No.394 was acquired in 2016 in a sorry state. It had rust spots, worn bearings, damaged thread dies, broken springs and no set-up spacers or spares of any kind…. Just the kind of challenge we love! GAME ON!
Work commenced on full disassembly, careful consideration on which faces could be re-ground and assessment of which components would require replacement.
Although Phil Wood still sell these machines, it is said that the older ones used better steel and certain components which reduces any movement during the rolling process to create a better thread. We can’t verify this although we can say No.394 is working beautifully these days and will continue to for many more years!