Powermatic 141 worth purchasing?

[cmatthewjames]

Hello,

Brand new member here. I am hoping for some guidance and advice on a band saw I'm considering purchasing. A picture is enclosed and below for your viewing. Does anyone have any more information on these? Is it worth the time/expense to redo? Are parts available?

It is an older Powermatic band saw that has been neglected for many years. I think the model number reads "141" I wasn't able to plug it in to test function.

The seller is very anxious to get rid of the machines and has indicated he would accept a pretty low price. Any suggestions for an offer?

Thank you in advance for your time!

 

[middle.road]

Didn't we just cover this over on the MSC mill posting?
This is another good ol' hunk of iron. If it is solid and not clapped out.
Need to look at the wheels an see what condition they are in.
Look for cracks or breakage in the frame and elsewhere.
Check the bearings, check for 'wobble', look for anything worn out.

Most can be fixed.
Worth at least a Benjamin. One similar and beat up went for $275 at an auction down here.

 

[Meta Key]

The Powermatic 141 is a wood cutting band saw. The cast iron frame makes it a quiet and stable wood cutter. It's a single speed (SFM) saw.

The Powermatic 143 is a combination wood and metal cutting band saw. It added a two speed transmission and four sets of pulleys (instead of one set in the wood cutting Model 141) for a total of 8 cutting speeds from 40 SFM up to 3000 SFM.

I have a 143 (that I love). Solid machine.

The manual for the Powermatic 141 is available here.

 

[Larry42]

As long as no castings are cracked or have been "fixed," everything else is fixable. Belts, sheaves & bearings are available from industrial supply houses, replacement tires are available, you can replace the guides with all new from Carter, all electrical is easily replaced with off the shelf stuff. It may also be that the Chinese PM machines have the same parts. McMaster-Carr has lots of knobs, set screws, etc.
How far are you willing to go to spend the time & $ to make it nearly like new? Cobble a gear box onto it and make it also able to cut metal.

 

[cmatthewjames]

So, I ended up buying the band saw and the other two pieces from my other thread ( RF40 mill drill and a South Bend 9a)

I was pleasantly surprised to discover the band saw was a 143, not a 141. Brought it home and started cleaning, scraping, etc. I don't have 3 phase power, so I'll need to address that ASAP. The only thing I found broken was one of the cast pieces that holds the table secure... Didn't seem like a big deal.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. Don't know much about any of these machines. Thanks!

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[matthewsx]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Congratulations on finding some very worthy machines, you have found the right place to ask questions about them. Feel free to keep this thread going or start new ones for the individual machines....

It's hard to give general advice but do ask lots of questions as you go along with them, take lots of pictures and keep parts organized if you take anything apart. Three phase can be had a number of different ways but wiring in a VFD is probably the most popular these days. It must be wired directly to the motor and any control switches need to be retrofitted to work with it. Static and rotary phase converters will also work and may be preferred if you have multiple three phase machines to power.

But, get the manuals and make sure everything is properly lubricated, grounded and freed up before trying to run anything. And again, don't be afraid to ask and if you're unsure about operating them get instruction to stay safe.

Cheers,

John

 

[Janderso]

That is a great saw.
Welcome.