Unisaw questions

[Rick Potter]

Thinking about getting a second Unisaw. Mine is about 15 years old and has never given me a problem.

When did they start making them overseas? The X5?

Do the Asian ones have a domestic motor?

I have heard the later models are cheapened up. Is this true, and if so, how??

I am not interested in an antique one, I need a 50" Unifence or Beisemier, and a left tilt.

Thanks,
Rick Potter

[mickey cassiba]

I may be wrong...I left Delta several years ago, but when I was still in their employ, the Unisaw was one of the few tools still produced in the US(albeit, of foreign and domestic parts). Don't confuse the Uni with the recent 'hybrid' cabinet saw. That one is an import, and pretty much a POS. The last Uni I worked on had a WEG motor. I've heard that an Asian company has purchased the label from Black and Decker, or Stanley or(I get confused these days) and plans to keep manufacturing in the US.

[Chris Rosenberger]

As Mickey said, all Unisaws were & are made in the USA. I have worked on Unisaws as old as 1940 & as new as the 2009 redesigned Unisaw that I now have in my shop & at least one saw from every decade in between. The quality of the old design Unisaw was as good in 1940 as it was on the last one Delta built. The new design Unisaw is a very nice saw with a lot of improved features. I like the newer design a lot better than the old design but I still have both styles in my shop.

[Rick Potter]

By the way, I DID read all the old posts on this subject, and they still left me confused. So...the Unisaws, including the X5 are American, but the confusion comes in because of the hybrid cabinet saws that were Asian? I know I have seen them on CL advertised as a 'Unisaw'.

Rick Potter

[Dave Carteret]

I gather that "newer" Unisaws, while still assembled in the US, have some level of foreign content that wasn't present in older saws.

The "X5" moniker has me thoroughly confused though, as it seems as though many people think these are imported saws. If they're made in the US, what the heck does the "X5" mean?

[Chris Rosenberger]

I gather that "newer" Unisaws, while still assembled in the US, have some level of foreign content that wasn't present in older saws.

The "X5" moniker has me thoroughly confused though, as it seems as though many people think these are imported saws. If they're made in the US, what the heck does the "X5" mean?

X5 = 5 year warranty.

As for the new design Unisaw that I own, the castings were cast & ground in the US, the cabinet & motor were US made, the fence was made in the US. I am not sure what parts were not US made but the major parts were US made.

[Chris Rosenberger]

By the way, I DID read all the old posts on this subject, and they still left me confused. So...the Unisaws, including the X5 are American, but the confusion comes in because of the hybrid cabinet saws that were Asian? I know I have seen them on CL advertised as a 'Unisaw'.

Rick Potter

A lot of people try to pass the hybrids off as Unisaws. A real Unisaw will have Unisaw on the cabinet name tag.

[Dave Carteret]

X5 = 5 year warranty.

As for the new design Unisaw that I own, the castings were cast & ground in the US, the cabinet & motor were US made, the fence was made in the US. I am not sure what parts were not US made but the major parts were US made.
It seems like they made a big deal about the new Unisaws being made in the USA, to the point of implying that they weren't always US made. I think that's the confusing part about their origin over the years.

[Chris Rosenberger]

It seems like they made a big deal about the new Unisaws being made in the USA, to the point of implying that they weren't always US made. I think that's the confusing part about their origin over the years.

I believe they did that because no other cabinet table saws were being made in the US. Anytime a company came out with a new design, they made it overseas. The last being Powermatc before the new Unisaw came out.

[Rick Potter]

Thanks guys, I will keep on the lookout for a good one.

Rick Potter

[Dave Cav]

I am not interested in an antique one, I need a 50" Unifence or Beisemier, and a left tilt.




Sounds like an excellent opportunity to get any vintage of Powermatic 66. I see them on CL every week.

[Rick Potter]

You are right, Dave. I like Powermatics too, but I thought since I have a Unisaw I would stick with the familiar. I picked up a smokin' deal on a Craftsman cabinet saw that has never been used, but decided I would get what I really want, and let someone else have it. Putting it on the classifieds soon.

RP