Older Craftsman 6 1/8” jointer/planer switch

[JMG_8]

I recently bought an older (90’s I believe) craftsman 6 1/8” jointer planer for $50. It obviously needs some work, but I’m having trouble finding some parts, specifically the starter switch. The part was discontinued, anyone have any advice on where I could find one or a suitable replacement? 

[BonPacific]

Is it like this one?

I assume you mean the safety switch on the front. Most of these kind of switches are universal/interchangeable, so you should be able to stick something like this in. Personally I tend to replace this style of switch on my older machines with paddle switches anyways for a little extra safety.

[Tom King]

 I've kept the switch working on my 1974 Craftsman RAS with compressed air, and electronic contact cleaner, as well as any number of other power tools.

[JMG_8]

On 5/25/2022 at 11:38 AM, BonPacific said:

Is it like this one?

I assume you mean the safety switch on the front. Most of these kind of switches are universal/interchangeable, so you should be able to stick something like this in. Personally I tend to replace this style of switch on my older machines with paddle switches anyways for a little extra safety.

Not exactly the same, yours may be newer. Again, it clearly needs some TLC and has a few missing parts (safety switch and belt being the two big ones.) I appreciate the links for the switches, I’ll definitely being using one of them. Thank you!

[RichardA]

Have you checked ereplacements.com?

[JMG_8]

On 5/25/2022 at 9:08 PM, RichardA said:

Have you checked ereplacements.com?

I did, they didn’t carry one of the parts since they were discontinued by the manufacturer.

[gee-dub]

I would be inclined to add a new paddle switch onto the stand you use for it.  It is nice to have the "stop" paddle where you can easily nudge it with your knee or leg.  I did this for several tools whether modifying the factory switch or adding my own.

Shop made sander paddle.

Shop made router table.

Knee / kick switch for the tablesaw.

The point being that small toggle switches can be a bit awkward to get to if things go sideways.  If you are jointing a board and something goes wrong, releasing the material to reach for the switch is probably not the best option.

[Wimayo]

On 5/28/2022 at 10:15 AM, gee-dub said:

I would be inclined to add a new paddle switch onto the stand you use for it.  It is nice to have the "stop" paddle where you can easily nudge it with your knee or leg.  I did this for several tools whether modifying the factory switch or adding my own.

The point being that small toggle switches can be a bit awkward to get to if things go sideways.  If you are jointing a board and something goes wrong, releasing the material to reach for the switch is probably not the best option.

I would add to this that magnetic switches are good. These assure that if the machine goes off due to a power outage, it doesn't come back on after the power returns.

https://www.amazon.com/POWERTEC-71054-Magnetic-Paddle-Switch/dp/B01IEM2DSM/ref=sr_1_3?crid=16ZJ8BUMP91TU&keywords=magnetic+paddle+switch&qid=1657743228&sprefix=magnetic+paddle+%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-3