New To Me - Unisaw

[Corey Durbin]

You're looking at the new owner of a Delta/Rockwell Unisaw. :D

I had showed the wife the before and after pictures of a few rebuilt Unisaw's and she was pretty impressed. Basically, long story short...she located this table saw for me and set up the meeting with the guy. The deal....she is the one to choose the paint scheme. Her choice, a black/gunmetal and candy apple red. Fair enough. So I picked up a working (sounded great) Unisaw for $350.



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Now it definitely needs some TLC. However, seeing that the tops were PERFECTLY flat, there is no rust, it comes with the miter sled, mobile base, multiple inserts, and the Unifence. The data plate I located on the back shows its a model 34-450 and SN is FD-9332 which according to Vintage Machinery.org it was manufactured in 1972.

Now, I am currently stripping it to rebuild it from the ground up. I plan on replacing the Unifence with something else, and building a cabinet to sit on top of the mobile base. Any other suggestions or tips?


-Corey
(http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/DeltaSerialNumbers.ashx)

[Michael Dye]

There will be a lot of opinions on the Unifence, but I personally think it is one of the, if not the, best fence built. Especially the older ones like yours. That being said, let me know if you want to get rid of the fence, and, by the way, nice looking saw. I have one myself that dates back to the 50's. Great saws.

[John Vernier]

I agree that the Unifence is an excellent fence - as long as it's in good condition. The aluminum extrusion is worth taking good care of. I'm not sure how easy it is to get replacement extrusions any more. The Biesemeyer type fences are able to absorb a lot more abuse, but the Unifence has some refined features which I like (and miss!). My current Unisaw is from 1968, much like yours except I have the original Jet-lock fence, which really is a dinosaur. My saw has a side door which was made up by a sheetmetal shop for a previous owner. It's the only thing which makes dust collection possible, although dust collection on saws of this vintage is never very efficient. You will probably want to make a door/motor cover, or locate an original one, and keep motor access in mind when you design your base cabinet.

[Mike Manning]

Welcome to the club Corey! You're gonna love your Uni! Mine was made in '47. Bought it from the son of the original owner.

[andy bessette]

...I am currently stripping it to rebuild it from the ground up. I plan on replacing the Unifence with something else...
(http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/DeltaSerialNumbers.ashx)

Uh.......why?

[Bill Adamsen]

Nice looking package. Congratulations. In the photo that Unifence is setup for cutting to left of blade.

[Jamie Buxton]

Dust collection! You can make your motor cover from plywood. That's how I built mine.

[sebastian phillips]

Nice looking package. Congratulations. In the photo that Unifence is setup for cutting to left of blade.

Uh, yea, that's kinda obvious......

[sebastian phillips]

+1 on the motor cover from plywood. Makes a good place to hang your blade wrenches and a push stick too.

[Bill Adamsen]

... actually got rid of the biesemeyer fence that came with the saw. TEHO

How many Biesemeyer fences did you get?

[sebastian phillips]

How many Biesemeyer fences did you get?

I own a unisaw and a pm66, both came w/ Bies fences........

Bill, I am sorry for my comment above, re fence for the left.
Appears rude and I did not mean to be, sorry

[Marty Schlosser]

Why get rid of the Unifence? I had one on my Unisaw (more modern model than your "new" one) and it worked flawlessly.

[Corey Durbin]

The big reason for thinking of getting rid of the unifence is....well because I've honestly never messed with one. I've only ever used a Bies style fence. I'lol play around with it. One thing, is that the 52in rails are chewed up a bit.

So, I tore apart the entire saw today. Everything appears to be in great condition except the arbor bearings. They spin great but sound like junk.

One question for everyone...MOST of the hardware for the Delta blade guard/system is there except the splitter bracket. Is it worth trying to source one or am I better off getting a disappearing splitter?

[Dave Cav]

Go to OWWM, BOYD subforum and you should be able to find the splitter bracket easily.

There are some excellent tutorials on rebuilding Unisaws on the Vintage Machinery Wiki, if you haven't seen them yet.

Nice looking, classic saw. I agree, give the Unifence a try before you get rid of it. You might end up liking it.

[sebastian phillips]

Corey,
I have the disappearing splitter, and couldn't be happier.
Installs and aligns in a minute.
Does exactly as the name implies when you're dadoing.
Readily available.

[scott spencer]

That's really in pretty nice shape. Excellent buy! Have fun!

[Chris Hachet]

That's really in pretty nice shape. Excellent buy! Have fun!Agreed, I just bought a very similar saw, made in 1973. Unisaw seems like a very good saw!

[Charles Lent]

Corey,

Don't replace the Unifence until you learn what it can do and try using it yourself for a while. I had never used a Unifence before getting one with my present Unisaw, a mid 89's model Unisaw. Previously, I had used several Biesmeyer, and Jetlock fences at places that I worked, plus some no-name fences before that. After using my Unifence for a short time and learning what it can do I will never let it go. It's easy to flip the fence extrusion around for left and right side of the blade use and it can be turned to create a high or low fence height just as easy. You can also slide the fence extrusion back toward you when you want to guide larger work, like full sheets of plywood. Calibration is incerdibly easy too. Peachtree Woodworking www.ptreeusa.com sells square fence extrusions in different lengths called Uni-T-Fence that just slide-on replace the Unifence fence extrusion. These have T slots on the side and top for attaching featherboards and other accessories, plus a an imbedded HDPE strip for the work to slide against. I frequently switch back and forth between the original fence extrusion and one of these Uni-T-Fences, depending on the project need. I even have a short 16" Uni-T-Fence to use as a stop when using the miter gauge to do cross cuts. The versatility of the Unifence makes it the best fence that I've ever used. Please try it for a while before pulling it off your saw. But if you do, you can sell it very quickly for over half of what you paid for the saw. I think that once you have tried out the Unifence, you will not be getting rid of it.

I added a Wixey DRO to my Unifence, purchasing an additional encoder strip and rail from Wixey so I could use the DRO over the full length of the Unifence front rail. I can now use the DRO on either side of the blade over the full movement capability of the fence. The Wixey DRO will work correctly over the full length of the rail, but the DRO package only comes with enough encoder strip and extrusion for 60" of travel. A third strip and rail makes the DRO work over the full length of the Unifence front rail. In fact, you have to saw off part of it since the Unifence rail is not 90" long.

Charley

[Corey Durbin]

I appreciate all of the input.

Ran into a few things while tearing it down. The hearings are toast. No surprise there. Minor screws to replace.

One big thing....the actual rail for the unifence. So I noticed it seemed a little short. In my rush to pick up a Unisaw I didn't even measure it. Seems the guy cut it down by about 18inches in length. Great. Those things certainly aren't cheap either.


Beyond those hiccups. Pretty much have it all tore down and slowly cleaning, degreasing, painting and then re assembling everything.

.charley, I looked into the fence from peachtree and I'm going to go that route. Also that DRO is pretty cool.

-Corey

[Marty Schlosser]

Yeah, Corey, the splitter bracket is certainly a worthwile item to have, as it really facilitates mounting a splitter. I have on on my Unisaw and loved it.


The big reason for thinking of getting rid of the unifence is....well because I've honestly never messed with one. I've only ever used a Bies style fence. I'lol play around with it. One thing, is that the 52in rails are chewed up a bit.

So, I tore apart the entire saw today. Everything appears to be in great condition except the arbor bearings. They spin great but sound like junk.

One question for everyone...MOST of the hardware for the Delta blade guard/system is there except the splitter bracket. Is it worth trying to source one or am I better off getting a disappearing splitter?

[Charles Lent]

Corey,

Keep your eye out for someone who is looking for a short Unifence rail and trade for their long one. I see them being offered for trade every once in a while. Someone down sizing or up sizing and looking for a 1 for 1 trade. Of course, you have a medium rail and looking for a long rail, but that may suite someone too. Just be patient and watch Craigslist and the forum want ads. You will find one.

If you go with a Wixey DRO and want install tips, I can go through it with you, and even take pictures of what I have if you need them. A PM will get my attention quick.
I don't know why your tearing that saw down. It looks to me like all it might need is new bearings and belts, but be sure to check the motor bearings too.

If you go with the Uni-T-Fence from Peachtree, hang onto the original fence. It can be quite useful for certain jobs. I switch back and forth between them quite often, dependiing on the job.

Charley

[andy bessette]

In more than 40 years of using a table saw, as a professional, I never once wished I had a DRO. I have both Unifence and Beismeyer on my saws and would not replace either.

[Corey Durbin]

The table saw is coming along nicely. New bearings installed, all machined faces cleaned up. The thing operates beautifully.

Two things still need adjusted/fixed however.

1.) There is a bit of play in the tilt rod from left to right. Almost seems like one of those washers really needs to be about 1/8 of an inch thicker. I've considered ways to fix it, and I'm actually purchasing a 1in x 12in rod of black UHMW to create new washers from.

2.) Does anyone know the specs of the threads for the locking knobs? On both the knob inserts, and the threads in the tilt/lift rods, the threads are a little chewed up and are kind of rough to operate. I was considering a tap and die to run over to clean up any inconsistencies but unfortunately don't have the saw near me to get the info from.

3.) Attached are some pictures. The crud in the first picture is actually stuff that I couldn't get off WITHOUT using a wire brush or wheel. It was absolutely caked on. Some

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[Bill Dufour]

If you set it up right a two drawer file cabinet can fit nicely under the table to the right.
Bill

[Matt Day]

Your wife has good taste, IMO

[Jim Morgan]

That candy apple red sure is sweet!

I have a Unisaw of the same vintage that I bought from a cabinet shop. They used a forklift to load it into a van that I had rented. At home, I disassembled the saw & carried it down to the basement piece by piece, cleaned, lubricated & reassembled it. Five years later, it runs like a top.

I got a clear storage container at HD that was big enough to fit around the motor opening & deep enough to clear the motor, weather stripped around the opening & ran in some sheet metal screws. The sides of the container tilt out a bit from the bottom to the top, so any sawdust that gets in there will slide out. A raised 'floor' that tilts toward the DC outlet at the back is useful for keeping sawdust from accumulating in the bottom of the cabinet.

My fence is a Bies, to which I have attached a pair of Jessem anti-kickback guides. I like these quite a bit but don't know whether they can be mounted on a Unifence.

[Charles Lent]

Corey,

Delta made a "pop-up splitter". These are quite handy, as you can pull it up into place when ripping, or push it down below the throat plate when it isn't needed. It has anti kick back pawls attached. A slot needs to be cut at the back end of the throat plate if you make zero clearance throat plates. It mounts easily to the flat boss on the lower casting behind the blade. These are hard to find and no longer being made, but they do show up on craigslist and woodworking forum swap boards. This is how I found mine. The little splitters from Micro Jig work well too.

If you decide to install a Wixey DRO on that Unifence, send me a PM. I can make the installation quite easy with some tips, etc.. I can even take a few pictures of my installation.

Charley

[Jim Morgan]

I've got one of those that I replaced with an upgrade (if I can find it). Free to a good home plus shipping

[Ray Newman]

When I bought my Uni back in '87, I put the disappearing splitter and Uni-guard on it along with the Uni-fence. The disappearing splitter is a great device, but will only work on right tilt saw. And the Uni-fence with its high-low position was really handy.

Saw Center still stocks the original disappearing splitter. Not inexpensive, but well worth the price. http://www.sawcenter.com/unisawparts.htm

The re-paint reminded me of another much earlier Uni-rebuild. Owner had the cabinet powder coated "Candy Apple Red" with flames painted around the clean out door to match the '56 or '57 Chevy he restored.