Hi all,
I have recently saved a Peckstow & Wilcox Shear, 1907, #130A. It was about to be recycled as scrap. Seems to be all together and working. The foot treadle has had a bunch of stuff welded and bolted to it for reenforcement. The blades look like they can be reground. So, has anybody ever taken one of these apart and more importantly got it all back together? I was thinking a light roll around engine hoist (Harbor Freight) would handle the weight of the table as the other parts were removed. I am either going to have to sand blast it or wire brush it to remove the rust. Then paint it & get it back together. Is there an actual manual? Sure would like to find a replacement treadle.
Everything is appreciated!
Bill
www.reactivemetals.com
Reactive Metals Studio, Inc.
The name was originally Peck, Stow, & Wilcox. Later shortened to Pexto. Pexto shears are still made by Roper Whitney, and likely not a lot different now than they were when yours was made.
ROPER WHITNEY: Pexto Foot Squaring Shears would be your best bet for a manual although I doubt there's one available for your specific shear based on the age. Pics there should allow you to get a good idea of how similar yours is to current models.
A bunch of cobbling on the treadle usually indicates repeated attempts to cut at more than the rated capacity of the shear. If I was rebuilding a treadle, I'd salvage the arms and add some clips to them such that I could mount a hardwood 2x6 rather than the normal piece of steel treadplate. We had a 6 ft 16 ga Wysong foot shear that had a treadle made like this as original, and it was really surprising how much easier it was on the arch of your foot as compared to a steel treadle. The top corners of the wood were rounded over to break the corners and the wood was attached to the clips on the arms with carriage bolts.