Hi. My name is James, a native Ohioan who has spent the past twenty-three years as a power tool repairman, honing my skills and developing techniques for the preservation and restoration of vintage machinery, power tools, and small engine-powered equipment. I use this skill and experience to resurrect the various products made by the Porter-Cable Machine Company of Syracuse, New York (hence the name of this site). I have spent decades building a shop filled with these machines and tools and put them back to work repairing other examples. I’ve rebuilt or restored items for people all over the country and I plan on salvaging these pieces of history for the rest of my days.

In my time at the workbench, I’ve gathered together a respectable collection, comprising hundreds of items from virtually every product line. My shop is full of company artifacts from the long-lived A-3 to an example of a three-phase sander made in such small numbers that it never had an official model number; from a 1/4″ pistol grip that barely weighs 3lbs to a 14″ metal lathe that tips the scales at over a ton. I have ephemera from clip art sent to dealers to a cast aluminum ashtray, complete with a miniature B-10 sander.

I’ve gleaned a great deal of information about the products and history of Porter-Cable, collected catalogs, and parts diagrams. I’ve repaired nearly every product the company made during the classic era, the name I give to the years between 1919 and 1960 when the company was purchased by Rockwell (some Rockwell era tools are discussed here, but for the most part my interest is pre-sixties). My goal is twofold: to offer my services as a restorer to people looking for help resurrecting a classic tool, and to share what I’ve learned with other Porter-Cable enthusiasts by providing tool history, repair techniques, and company publications.

Here you’ll find photos, diagrams, repair instructions, and anecdotes about Porter-Cable tools. Maybe you’ll recognize your father’s circular saw, or your grandfather’s. You’ll learn how to determine the years your power tool was produced and how to care for it.

A few of the machines you’ll see were quite literally dug out of a scrap pile. Several were bequeathed to me by craftsmen who had grown too old to use them. Some were bought for next to nothing. Some I paid dearly for. I’m glad to have every one of them, and I hope that my decades-long devotion makes other people take a second look at some of the best built, most innovative tools of their time.

If you want a collector’s item painstakingly restored, hope to breathe new life into a family heirloom, or see if you can fix the saw or sander you scored at the flea market, the Syracuse Project is for you.

I have absolutely no other hobbies.