Firefyter-Emt
Well-known member
I have posted some of these photos in my garage thread, but I thought I would separate them out into a thread of it's own. This 1947 UniSaw was given to me by a good friend when he moved. The saw needed work on the motor because it would not spin up to speed. However, you have to be an idiot to pass up a free UniSaw! The saw was complete and had many of hard to find and super rare parts. Very few of these are found in the wild with the cast iron "goose-egg" (aka: motor cover) and then, many are missing the dust door and sometimes even the switch & box. Mine was only missing the Delta tag on the dust door. Lucky for me, this is reproduced!
To start off, here is what she looked like when I brought it home.
The motor on these saw's are a bit of an odd-ball, they are a repulsion - induction motor with it's very own frame size and shape. They are a bit expensive to repair, IF you can find someone who even knows what they are! I tried a few things, but I think it will need some expensive repairs. (Upwards of $400!) Now the problem is, the only replacement motor requires the cabinet to be cut up to clear the new motor! Well, on a cabinet that has not even a single drilled hole, let alone the cast iron goose egg, well... that just will not do! So being the cheap Yankee that I am, I took it upon myself to make a solution! I stole a 1hp motor from my 1950's Craftsman saw that will be replaced by the Uni. (I have a a replacement motor for that saw that's a bit smaller) With a little work, I made templates of the bullet motor's mounts. These were transferred onto an old Jeep bumper that was the right thickness, and then cut out with a 4.5" grinder.
In this photo, you see the ratchet strap that has been used to position the motor and make sure it has clearance. I knew going into this, it would be hard to get just the right spot, but I was sure it could be done.
Here you can see how close the electrical box comes to the cabinet. This was the ONLY spot that it did not hit too! If I had to, I would of hand built a new junction box that would clear the cabinet.
Now that the motor was mounted and tested with the original switch and all new wiring from plug to motor, it was good to run. I did have to go larger on the motor pulley than recommended. The correct pulley for a 3450 motor is 3.25", but to clear the belts, I had to go with a 4.00" pulley. I am now running 4600 rpm at the blade, but the blade is listed for 7000 rpm so we shall see how it works. Without a blade, it seems to be fine. In fact, I can not even tell it's running faster.
With the motor done, it was time to look at the cabinet itself. I decided it was faster to strip it to bare steel with a wire wheel, and then hit it with 220 grit on a DA sander. Because the saw is so clean, I blew it out to clean the insides and just masked it off. I see no reason to tear it all apart just to paint & polish a good tool that does not need it. (even if it is 64 years old!)
Once masked and cleaned, a coat of primer was added..
And today, I shot it with a couple coats of paint.
After looking at some saws on OWWM's site, I have decided to paint the lower cast iron base and the edges of the table top in a metallic black. Although I did see an awesome one done in a vanilla white with camel on the base, hand wheels and switch box. I loved that look!
I will take a few motor photos of the small parts, the hand wheels need to be polished and the centers painted still. I have already powder coated the lock knobs for the handles in a textured black, and the angle needle in red. Plus, the goose egg, dust door, and switch box parts are all painted as well. I have even repainted the original switch plate, but I have debated on a repro plate. Mine is stretched out, and no where near flat. But it is original...
To start off, here is what she looked like when I brought it home.
The motor on these saw's are a bit of an odd-ball, they are a repulsion - induction motor with it's very own frame size and shape. They are a bit expensive to repair, IF you can find someone who even knows what they are! I tried a few things, but I think it will need some expensive repairs. (Upwards of $400!) Now the problem is, the only replacement motor requires the cabinet to be cut up to clear the new motor! Well, on a cabinet that has not even a single drilled hole, let alone the cast iron goose egg, well... that just will not do! So being the cheap Yankee that I am, I took it upon myself to make a solution! I stole a 1hp motor from my 1950's Craftsman saw that will be replaced by the Uni. (I have a a replacement motor for that saw that's a bit smaller) With a little work, I made templates of the bullet motor's mounts. These were transferred onto an old Jeep bumper that was the right thickness, and then cut out with a 4.5" grinder.
In this photo, you see the ratchet strap that has been used to position the motor and make sure it has clearance. I knew going into this, it would be hard to get just the right spot, but I was sure it could be done.
Here you can see how close the electrical box comes to the cabinet. This was the ONLY spot that it did not hit too! If I had to, I would of hand built a new junction box that would clear the cabinet.
Now that the motor was mounted and tested with the original switch and all new wiring from plug to motor, it was good to run. I did have to go larger on the motor pulley than recommended. The correct pulley for a 3450 motor is 3.25", but to clear the belts, I had to go with a 4.00" pulley. I am now running 4600 rpm at the blade, but the blade is listed for 7000 rpm so we shall see how it works. Without a blade, it seems to be fine. In fact, I can not even tell it's running faster.
With the motor done, it was time to look at the cabinet itself. I decided it was faster to strip it to bare steel with a wire wheel, and then hit it with 220 grit on a DA sander. Because the saw is so clean, I blew it out to clean the insides and just masked it off. I see no reason to tear it all apart just to paint & polish a good tool that does not need it. (even if it is 64 years old!)
Once masked and cleaned, a coat of primer was added..
And today, I shot it with a couple coats of paint.
After looking at some saws on OWWM's site, I have decided to paint the lower cast iron base and the edges of the table top in a metallic black. Although I did see an awesome one done in a vanilla white with camel on the base, hand wheels and switch box. I loved that look!
I will take a few motor photos of the small parts, the hand wheels need to be polished and the centers painted still. I have already powder coated the lock knobs for the handles in a textured black, and the angle needle in red. Plus, the goose egg, dust door, and switch box parts are all painted as well. I have even repainted the original switch plate, but I have debated on a repro plate. Mine is stretched out, and no where near flat. But it is original...
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I'm glad you're able to make the new motor fit inside the goose egg. Don't get rid of the original motor, put it on the shelf or sell it to someone who can restore it for their saw.
