Unisaw coming home

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Finally, I get to bring the Unisaw home that I got at the mill. It was impossible to get the forklift back there till now. I brought it forward today and will put it in the truck tomorrow morning. I do not know if it even works. I intend to replace all the bearing and stuff that I can. I put a straight edge on the top today and its straight. Its a 3 horse single phase saw. If it proves out that the motor is bad cant I put a 5 horse motor in it? Would that be unwise?

also

There is no fence. There is the old unisaw rail for the fence on it. I am looking to convert it to the Besimeyer (← sp?) style

Pictures on the morrow. I have a lot of work to do on that top. I do have a little experience with the cast iron tops because my jointer top came all ganasty looking too. Its shines now.

[Carroll Courtney]

I have a 3hp on mine and I just have not came across anything yet that it will not cut without problems.I see no need in having a 5hp even if I came across one that would be given to me.Changing one over to a larger motor would mean that the starter would have to also be change out and w/correct OL's,and having to provide the correct circuit for the larger load.Just my thoughts----Carroll

[Joseph D'Orazio]

I have a 3hp on mine and I just have not came across anything yet that it will not cut without problems.I see no need in having a 5hp even if I came across one that would be given to me.Changing one over to a larger motor would mean that the starter would have to also be change out and w/correct OL's,and having to provide the correct circuit for the larger load.Just my thoughts----Carroll
Well, thats good enough for me then. Your using your saw a lot, no? Have you run any 8/4 red oak through it yet? My bosses saw is a 3 horse unisaw but it often just shuts down and we have to wait about 5 to 7 minutes before he can turn it back on. That ole boy has run some board foot though his machine and he says he bought it in 90.

I see that I live right down the road from you. We are gonna have to meet sometime. I live just a couple miles off of 59 North

[Mike Archambeau]

My bosses saw is a 3 horse unisaw but it often just shuts down and we have to wait about 5 to 7 minutes before he can turn it back on. That ole boy has run some board foot though his machine and he says he bought it in 90.



Time to sharpen the blade?

[michael case]

I can get through 8/4 oak without bogggin down on my 3 hp. But, I'm a cabinet maker and I rarely do this. If you are going to use this for milling on a daily basis I would go with a 5 hp. The uni comes in a 5 and I believe that its simply a matter of finding the right motor config for your saw.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

I can get through 8/4 oak without bogggin down on my 3 hp. But, I'm a cabinet maker and I rarely do this. If you are going to use this for milling on a daily basis I would go with a 5 hp. The uni comes in a 5 and I believe that its simply a matter of finding the right motor config for your saw.
Thank You.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Well I got her here yesterday. The top appeared to be extremely rusty but surprisingly all of that came right off. I Still need to do some work to it but there are no pits. The top still appears to be flat. The table is off square about 3/32nf of an inch from end to end. I discovered that I have all of the allen wrench sizes but the one needed to take this top off. I will go get a set for the ratchet today. I have taken the fence rail off of it. I intend to totally disassemble this saw and treat the case for rust and put a good PPG epoxy primer on it, probably DP 40. I have taken the blade off.

I have not tested the motor. Should I do this now, or test it outside of the saw case?

[Joseph D'Orazio]

A few more pictures

[Neil Brooks]

I HATE clicking on threads like this.

I have the shop I want, and -- for the most part -- the tools I want.

And I do JUST fine with my Bosch 4100 contractor's saw, a bit "hopped up."

But ... having just tackled my first piece of Old Arn -- a 1956 DeWalt RAS -- I have been noodling around with the idea of scoring an old Uni, and fixing her up.

And you're actually DOING it ?!?

You suck. I'm painfully envious !!!!

Knock 'em dead, and ... please keep the pictures coming :)

[Neil Brooks]

And I just noticed your dog !!!

SO, SO cute :D

[Joseph D'Orazio]

I HATE clicking on threads like this.

I have the shop I want, and -- for the most part -- the tools I want.

And I do JUST fine with my Bosch 4100 contractor's saw, a bit "hopped up."

But ... having just tackled my first piece of Old Arn -- a 1956 DeWalt RAS -- I have been noodling around with the idea of scoring an old Uni, and fixing her up.

And you're actually DOING it ?!?

You suck. I'm painfully envious !!!!

Knock 'em dead, and ... please keep the pictures coming :)
Ha ha, thank you. Did you do a thread or journal on the restoration of that old Dewalt RAS? There is one that I can pick up on the cheap. I do not know the model or anything like that but was told it worked. Its stand has suffered an injury to one of its legs. Its been at the sawmill so its been ridden hard hard.

[Chris Rosenberger]

It is sad to see a saw treated that way.

Since the saw has been in a high moisture environment, or maybe even under water, I would not try to run the motor until it was checked out by a motor shop & the bearings are replaced.

On the bright side, this is what it would look like if it had been taken care of.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/Unisaw1.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/Unisaw.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/100_0894.jpg

[Joseph D'Orazio]

It is sad to see a saw treated that way.

Since the saw has been in a high moisture environment, or maybe even under water, I would not try to run the motor until it was checked out by a motor shop & the bearings are replaced.

On the bright side, this is what it would look like if it had been taken care of.


Beautiful saw you have yourself there. I hope to do this one justice. I am going to have the motor checked out. Is that two different saws or do you change the rail out so that you can run the Incra jig? How do you like that Incra jig? Sorry to pepper you with all these question.

Edited to add: Upon closer inspection I realize that is two different saws.

[Rod Upfold]

I think that you will have to ask permission from the dog to use the unisaw.


Rod

[Chris Rosenberger]

Beautiful saw you have yourself there. I hope to do this one justice. I am going to have the motor checked out. Is that two different saws or do you change the rail out so that you can run the Incra jig? How do you like that Incra jig? Sorry to pepper you with all these question.

Edited to add: Upon closer inspection I realize that is two different saws.

Thank you Joseph.

The top and bottom picture are the same saw with different fences.
The top picture is from the first owner of the saw, the bottom picture is of the saw as it is today in my shop.

The middle picture is a saw I purchased new in 1996. I sold it in 2007 after I got a great deal on a Powermatic 66. It did not take me long to discover I did not like the PM66 as well as the Unisaw. A couple of years later the saw I have now came up for sale, so I got it & I sold the PM66. I have not regretted doing that.

As for the HP of the motors. I have used 3hp saws for years & never had a problem cutting any kind of wood.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Well the top is off and here is a look inside. A lot of what I thought was rust is just sawdust powder. There is some rust though. Gonna kill the rust. Kill

[Joseph D'Orazio]

The rest of them

[Joseph D'Orazio]

The rest for real this time.

[Joseph Tarantino]

looks like you're gonna be buying liquid wrench and/or wd-40 by the 55 gallon drum. as noted previouisly, sad when a tool is so obvioiusly neglected. was it a good buy?

[Joseph D'Orazio]

looks like you're gonna be buying liquid wrench and/or wd-40 by the 55 gallon drum. as noted previouisly, sad when a tool is so obvioiusly neglected. was it a good buy?I will have to let you decide if I got a good deal or not. He sells his wood shavings by the bag. Horse owners buy them. I bagged 150 bags to acquire this saw. ¿Good deal or no? I did it over a period of three days and have about two hours doing the bagging.

I am currently doing the same thing for a Tannewitz Type U saw. Not sure what I am going to do with it. It is actually in better shape, and runs. Its very heavy. Not sure what I am going to do with that saw yet. I am thinking I could trade it for a lathe or a floor model mortice machine. I have to bag 300 bags to get it.

[Carroll Courtney]

Either way, labor well spent and worth every minute.Having the motor cover is a plus and really its not in bad shape,just some TLC.Congrads on your find and future deals w/the PO'er----Carroll

[Neil Brooks]

"Spooge tank."

I'll tell ya .... when you see what some of the OWWM guys/gals have BOUGHT, and brought back to ... well .... looking like Chris's saw (GREAT saw, GREAT shop, by the way, Chris !), you realize that ... yours may not be pretty, but ... it's NOT THAT bad :)

[Neil Brooks]

LINK. CLICK ME !! (http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tools/Electrolysis.htm)

[Chris Rosenberger]

"Spooge tank."

I'll tell ya .... when you see what some of the OWWM guys/gals have BOUGHT, and brought back to ... well .... looking like Chris's saw (GREAT saw, GREAT shop, by the way, Chris !), you realize that ... yours may not be pretty, but ... it's NOT THAT bad :)

Thank you Neil.

Joseph, the internals of the saw are not as bad as I thought they might be. That saw can be brought back with some work. You got a great deal by the way.

To show you what is possible, below are some pictures of a Unisaw I restored a couple of years ago.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/100_0920.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/100_0944.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/100_0948.jpg

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Wow, that is a beautiful saw. Good job. The big thing is the motor right now. I hope that it is serviceable and does not need replacing. I would like new brushes and bearings at least. I wonder if this is something I can handle or is that a no no?

Edited to add: I just noticed you went with new bolts. How come?

[Matt Day]

How does the arbor feel when you spin it by hand? It doesn't look that bad to me, and I bet it cleans up well without too much effort.

[Cary Falk]

I would like new brushes and bearings at least. I wonder if this is something I can handle or is that a no no?


There aren't any brushes to replace. I have never replaced the bearings on a Unisaw motor but I did it on a 3hp Jet dust collector and a MBF RAS. It is pretty straight foward. A cheap bearing puller from HF makes life much easier. Here is some more inspiration. Mine wasn't as bad as yours but yours is still doable.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/DSC_0308.jpg
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/U1.jpg

[Chris Rosenberger]

Thank you Joseph.

If the motor has not been under water, it may be OK & just need bearings replaced. The motor does not have brushes.


The only new bolts that were used were on the motor cover That is because I did not get the original bolts with the saw. All of the other bolts are what came on the saw when I got it. I just cleaned them up on a wire wheel.

[Brian Ross]

Chris... Nice shop but disgustingly clean. Can't figure out how people can do that, lol.

Joseph... nice grab and good luck I have an older Uni with a 2 hp and ripped a bunch of 6/4 hard maple like it was butter. I think as someone else suggested the secret is a sharp blade

Brian

[Joseph D'Orazio]

How does the arbor feel when you spin it by hand? It doesn't look that bad to me, and I bet it cleans up well without too much effort.
Do you mean when you grab the blade and pull on it? If so I am getting a weird result when I do that. If I reach over and grab the blade and pull it towards me and then release it, it returns to the position it was in when I first grabbed it. I can make it go all the way around as many times as I want to but if I just give it a light pull it returns to its original position. I hope that made sense. I really want to plug it up, and fire it up before disassemble it any further. I just have not out of fear of doing some damage to the motor causing me to have to replace it when I just could have had it rebuilt. Tomorrow I am going to call around and see what it cost to test and diagnose it. That switch that is on it is the ugliest thing. I am wondering if there is a replacement that is more practical. I would also like to get it mounted more the the left of the saw.

I

[Neil Brooks]

Agreed about the bearings, and ... I did mine on MY DeWalt MBF, too.

You got good info, on this one.

AND ... your local "electric motor repair" shop can give you a bid, really quickly. If the bearings are gauled onto the shaft, then they have a Big Honking Press that they can use, likely with a bearing splitter, that'll get 'em off in a jiffy.

I wouldn't tear down an old motor WITHOUT replacing the bearings, but ... that's me.

My philosophy is: if I'm going IN ... I only want to go in once.

A peek. Not as scary as it first seems ;)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_WVVYjLCNo2w/TVmlN3ZG5oI/AAAAAAAABwI/oqZAAAf4as8/s576/P1050175.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_WVVYjLCNo2w/TVmlNrhZZsI/AAAAAAAABwE/RuDQZSZg9ew/s576/P1050174.JPG

May have to solder new leads onto a winding, or equivalent, but ... a can of LectraMotive, a stainless steel brush, and an air compressor ... go a LONG way :)

[Cary Falk]

If I reach over and grab the blade and pull it towards me and then release it, it returns to the position it was in when I first grabbed it. I can make it go all the way around as many times as I want to but if I just give it a light pull it returns to its original position.

I am guessing that test was done with the belts on. The reason the blade is returing to the original position is because of belt "set". They have been is that position for so long that is where they want to be. You are more than likely going to want to get new belts. Take the old ones off and spin the blade again. Cary

[Joseph D'Orazio]

I am guessing that test was done with the belts on. The reason the blade is returing to the original position is because of belt "set". They have been is that position for so long that is where they want to be. You are more than likely going to want to get new belts. Take the old ones off and spin the blade again. Cary

That makes sense. I will order them today with all the bearings and stuff that go in there.

[Ed Edwards]

That diamond is not really in the rough rough.:)
Find someone with a glass beader, or a soda blaster, and it should come up beautifully!!
If it were mine I'd connect the 230 line and give it a go, I'll bet you'll be surprised. If it starts to growl then just cut the belts off
Please show us the work in progress

Ed