Used Unisaw

[DavidR8]

I’ve been looking for a saw to replace my vintage Beaver 2200 8” saw.
I’ve done work to adapt a Delta T-square fence to it and it’s a great little saw but ultimately it’s too small.

Been looking around at other older saws, all contractor style generally under $200. I don’t mind putting some elbow grease into tools to bring up to par.

A few weeks ago I missed a Unisaw for $100. Yesterday I stumbled across an ad for an older Unisaw “best offer takes it away”. So I offered $200 and they accepted. And then they delivered it!

It’s a mid-sixties saw, 1.5 hp. It came with a Unifence with 52” cutting capacity. It needs some TLC but it’s all there and in reasonable condition given that it was in a commercial sign shop.



Here it is on my mobile base. Lots of work to be done to get it up to par but it’s the saw I’ve always wanted.



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[rlitman]

And with the router table insert. You ****! And, nice saw!

 

[DavidR8]

I don't **** that much as I didn't get the table extension, only all the hardware including the legs.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

The Unifence is worth that alone. Congrats

Here's a vid

 

[DavidR8]

The Unifence is worth that alone. Congrats

Here's a vid

Thanks for the link, great idea. I'll defiitely be putting that to good use as I have some, ahem, stuff to remove from the top.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I don't know why I didn't think about this before. I should have mentioned it. I made a router table out of my wing like they did, only I pushed it out farther. You can use the Unifence, it will load from the other side. I used high density overlay plywood. It's a formply with a resin coating. Lee Valley sells some track for the router table and fence as well as inserts . I made and use an auxiliary with vacuum port that clamps to the Unifence fence.

 

[Jim C.]

The real “find” is the original cast iron motor cover. That’s a $150 part!

Jim C.

 

[DavidR8]

I don't know why I didn't think about this before. I should have mentioned it. I made a router table out of my wing like they did, only I pushed it out farther. You can use the Unifence, it will load from the other side. I used high density overlay plywood. It's a formply with a resin coating. Lee Valley sells some track for the router table and fence as well as inserts . I made and use an auxiliary with vacuum port that clamps to the Unifence fence.

Thanks for the info. I did try the fence on the other side just now.
I expect I will build in a router table.


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[DavidR8]

The real “find” is the original cast iron motor cover. That’s a $150 part!

Jim C.

I had no idea!

 

[bagged89s10]

nice saw. I recently bought a unisaw and currently i’m building a riving knife for it. I haven’t posted pics of the build here but it’s on my instagram and fb page

 

[DavidR8]

nice saw. I recently bought a unisaw and currently i’m building a riving knife for it. I haven’t posted pics of the build here but it’s on my instagram and fb page

Thanks! I’m kinda shocked that I got it for $200.
What’s your Instagram handle ?


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[bagged89s10]

Thanks! I’m kinda shocked that I got it for $200.
What’s your Instagram handle ?


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pd_veeps

 

[Jim C.]

I had no idea!

Really! You lucked out getting that motor cover! It’s an expensive and desirable part that vintage Unisaw owners/restorers covet. Nice find.

Jim C.

 

[rlitman]

nice saw. I recently bought a unisaw and currently i’m building a riving knife for it. I haven’t posted pics of the build here but it’s on my instagram and fb page

I'd love to see how you handle that on a Unisaw, and I don't do IG or FB. I have a PM66, which has a similar arbor design to the Unisaw that pivots up, so a riving knife behind the blade will pivot up a concentric (and larger) circle than the blade.

In my case, I designed my "riving knife" to be level with the blade at 3/4" from table height. Anything thicker than that and I must be making a through cut or take the knife off. So I take the knife off for tenoning and such, where I'm using a jig and don't need it anyway.

 

[DavidR8]

I'd love to see how you handle that on a Unisaw, and I don't do IG or FB. I have a PM66, which has a similar arbor design to the Unisaw that pivots up, so a riving knife behind the blade will pivot up a concentric (and larger) circle than the blade.



In my case, I designed my "riving knife" to be level with the blade at 3/4" from table height. Anything thicker than that and I must be making a through cut or take the knife off. So I take the knife off for tenoning and such, where I'm using a jig and don't need it anyway.

Do you have photos of your design?


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[Roberts210]

I paid $150 just for the goose-egg motor cover alone, but I only paid $35 for the saw. It was born in 1965. You still got me beat tho!
It looks like you have the same motor I do.
These are torquey motors, and not hard to rebuild if you want to put new bearings in.

Here's a picture taken right after I restored it but before I put the goose egg on.

 

[DavidR8]

Wow, $35. That has to be the low-price record!

My saw didn't come with the hardware to mount the cover. I can't find a manual with a parts list with the dimensions of the bolts to secure the cover. Do you have any idea what size they are?

 

[Jim C.]

Here you go...... My 1948 Unisaw came with four factory drilled holes in the side of the cabinet. I got the saw from it’s original owner. He told me the saw never had the motor cover. It was an accessory that he did not buy. I tracked down a cover (not cheap) and attached it using the bolts recommended on the Delta instruction sheet depicted below.

Jim C.

 

[Roberts210]

I got my saw from a guy up in Idaho who was complaining about a load of scrap and other junk he'd picked up at an auction for practically nothing. He mentioned this load had two table saws and he didn't know what to do with 'em. I asked if I could look at them. One was a POS, but the other one was this Unisaw. At first he said I could have it FOR FREE. My eyes bugged out and I couldn't help myself, I began to rave about what a great saw it was. He then raised the price to $35 and I shut up and got out my wallet.

Does your cabinet have the holes for the goose egg? I have read conflicting accounts as to whether Delta punched/drilled the holes when the cabinets were made, or left the cabinets un-punched/drilled. I don't think every Unisaw got a goose egg. I think it was an option. I'll post a picture of my goose egg on the saw a little bit later--battery in the camera is charging. It looks like I used 1/4" machine screws on mine.

 

[DavidR8]

Thanks @Robert201 and @Jim C,
My saw has holes drilled in the cabinet but they definitely don't have nuts or anything on the inside. 1/4" self-tapping screws sound about right.

I don't see very many saws with the cover so that lends weight to the presumption that it was an option.

That's a beauty saw @Robert210!!!

 

[Roberts210]

Here's my goose egg. I tried one of the firberglas reproductions first, but it was way too flimsey.

By the way, these '60's Delta 1.5 h.p. motors will outperform ANY modern 1.5 h.p. saw motor. Before this saw I had a late '80's Rockwell T.A. saw, with the Rockwell 1.5 h.p. motor. This one sawed rings around it.

 

[Roberts210]

Thanks David! Are you going to get new arbor bearings in your saw?
When I got my Idaho saw I sent the arbor and casting off to a place on the East Coast that did them right. But several years ago I started work on a large historic home in Studio City, Cal. that had been in a fire. I had to re-do 30 casement windows and make from scratch another 24 casement windows as well as a french door set and another outside door--all this because the damm roofers caught the house on fire. Also had to make the outside sills for the windows and install everything.

Anyway, I needed a good job-site saw, so I found the Unisaw below on the L.A. Craigslist for $400, with the Biesemeyer fence, and I got it and set it up in the historic home's basement garage. I mean... you can't have too many Unisaws, right?

This one had a 3-h.p. Rockwell motor from the '80's.

The arbor bearings howled, and I decided to replace them myself.
They were really stuck and unfortunately I broke the casting taking them out. But I found a new casting on ebay, got it and put the new bearings in without anymore problems. I had read that if the arbor bearings didn't come out easily not to force them, and I didn't think I was forcing them, but the first casting broke. But I got 'er done.

 

[DavidR8]

I’m not sure yet.
I have to do more digging to see what lies beneath the crud and dust.
I hope I don’t have to replace any bearings but I’m certainly up to the task if necessary.
The saw is currently wired for 240 v and I don’t have that in my garage so I need to decide if I’m going to rewire the motor till I get 240 v run in.


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[Roberts210]

If you remove the belts and spin the arbor and then spin the motor you can tell if the bearings need changing. My job-site Uni absolutely screamed, the bearings were so bad.

In the '80's I ran my first saw--a Rockwell TA (1.5 h.p. motor) on 110. When I moved my shop I had 220 and from then on I ran my saws on 220. I believe it's easier on the motors.

 

[DavidR8]

Thanks Robert.
I’m going to run 220 when I do my full garage renovation. Right now the whole place is running off a 20A breaker <eyeroll/>

I wonder if one of you good people would shoot a picture of the back of your Unisaw so I can see how the back rail is attached and supports the extension table.

The Unifence instructions don’t mention a back rail at all but there has to be something to support the back edge of the table.


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[Roberts210]

On my Uni the Biesemeyer rail bolts onto the back just like the front. There are multiple holes on the center top casting and the side table castings, both at the back and at the front, and I just lined up the holes in the Bies rails with holes on the saw top so that the 0 on the scale was lined up with the right side of the sawblade.

 

[Roberts210]

The Biesemeyer rails are extremely stout--1/4" thick, 3" X 2" angle iron, 8 feet long.
My side table, and back table bolt right on to the back Biesemeyer rail. Sorry I don't know about the Unifence.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

After the frustrations with the double rail Jet-Loc fence, a shipwright thought there had to be a better way and remembered using a T-square in drafting. His name was Biesemeyer. That's the story. A Unifence is a merely a development of the Biesemeyer T-Square. The single front rail is independent of the wing.

Using a good rip fence allows you to make some pretty accurate rippings. I used plywood rippings for a frame under my wing. And the factory leg set.

 

[Roberts210]

I hated the old Jet-Loc fences. I always had a hard time getting them locked parallel to the blade.

 

[DavidR8]

I think that I'm missing the second piece of angle iron for the rear edge of the side extension table.
What I need is in this photo. I have the front side piece but not the back.

 

[rlitman]

The rear angle iron IIRC is smaller than the front. If you can drill and countersink steel, you can make one yourself. It really doesn't have to exactly match the front. The hard part is cutting out the parts that clear the t-slots.

 

[DavidR8]

I took some time last night to dig into the wiring. Turns out I needed to look into the junction box instead. It was simple to change, took less than five minutes. Now I just need to get the correct plug and receptacle.

I also pulled the top off. Everything underneath looked factory fresh. The motor and arbour bearings are smooth and silent without a trace of play. I brushed and vacuumed sawdust from every nook and cranny I could reach. Used a brass brush to clean the worm gears and pinions. Applied some paste wax to them and now the blade raises and tilts with almost no effort.


Oh and the belts are toast! I saw a post about a source for belts but I can't find it now. If I recall correctly it said matched belts were unnecessary.



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[Roberts210]

Wow. Those are definitely cracked belts.

 

[DavidR8]

Wow. Those are definitely cracked belts.

Yes, I believe they’re at the end of their service life!


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[rlitman]

Do you know the size? I order my belts from vbeltsupply.com. I'd suggest using a cogged belt if you can find one in the correct size. They run smoother. More like a link belt.

 

[AZ Pete]

Thanks Robert.
I’m going to run 220 when I do my full garage renovation. Right now the whole place is running off a 20A breaker

I wonder if one of you good people would shoot a picture of the back of your Unisaw so I can see how the back rail is attached and supports the extension table.

The Unifence instructions don’t mention a back rail at all but there has to be something to support the back edge of the table.


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The Unifence does not use a back rail. I bought mine new some 30 years ago, no back rail provided or needed. At the time I lived within four miles of Beismeyer's shop, and coveted their fence, but the Unifence serves me very well, it is accurate a d repeatable.

Good buy on your saw, from the looks of the front rail it has been uses extensively. In 30+ years I have not worn the anodized finish on my rail.

 

[rlitman]

The Unifence does not use a back rail. I bought mine new some 30 years ago, no back rail provided or needed...

Needed, no. But the Biesemeyer comes with one, to support a side table that fits between the rails, and many Unifences use the same design.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

That has nothing to do with the Unifence, only the side table and associated hardware which would be part of the saw rather than the fence system. The three primary components of the Unifence are the front horizontal rail, the locking fence carrier and the fence rail. Except for minor hardware, everything else is a component of the saw itself.

 

[DavidR8]

Do you know the size? I order my belts from vbeltsupply.com. I'd suggest using a cogged belt if you can find one in the correct size. They run smoother. More like a link belt.

I do know the size. a24 or 4L260


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[DavidR8]

The Unifence does not use a back rail. I bought mine new some 30 years ago, no back rail provided or needed. At the time I lived within four miles of Beismeyer's shop, and coveted their fence, but the Unifence serves me very well, it is accurate a d repeatable.

Good buy on your saw, from the looks of the front rail it has been uses extensively. In 30+ years I have not worn the anodized finish on my rail.

I was just out trying to get some of the grime off the rail, fence body and the fence extrusion. Some 0000 steel wool made a difference. But the anodizing is gone on the face and where the two nylon set screws in the fence body ride on it.

It’s a bit of a wreck to be honest. If I sold it for a Beis copy I wouldn’t be unhappy.
Edit: I can get a 50” capacity Excalibur fence for $250 some of which I’m sure I could recover by selling this fence.

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