Deciding whether to restore my old unisaw

[Reggie Burnett]

I have an old unisaw that is still functional. I think it's from the 50s or 60s. I already replaced the fence with a Shop Fox fence and resurfaced the table. The tilt and raise/lowering adjustments are very stiff so I think the internal mechanisms need some cleanup. I told the top off and saw that the trunnion and arbor have some rust on them and the cabinet has quite a bit of rust.

I'm pretty sure the arbor bearings need replacing as well.

The motor is wired for 110 and is apparently a 11amp motor.

Wanting to get some opinions on whether to restore it and keep using it and look to get something else. I dont' really want to spend much money on a different saw so I *think* restoration is what I want to do.

Thanks!

[George Yetka]

Anything is possible but your time is worth something too
If you like the saw, aren't looking for something more powerful, and think it would be a fun project I say restore
But if you arent looking too go that far into it Watch craigslist you may find a similar saw 40 years newer for a reasonable price

[Gary Radice]

Restoring a Unisaw is not that difficult if you are at all mechanically inclined. There is lots of help and tutorials available online, both here and especially over at OWWM.org. The only tricky part for most folks is removing the trunnions: they are a tight fit in the cabinet base. When I did mine, it wouldn't come out, wouldn't come out, and then it did. Arbor bearings are not difficult to replace and you should do that if you have the saw apart anyway.

Of course, each rebuild is different. Parts stick, there may be worn parts that you don't know about until you get into it. Work methodically, take pix of assemblies before you take them apart, bag and label parts as they come off, etc.

If you like the saw now, you'll probably like it even better when it is restored, and you will certainly understand it better.

[Lisa Starr]

Restore it! I happen to like older equipment. It has already proven its durability by still being here and parts frequently aren't that difficult to source for things like bearings. Unless you're looking to move up to something in the SawStop line, and that's expensive, there isn't much reason to look for a different saw.

[Mike Henderson]

The motor is probably a 1HP and that's pretty low for modern usage. Time goes on and things improve. I'd get a saw with a true riving knife and maybe flesh sensing technology.

Mike

[Reggie Burnett]

Looks like it's a 1953. Serial number is 107-869 which I assume means 107-0869 which according to this page (http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/DeltaSerialNumbers.ashx) puts it in the Bellefountaine Years.

The motor is stamped 11.8/5.9 amp and that's for 110/220 I assume. After some looking it looks like 1HP. Not sure if that's too small. I'll be working in oak, cherry, cedar, black walnut, and of course pine and poplar.

[Reggie Burnett]

The motor is probably a 1HP and that's pretty low for modern usage. Time goes on and things improve. I'd get a saw with a true riving knife and maybe flesh sensing technology.

Mike

Not really wanting to invest in new tablesaw right now. I plan to rewire for 220. Will that help?

[Mike Henderson]

No, the motor will still be 1HP. The HP doesn't change when you change the voltage. To get a more powerful motor, you'll have to change the motor.

The problem with restoring old things, whether it's tools or an old car, is that when you finish what you have is an old thing (and usually a lot less money).

Mike

[Frank Pratt]

Old machinery is cool, & some, like well restored Wadkin stuff is downright beautiful. But the fact is that newer machinery is just better for the most part. Certainly from a safety perspective. Flame suit on now.

[Matt Day]

No, the motor will still be 1HP. The HP doesn't change when you change the voltage. To get a more powerful motor, you'll have to change the motor.

The problem with restoring old things, whether it's tools or an old car, is that when you finish what you have is an old thing (and usually a lot less money).

Mike

I think a lot of people on this board will take offense that old things aren’t good anymore!

This all depends on what the OP wants and can afford.

I really enjoy restoring old machines, so it’d be an easy choice for me.

You can also just do a mechanical restore without removing the trunnions. With the top removed you can get in there and clean up the worm gears and teeth, and lubricate them. Replace the arbor bearings (lots on that online), maybe new belts and check the motor bearings. I had a 1.5hp on my Uni (a ‘55 I think) for a couple years and it was just fine. I just slowed my feed rate on thicker stock.

[Reggie Burnett]

No, the motor will still be 1HP. The HP doesn't change when you change the voltage. To get a more powerful motor, you'll have to change the motor.

The problem with restoring old things, whether it's tools or an old car, is that when you finish what you have is an old thing (and usually a lot less money).

Mike

That's true but I think it's also easy to start thinking that newer is always better. If you look at what a tablesaw is you see that's really not that different now than in 1953. You need the following things:

1. A nice flat cast iron table
2. A powerful "enough" motor that runs well and smooth
3. A mechanism that allows for easy adjustment of the blade up and down and tilting

I've already added an excellent after market Shop Fox fence. Assuming you have the above items you really have the essence of a tablesaw. Not much more to them.

[Bradley Gray]

What Matt said. Fix what's needed and use it. I have 15 old machines in daily use, some of them for over 40 years. While I admire "better than new" restores it's not something I have ever done.

New bearings and some clean and lube and you can be back making sawdust.

[Reggie Burnett]

I think a lot of people on this board will take offense that old things aren’t good anymore!

This all depends on what the OP wants and can afford.

I really enjoy restoring old machines, so it’d be an easy choice for me.

You can also just do a mechanical restore without removing the trunnions. With the top removed you can get in there and clean up the worm gears and teeth, and lubricate them. Replace the arbor bearings (lots on that online), maybe new belts and check the motor bearings. I had a 1.5hp on my Uni (a ‘55 I think) for a couple years and it was just fine. I just slowed my feed rate on thicker stock.

I, of course, would love to drop $1800-$3000 on a new Grizzly or Unisaw but I have other things that are taking my money right now and until I show that I'm going to spend significant time in my shop building things I don't see the point in spending that kind of money. So it comes down to spend $600-$800 on a new "hybrid" saw or restore this one.

[Andrew Hughes]

I did a restoration on a Davis and Wells table saw. Bring back well made machines is very satisfying.
Heres a pic.

[mark kosse]

That 1HP RI bullet motor is about as good as it gets. They were designed for sharp HSS blades but if you run a thin kerf modern carbide blade on it it will cut anything you throw at it. I personally would make it mechanically excellent and clean it up to functional condition. There is usually pitch on the gears that slow movenet. If you have a really nice shop restore it to new.

[Jeff Heath]

Unisaw's are great saws, and there's no need to replace it with a new asian made machine that won't be as good. You restore it with ease, and there's a lot of help available to walk you through any tough spot. Over time, the sawdust and "gunk" builds up ton these older machines, and they benefit greatly from being taken apart, cleaned, shown some love, and put back together with new belts and bearings.

Keep in mind one thing, sealed bearings are designed to last about 20 years (the grease inside) give or take, depending on usage. I've opened up machines from the 50's and 60's that still had the original arbor and motor bearings in them. They are inexpensive, and easy to replace.

Once finished, you'll have a beautifully functional saw that is better than any of the saws being sold today at 4 times the price.

As far as the 1 hp motor goes, Unisaw motors are a dime a dozen, and come up for sale all the time on the OWWM classifieds. 2 hp and 3 hp motors can be swapped out for yours, and the frame size is extremely common. Piece of cake to upgrade the power of your saw. My 1949 Unisaw had the 1 hp, and I put a 3 hp in it. Nothing it couldn't cut with that bigger motor in it.

There's nothing to be intimidated by restoring an old machine. My entire shop of 27 functional, working machines are all OWWM's, ranging in age from 1905 to 1985 (my restored Powermatic 66). They are all outstanding industrial quality machines that are better than anything I could find at the green bear or Woodcraft.

[Mike Kees]

I would fix it. Sounds like it just needs a good clean up and lube. Agree that arbor and motor bearings would be a good idea as well. Probably belts too.

[Allan Speers]

The motor is probably a 1HP and that's pretty low for modern usage. Time goes on and things improve. I'd get a saw with a true riving knife and maybe flesh sensing technology.

Mike


Mike, I'm with you on the riving knife, but I dunno' about all this flesh-sensing technology.

When the machines finally take over our planet, that might not be such a good thing... :eek:

[Mike Henderson]

Mike, I'm with you on the riving knife, but I dunno' about all this flesh-sensing technology.

When the machines finally take over our planet, that might not be such a good thing... :eek:

The flesh sensing technology on my table saw saved me from an expensive trip to the emergency room.

Mike

[Jeff Heath]

If people learn correctly to keep their hands away from spinning sawblades, and use push sticks correctly, there's no such thing as flesh sensing technology. It's a crutch, and woodworkers won't have that crutch around jointer knives, planer knives, and shaper knives.......

[Bill Dufour]

Replace the bearing with RS type for about $20.00 for both. Clean and degrease the moving parts and apply some dry lube of your favorite brand and it is good to go for another 50 years.
Bil lD.

[Mike Henderson]

If people learn correctly to keep their hands away from spinning sawblades, and use push sticks correctly, there's no such thing as flesh sensing technology. It's a crutch, and woodworkers won't have that crutch around jointer knives, planer knives, and shaper knives.......

We can argue this again and again, as we have in the past. People make mistakes and technology can save you a trip to the emergency room, as it did for me. Thanks, but I'll take all the safety technology that science and engineering can give me. I had a nick on my thumb instead of a missing thumb.

Mike

[As a side note, the meat industry has a safety device on bandsaws used to cut meat. Prior to that, many of the meat workers were missing fingers. No, safety technology is a very good thing.

Meat workers push meat through the bandsaw very quickly. If their hand was in the wrong place, they'd cut off a finger in an instant - right through the bone, just like they cut through the bone on the meat they're processing.]

[Marc Jeske]

How does it know the difference between a piece of Cow and a piece of a Human ?

Marc

[Pete Staehling]

Just me, but I'd fix it going only as far as making it fully functional again. New bearings, belts and so on as needed, but not an as new restore. My bet is that the 1 HP motor is probably fine, but I'd decide that after fixing up everything else first.

[Mike Henderson]

How does it know the difference between a piece of Cow and a piece of a Human ?

Marc
I haven't researched the meat industry safety devices in detail, but my understanding is that the worker has to wear a special color gloves (I think they're kind of blue-purple). Cameras are focused on the cutting area and if a hand is detected going close enough, and in motion, towards the blade, a brake is applied to the blade which stops it pretty quickly.

I have no idea what damage (if any) this does to the blade or the bandsaw. The bandsaw wheels have a fair amount of inertia so I expect this breaks the bandsaw blade but I don't know.

I expect this is too expensive a system for hobby use (and you'd have to wear the special gloves). But in the meat industry speed and efficiency are primary. An injury accident would probably shut things down for some period of time, the medical expenses would be expensive, and OSHA would be all over you.

Mike

[Note that this system does not require contact with the blade, as the SawStop system does. It activates before contact is made.

And there's good reason for that. If a drop of the worker's blood got on the machine, the machine would have to be cleaned and sterilized before it could be put back into production. The cost of doing that is cheap compared to the cost of a meat recall - but it would slow down production.]

[Allan Speers]

On a more serious note (than before :o )

- That's probably an old induction-repulsion motor. (I think they were also called "bullet" motors, or something like that?)

Some vintage tool guys love those things. You could probably sell it for a decent price, so as to upgrade to 3 HP.

Regarding the riving knife, there's always the Shark guard. Not exactly the same, but still a nice upgrade. It doesn't actually raise & lower with the blade, but you get three different height splitters and they are simple to change or remove.

I haven't used one myself, as I had an Excalibur on my Unisaw (and now use an EZ One table, for better or worse) but supposedly the one issue with a Shark is that you can't do non-through cuts. Maybe someone else here can explain that.

There was also a true riving knife kit made by a company called ****. - But maybe they went out of business?

[andy bessette]

The motor is probably a 1HP...

11 amps = 1.5 hp. That's what I have on one of my Unisaws, wired for 230 V and it is plenty.

[Jack Frederick]

I picked up a '48 Unisaw (same vintage as me) about '95. It too was stiff in the trunnions. I pulled the top to move it and took the opportunity to clean it up. Slick as a whistle afterwards. I put a 4" dust collection port on it and made some masonite ramps to feed the debris to the port. Years later I replaced the motor and the arbor assembly. I got the components from the Saw Shop in Springfield, MA. They were really helpful. I also re-wired the saw. I had a Vega Fence on it. When I built my shop a few years ago my daughter surprised me with a 3 hp Sawstop. Yes, I like her a lot. I gave my Unisaw to a friend who needed one...sob. It was a good thing to do but every time I'm up at his house I lust over my old saw;) It is an excellent saw. My friend is thrilled with it. I think if you do the upgrades you will be very pleased with your new old Unisaw.

[Scott Hearn]

As others have said they are actually quite easy to restore. Mine isn't as old as yours, but it was in a vo-tech school for years and had been run pretty hard. New bearings, belts, cleanup of the trunnions, some stoning on the table, and it's as good as new. OK I may have added a few things, but the saw is good for another 50 years.

409229

[Mike Cutler]

Restore it, or to better phrase it, you just have some normal maintenance to do.
Weekend of your time, maybe a $100.00 to $150.00 in investment, and you're good for another 20 years.
The raise tilt mechanism gets gummed up with sawdust and grease. Generally it's just some deep cleaning and realigning and you're good to go.
Match mark all of the bolts and washers you take off as you go, and you'll be fine.
Once you get the internals out of the cabinet, hit it lightly with some 440 paper, and steel wool and use a rattle can rust inhibiting primer and paint on the internals.
Your motor is powerful enough to probably do 95%+ of all the woodworking you want to do. Unless you're ripping thick billets all day long, your motor is fine.
Don't be afraid to do a little preventative maintenance. It's easy.

[Bill Dufour]

I like to paint the interior of such machine cabinets gloss white. Latex paint is plenty good enough since you will seldom see the inside. That white paint makes it brighter inside with a flashlight looking for dropped blade nuts etc. Not really needed but I am painting all the arbor parts including every thing that moves up and down with the arbor light green. Everything that tilts only is being painted teal. All the parts that do not move will be white.
that way if something is sticky and can stand on my head and see what color part I should be thinking about cleaning and lubing with some dry lube of some kind.
Bil lD

[andy bessette]

I like to paint the interior of such machine cabinets gloss white. Latex paint is plenty good enough...

That would knock off at least half the resale value for me.

[Jeff Heath]

Unisaw's have no resale value. You can buy them for a few hundred bucks anywhere, and certainly on OWWM classifieds. They are a really good cabinet saw, though, so set the saw up the way you like. It's not the kind of machine you're going to make money off of in a flip, and I seriously doubt 95% of the potential buyers down the road are going to care less if the interior is painted white.

Clean the saw up, change the arbor and motor bearings (all very inexpensive), and you'll have a terrific 10" cabinet saw. My first cabinet saw, for 10 years, was a vintage Unisaw. I paid $300 for it at a barn sale 30 years ago, and cleaned it up. I made furniture and cabinets with it for 10 years and made a ton of money using it. They are fine saws to start out with, until you want to upgrade to bigger and better, like a slider.

[Jacob Mac]

I would clean it, replace the bearings and get back to making furniture. If down the road you love the hobby and want something better/different, then go get it.

[Mark Wooden]

I didn't see it mentioned, but older motors were rated differently than they are today; your 1 hp will have a much better power curve than a newer motor and probably out perform a 1.5hp new motor. I use a 1hp Walker-Turner tablesaw a lot, rips 8/4 white oak just fine with a good full kerf rip blade. Would I use it to rip 1000 bd ft of it? No, I have a 5hp Oliver for that.
I'm with Jeff Heath, the Uni is a very good, solid, easy to work on saw that has been equipping home and pro shops since the 1940's. Absolutely worth replacing worn parts, motor up grade if needed. I'm actually replacing a 5hp with a 2hp (3 to 1 phase)in one soon to use a a site saw. Doubt I'll miss the hp.
What I'm getting at is don't base the amount of power you require on a motor tag or what others have, but on your needs.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm not really a ""hobbyist"" per say, when it comes to woodworking. I do it more as a means to an end. I rehab and restore older 1930 to 1960's era houses.
Most of the same equipment is used for both though.

Anyhow,,,having said that,,,I for one have less than zero interest and/or desire to restore, repair, resurrect or rescue old(er) tools. Since my workspace is my garage and driveway, I have between late March and mid-October to get as much use as possible out of my equipment. Anything, such as wasting my time and space, on trying to bring back some piece of equipment just isn't going to happen...#1-beaucse as I say - I consider it a waste and #2 - I dislike - I'd even go so far as to say, I hate, working on equipment. I had my fill of that working on printers when I got into the IT field.

Don't mean to brush anyone's fur the wrong way - - and I appreciate those people that do get as much, if not more enjoyment out of working on the tools instead of the wood.....I'm just not one of them.

[Mike Henderson]

I didn't see it mentioned, but older motors were rated differently than they are today; your 1 hp will have a much better power curve than a newer motor and probably out perform a 1.5hp new motor.
I'm afraid that's not correct. We've known how to test motors for HP for a long time and the definition of a HP has not changed. In any case, there's no free lunch. The energy for the HP has to come from somewhere and it comes from the voltage and current of the motor. If anything, old motors were not as efficient as newer motors so I'd actually expect that they would take more current (at a particular voltage) to produce the rated HP than a new motor.

Some people glamorize old things and I think this belief is part of that glamorization.

Mike

[Some of the old Unisaws had low horsepower repulsion-induction motors. On those motors, if you started to stall the motor, which was easy to do because the motor was low HP, the starting system would kick in and add some power. The problem is that the motor was not designed to operate that way and it was drawing excessive current when it was pushed that way. Also, the starting system only kicked in when the RPMs of the motor went down quite a bit so you were attempting to cut with a blade not at full speed.

Rather than use a motor that way, you'd do better to just install a motor with sufficient HP. That way, you won't stall the motor and you'll be cutting at the RPMs that the blade was designed for.]

Mike

[Scott Hearn]

I like to paint the interior of such machine cabinets gloss white. Latex paint is plenty good enough since you will seldom see the inside. That white paint makes it brighter inside with a flashlight looking for dropped blade nuts etc. Not really needed but I am painting all the arbor parts including every thing that moves up and down with the arbor light green. Everything that tilts only is being painted teal. All the parts that do not move will be white.
that way if something is sticky and can stand on my head and see what color part I should be thinking about cleaning and lubing with some dry lube of some kind.
Bil lD
That's actually a good idea! Wish I had thought of it when I had mine apart.

[Allan Speers]

I'm afraid that's not correct. We've known how to test motors for HP for a long time and the definition of a HP has not changed. In any case, there's no free lunch. The energy for the HP has to come from somewhere and it comes from the voltage and current of the motor. If anything, old motors were not as efficient as newer motors so I'd actually expect that they would take more current (at a particular voltage) to produce the rated HP than a new motor....

[Some of the old Unisaws had low horsepower repulsion-induction motors....

Hey, Mike, Just as a point of interest: (as I have no idea)

Could it be that some motors have more torque than others, for a given HP?
Torque is what gets the work done, so if that were true, it might account for the love for those old I-R motors.
(Or maybe it's just those rose-colored glasses.)

For instance, if a less-efficient motor uses 15a for 1.5 HP, and an efficient motor uses only 12a for its 1.5 HP rating, could it be that the first motor has more torque? It seems to me that more current would do exactly that, unless it's simply lost as heat.

[Mike Henderson]

Hey, Mike, Just as a point of interest: (as I have no idea)

Could it be that some motors have more torque than others, for a given HP?
Torque is what gets the work done, so if that were true, it might account for the love for those old I-R motors.
(Or maybe it's just those rose-colored glasses.)

For instance, if a less-efficient motor uses 15a for 1.5 HP, and an efficient motor uses only 12a for its 1.5 HP rating, could it be that the first motor has more torque? It seems to me that more current would do exactly that, unless it's simply lost as heat.

No, the definition of HP is torque times RPM times a constant factor. So all motors running at 3450 RPM will have the same torque at the same HP (by definition). If it had more torque, it'd have more HP.

At any given RPM, all motors will have the same torque at the same HP.

Also, torque does not do work. Torque is just a force. The measure of work is HP, which is force in motion (force times distance). To actually remove wood (which is what a saw blade does) you need HP, not torque.

Mike

[And yes, with a less efficient motor, the excess current, beyond what is converted to HP, goes to heat.]

[To illustrate the difference between torque and HP, consider the case where you lock the rotor on a motor and try to start it. There will be a torque applied to the rotor but the rotor won’t move and no work will be done. ]

[Bill Dufour]

Before you remove the table spray paint the four mounting points so you can match them up later. Once the tabletop is back on the saw spend 30 minutes adjusting the top to be parallel to the blade. Not doing this can cause kickback and poor crosscuts. Then adjust the fence so it is parallel to the blade or kicks out a fraction at the far end.
I forgot to do this, repainting any way, so I will be spending a long... time getting it back exactly where it needs to be.
Jumping ahead and doing a early test cut could be very dangerous to you fingers/eyes/face and/or life.

[Allan Speers]

Also, torque does not do work. Torque is just a force. The measure of work is HP, which is force in motion (force times distance). To actually remove wood (which is what a saw blade does) you need HP, not torque. ]


I'll agree with everything else, (AND THANKS) I'm not ready to buy this part, just yet.
Torque is what keeps the motor from bogging down when you lay into a 4/4 piece of Ipe. (no?)
And isn't THAT what really matters, when a guy is wondering if his 1.5 HP tablesaw has enough "power?"

Like with a car: HP gets you top speed, but "torque wins races," as they say.

So..... no?

[Patrick Walsh]

Maybe true for most and I won’t get to into it.

I often bog down a 5hp saw when working. Sure slowing down feed rate all but solves the issue but you know I’m not much for underpower.

But you know if the saw suits you now and you feel like getting dirty I say go for it....

[Mike Henderson]

I'll agree with everything else, (AND THANKS) I'm not buying this part, just yet.
Torque is what keeps the motor from bogging down when you lay into a 4/4 piece of Ipe. (no?)
And isn't THAT what really matters, when a guy is wondering if his 1.5 HP tablesaw has enough "power?"

Like with a car: HP gets you top speed, but "torque wins races," as they say.

So..... no?
No, it’s HP that does the work when cutting wood. Torque is just a force. And all motors of equal RPM and HP have the same torque.

Those old motors don’t have any more torque than an equivalent modern motor. If they had more torque, they'd have more HP. Look up the equation for HP of an electric motor and you'll see that HP is directly related to torque (at the same RPM).

Mike

[Here's the equation for HP. HP = (Torque (in lb feet) * RPM)/5252 You can check this at Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower#Calculating_power) ]

[And just another note, small (about 1HP) single phase induction motors have an efficiency of perhaps 70% to 75% at full load. The efficiency gets better for larger motors (say a 50HP motor). What we might call "old motors" might be a bit less efficient. More recently manufactured motors have gotten more efficient - the designers have made small improvements in efficiency with each generation of motor. The maximum efficiency is usually not at full load but at about 75% of full load.

3 phase motors tend to be more efficient than single phase motors at the same HP rating.]

[Just one more side comment: Universal motors can provide decent (real) HP in a small package because of the high RPMs that they operate at. Their small size limits the amount of torque they can produce, but the high RPMs can compensate for that. If you can double the RPMs, you can produce the same HP with half the torque. But the people who make those universal motors do not report the real HP of those motors - they report a fake, stall HP.]

[Mark Wooden]

I'm afraid that's not correct. We've known how to test motors for HP for a long time and the definition of a HP has not changed. In any case, there's no free lunch. The energy for the HP has to come from somewhere and it comes from the voltage and current of the motor. If anything, old motors were not as efficient as newer motors so I'd actually expect that they would take more current (at a particular voltage) to produce the rated HP than a new motor.

Some people glamorize old things and I think this belief is part of that glamorization.

Mike

Mike


Well, not being an electrical engineer, not interested in whats tested or not and I can only report on what I experience. Not glamorizing anything either. I just own and use a mix of newer and older equipment and can tell when one is doing better than another; and can also see and feel the difference in build quality. I do know my re-built machines give me less trouble, and it ain't luck or happenstance.
Maybe its an acquired taste and feel, don't know, and it ain't for everyone.
I still say tune the saw up, its worth it.

[Matt Day]

My thought has always been that older motors have a bigger stator. More mass equals more momentum which takes more to slow down.

[Mike Henderson]

My thought has always been that older motors have a bigger stator. More mass equals more momentum which takes more to slow down.
I think you mean a bigger rotor, not a stator (the stator is not moving). If a motor had a heavier rotor it would store more rotational energy and could provide that energy during an impulse event, such as hitting a knot. But it would not be much and it would be used up quickly. The energy would not be all of the energy stored in the rotor, but just the energy between the two RPMs (the RPM before you hit something and the RPM after you hit something).

I just don't think that would provide much additional power to the saw in use.

Mike

[Tim McCarthy]

I bought an old Uni-saw years ago for $225 and thought I'd clean it up and sell it. After researching the S/N, I discovered it was made the same year and month I was born (7-50). I kept it, restored it and could not be happier with it. The old stuff has seasoned castings which do not move and was made to last in an industrial environment. To get a new saw of the same quality today I would have to spend AT LEAST double what I have in the saw including bearings, belts, paint, an upgraded fence, Incra miter gage, Merlin splitter and having the top reground. RESTORE IT!!!

Enjoy!

Tim

[Roger Feeley]

Mike, that's pretty clever. Maybe the safety tech just drops the upper wheel taking the inertia out of it. Then a little clamp could stop the blade.