Hi all,

My parents picked up a porter-cable multi saw model 531a at an auction
for about $20. It seems in excellent condition with a carry box and
assortment of blades as well as a can of gear lube.

There is a receipt for some parts that suggest to me it was well
maintained.

It is a metal body that is chromed rather than the plastic I see in
more recent tools.

Is this likely to be a useable tool or an obsolete piece of junk ??

I have not tried it yet because rather than a grounded outlet it has a
2 prong plug with a seperate ground wire. I assume you hook the ground
wire to the wall plate mounting screw.



regards

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

My parents picked up a porter-cable multi saw model 531a at an auction
for about $20. It seems in excellent condition with a carry box and
assortment of blades as well as a can of gear lube.

There is a receipt for some parts that suggest to me it was well
maintained.

It is a metal body that is chromed rather than the plastic I see in
more recent tools.

Is this likely to be a useable tool or an obsolete piece of junk ??

I have not tried it yet because rather than a grounded outlet it has a
2 prong plug with a seperate ground wire. I assume you hook the ground
wire to the wall plate mounting screw.



regards

Isn't that just an adapter? These devices were in common use 40 years or so
ago. Yes, you are supposed to hook the ground wire around the screw for the
wall plate. The question then becomes: Is the box grounded?

If it were mine, I would cut the plug off and replace it with a new one.
Jim

Yup, you are quite right, it was an adapter on the end of a grounded
plug.

All outlets in the workshop are grounded with a GFI on the first of the
run. I had the wiring redone when I opened a subpanel and found a mass
of wire nuts where circuit breakers ought to be.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Yup, you are quite right, it was an adapter on the end of a grounded
plug.

All outlets in the workshop are grounded with a GFI on the first of the
run. I had the wiring redone when I opened a subpanel and found a mass
of wire nuts where circuit breakers ought to be.

Some people are hopeless. A previous owner of my daughter's house spliced
wires without bothering to put the splices in a box...
You are good to go with the old saw. I am sorry to say that I know nothing
about it...
Perhaps you ought to check that the black wire is not connected anywhere to
the ground or the white wire.
Jim