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Craftsman has been a household name in tools for decades.  Many older home improvement enthusiasts have fond memories of watching a service rep in their local Sears Parts and Service Center retrieving a dusty old parts manual from a wall with manuals from end to end.  The Rep would then page through the volume until the desired part was found.  Some of these guys were so knowledgeable you didn’t even need to bring your tool’s model # in with you.  A simple description started them off on the right track and they would drill down till they got a picture of your tool.  Later, the process was repeated on Microfiche readers, where the Rep scrolled through screen after screen of parts schematics.

Today all this can take place right on the Internet at searspartsdirect.com.  All you need is the model and serial number of your Craftsman table saw and you can find what you need.  If you’ve lost your original owner’s manual, it’s not a problem.  You can find manuals for most saws on the net.  Parts availability has always given Craftsman table saws an edge over their competition.  If you have a newer saw, finding craftsman parts for it is a relatively painless endeavor.  But suppose you’ve found a dingy looking old Craftsman table saw at a garage or estate sale somewhere.  Can it be restored? Can you still find Craftsman table saw parts for a vintage saw?  Are some old Craftsman table saws more suitable for restoration than others?

Craftsman “113” Table Saw Parts

If you’re new to the wonderful world of table saws you may not have yet discovered the Internet woodworking discussion forums.   Suppose you’ve uncovered an old Craftsman saw with the model #113.22411 faintly visible on the faceplate.  Enter the model # into your favorite Internet Search Engine and you’ll be surprised by the number of entries.  You’ll find forum posts where you’ll learn that the “113” designation means the saw was made by Emerson Electric and testimonials from users who have 40 and 50 year old saws made for Craftsman by Emerson Electric that are still humming along with no operational end in sight.

Getting Help with Craftsman Table Saw Restorations

The woodworking forums are great sources for advice and guidance.  They are generally populated by two kinds of people:  those who need help and those who love to give help.  In addition there are some sites dedicated to vintage woodworking equipment.  One of the better ones is Old Wood-Working Machines at owwm.com.

This site was started back in 2000 by a dedicated community of woodworking equipment restoration enthusiasts.  Take a moment to visit the site and you’ll notice it is 100% “commercial free” – no ads of any kind.  In contrast, visit BobVilla.com, another source for help with power tools.  Content generated from the user’s search query is crammed in the center of the page, between full columns of ads on both the right and the left.  For those users who like ads, the OWWM site has a classified ads section where users can buy and sell used equipment and parts.  The page is under construction as of mid January, 2010 but will be back.  In the meantime, buyers and sellers can post what they have on OWWM’s dedicated discussion forum at owwm.org.

On the owwm.com site you can find a manufacturer’s index where you can find more information than you can imagine about the history of that vintage saw you may have found.  There is an extensive photo section with pictures of old woodworking equipment submitted by site users.  You can find article reprints on a wide variety of woodworking equipment topics as well as links to sites with additional resource information.  If you’re thinking about restoring an old Craftsman table saw – or any other vintage woodworking power tool – this site is definitely worth more than a quick look.