Blue Star Band Saw Restoration

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Blue Star Products 12" "Mini-Snowflake" Band Saw Restoration -- July 2007

I picked up this small old band saw through a local on-line classified ad that was actually listing a radial arm saw; the saw was just an add-on. Blue Star Products was a line of home shop woodworking products in the 1930s and early 1940s that were manufactured by a company named Heston & Anderson, located in Iowa. H&A manufactured their own line of industrial equipment that was sold directly to companies, and they also served as a contract manufacturer for very early versions of Delta band saws before Delta started producing them on their own. H&A sold to the home retail market through their Blue Star Products line. The precise date of manufacture for this saw has not been determined, but it is presumably from the late 1930s based on some features that can be traced to a few catalogs from those years.

The term "mini-snowflake" is sort of a generic label for this saw that has been adopted to describe a number of different makers of band saws with variations on the unique wheel covers seen in the pics below. The original "snowflake" band saws were a line of very large saws made during the same time period. The large snowflake band saws are some of the most sought-after old woodworking machines among collectors and restorers today. This mini-snowflake Blue Star is among the neatest-looking and oldest small home shop band saws one is likely to see today.

Before and After

The saw was part of a home-concocted combination machine with a Delta Homecraft 4" jointer on a Delta stand. Both machines were driven simultaneously by a 1/2hp dual-shaft GE motor mounted on a shelf below the machines. Delta originally produced the combo machines with a jointer and a table saw, but somebody sometime over the years replaced the table saw with the non-Delta bandsaw that I picked up. I separated the two machines and put the band saw on its own stand with a different 1/3hp motor that I had sitting on a shelf. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with the jointer, stand, and motor.

Before

After

Disassembly and Cleaning Here are a bunch of photos of the saw restoration process and outcomes. It was in quite good condition and only needed basic cleaning for most parts. There was no rust to be found and the only painting required was the wheel covers. The total time for the project was just over one week working nights and one weekend -- I disassembled on a Sunday evening and completed the final touches mid-week 9 days later.
Disassembling the components	About two hours later
Cast Iron Frame - Original	Frame after cleaning
Cast Iron Table - Original	Table after MUCH cleaning
Cast Iron Wheels and Bearings - Original	Wheels after Cleaning - Note the Oil Caps for the Bearings
Cast Iron Wheel Cover - Original	Wheel Cover after Repainting (Metallic Silver)
Light Cover - Original	Light Cover after Reproducing Logos
Blue Star Logo Remnants -- no old photos or images could be found...	So I did a graphic reproduction as best I could.
Needed some research to figure out what this likely said...	Concluded a deceased publisher was probably the original owner.

Tire Installation One of the most interesting aspects of the projects was replacing the rubber tires on the 12" wheels. I used a method described by folks over at the Old Woodworking Machinery (OWWM) discussion forum to stretch the tires onto the wheels.
Cut a 3/4" plywood large enough to hold the wheel, drill dowel and hub holes.	I used some maple dowels from my bottlestopper turning supplies.
Stretch the tire one peg at a time, criss-crossing.	Slide tire down to the board and remove dowels.
The upper wheel with oil cup and tensioner assembly
Crowning the tires using a 6" disk sander at a slight angle.	Crowned and done.

Reassembly and Testing Once everything was cleaned, the wheel cover repainted, and the tires installed, it was time for reassembly.
Moving the motor pulley from the old motor for reuse on the new.	Bench testing the 1/3hp motor and link belt setup.
Assembling trunnions and guides	Wheel cover reinstalled
Assemble and install upper guide	Assemble and install lower guide
Mount on stand	Fire up for a test cut -- yahoo!!
Install full switching setup, including wiring for light	Install new light assembly

Finished! Completed and fully operational.
Full system on stand	Front of saw
Front view with light on	Rear view with light on

Thanks for looking.

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