meant. Eventually the cobwebs cleared, and I answered yes as any good tool junkie would. So it was off to pick it up, from a shop that was throwing it out. Yea, you read that right, throwing out a tool...
Now, as you're most likely not a tool nut, let me explain what I'm talking about here... A cold saw is a lovely unit designed to cut metal of just about any type. It does so quite quietly compared to just about any other option, and keeps the stock and blade cool with an oil/lube that gets pumped over the blade. In short, it is the saw to have if you are going to be cutting the types of materials we deal with in the theatre... Why didn't I have one already?... Well the damn things cost $5000 when you try to buy them new, and they end up in the $3000 range for used ones... That's a tad out of my typical bottom feeding price range... I've been on the hunt for one for years at auctions in PA where you can sometimes stumble across something the rest of the people know nothing about...
At any rate, They were tossing this unit... Why you may ask?... Well the vice on the unit has ceased up... They tried for a couple days to break it loose, but in the end, they need a working saw, and didn't want to mess with it any longer... Replacing the vice apparently would cost $3000, so I understand their desire to just buy new... (I still don't accept that the vice costs that much...) At any rate, I am a firm believer that there is no piece of industrial equipment that can not be brought back from the dead... To this end, I am going to take the vice out to Pennsylvania this weekend, drop it in a tub, and soak it in kerosene... I'm going to leave it in there for a month... I have to believe that the glop that is causing the problem will dissolve in there...
The machine runs on a 3 phase motor... Unfortunately, I don't have 3 phase power in my shop... However, for a couple hundred bucks I can get or make a 3 phase converter... That plus the 10 gallons of kerosene will put be some place around the $210-225 mark for a $5000 saw... I think I can live with that...