Manufactured by the oddly named "Motor Gear & Manufacturing Co. Ltd." company of the Corona Works in Chadwell Heath, Essex, the No. 18 Bandsaw was current during the late 1940s and 1950s. Little information survives about the firm, but it is known that they also made a high-quality punch shaper, the No. 32 and a range of tapping machines.
Very well engineered and of heavy construction, the No. 18 had its frame in cast iron and was carried on a floor stand in the same material. Power came from a 2 h.p. 3-phase motor running at 1425 r.p.m. that drove through a mechanical expanding-and-contracting variable speed drive unit that had a maximum reduction of 6:1. The drive, combined with a speed-reducing backgear (with a further 6:1 reduction), gave blade speeds (in feet per minute) from 350 to 1500 in high range and from 50 to 250 in low. Control was by a foot switch that could be locked down for a continuous feed, or used as an inching control for careful contour work. To indicate blade speed, a read-out dial marked in feet-per-minute was provided to the rear of the saw's left-hand face with a direct-reading speed and saw selector dial fastened to the upper door. The latter chart allowed the operator to select the type of material to be cut and then read off the type of blade recommended for best use, the speed to run it at and its width (from 3 to 15 mm) suitable for cutting various rad. Measuring 28" x 28", the cast-iron table was machined with slots in its top surface set at a slight angle to the direction of feed - this allowing the narrowest of work to be held securely - with two T-slots milled into its front face for work clamping or the holding of setting guides. The table could be swivelled through 15° in four directions, the easily and accurately set tilt being under the control of rack-and-pinion gearing. As an indication of the machine's quality and intended use, the table's tilt indicators incorporated curved precision class sprit-level tubes.
The large upper and lower wheels that drove and supported the cutting baled ran on ballraces, were machined all over and balanced for smooth running. As usual, the upper wheel could be raised, lowered and tilted to set the blade tension and alignment. Blade guides were of a unique design with the guiding parts adjustable, a automatic lubrication pot fitted and all surfaces coming into contact with the blade satellite faced and able to be removed and reground if necessary. As the bandsaw was intended for not only general but also particularly fine and close work, a rectangular shaped combined magnifying lens and a 12-volt light unit was fitted above the blade guides.
Air blow was fitted as part of the standard equipment, the flexible pipe being fed by a compressor driven by the main motor and mounted on the same base plate, thus ensuring that it required no adjustment as the setting of the hinged plate was altered to set the tension of the final-drive belt..