Ridgid TS 3612 Worth

[Mike Gambone]

Would you guys pay 350 for a 3612. I'm looking to upgrade and I've read its a good saw with decent fence. 350 seems sporty to me, unless pristine which I don't think this one is. Thoughts appreciated.

Mike

[Charles Lent]

My personal opinion, take your $350 and buy an old Unisaw, then clean it up. Your kids will inherit it, because you will never need a better saw. The portable saws being sold today aren't made to last more than a few years, have very little value when they get older, and are no where near as accurate as a Unisaw or a Powermatic equivalent, if you can find one. I bought a $300 mid 80's Unisaw after owning several lesser grade "portable" saws that cost me as much as $630 each. I replaced the Unisaw arbor and motor bearings, installed new belts, cleaned the cabinet, calibrated it, and then put it into use. That was 18 years ago. I have since added a Wixey DRO and a plastic cover for the motor opening, which made the saw much quieter. It came with a 52" Unifence, and I was planning to replace the fence, but once I began using the Unifence, I fell in love with it and wouldn't trade it for anything. I use a Biesmeier fence at work and I now hate it. I bought a Uni-T-Fence extrusion from Peachtree woodworking www.ptreeusa.com that provides T slots and a square profile to help with attaching jigs and fixtures. This fence extrusion can easily be slid into place and attached to the Unifence body in the same way as the original Unifence extrusion, so I can now use either fence extrusion and have the benefits that both offer. I liked the Uni-T-Fence design so much that I also bought a 16" length of it from them to use as a short fence. I like the high/low fence capability of the original fence extrusion and I can switch to the square profile Uni-T-Fence with T slots to use when I want to attach feather boards or jigs. This saw is incredibly accurate. I'll not ever need a better saw in my lifetime, and one of my children will inherit it. It took a little effort to change the belts and bearings, and clean up the saw, but it's been well worth it, and it's a night and day difference in accuracy over those portable saws that I've owned before.

Charley

[Adam Herman]

i have a 3612 and we paid 300 for it in very very good condition several years ago. it's really quite a good saw for the money. the fence works pretty well, it stays adjusted and i have no complaints about it. A used unisaw for that price, at least around here, will need a lot of work. I think its a solid buy at 3 or 350.

[Mike Gambone]

i agree with all of above, a unisaw would be cool, but is really overkill for my level. Yeah, if i really get the bug for this hobby it will be great, but i can always upgrade later. However, there is a unisaw available locally, asking 650. Not even sure how i'd get it home, but will probably go look at it. Thanks again.

[Bill Dufour]

A unisaw takes less room then a contractor saw because the motor is inside the cabinet not hanging out the back. Two guys can flip a unisaw into a pickup truck so it is top down. This is with a proper pickup not the newer jacked up ones that the bed is 6 inches higher for no reason. Or four bolts to remove the top and move it that way.
Bil lD

[Mike Gambone]

Just talked to the Unisaw owner, he can't meet me until Saturday, which is fine. He is inconvenient to me, but on Sat AM drive should be easy.

Big question. I have a Honda Odyssey van, if i remove the fence, wings and table, could the saw then slide into my Odyssey on one side or am I crazy? Need some thoughts here. Can make 2 trips if necessary as owner doesn't need it gone instantly.

Or rent the HD pick up truck (would prefer to avoid this route if possible).

Mike

[Charles Lent]

If you have a good reliable saw when first getting into woodworking, you will enjoy woodworking far more and easily get better results than if you use a saw with many flaws. Making something on a saw that won't cut straight or accurate will result in none of your work fitting together properly and you will spend extra hours on every project trying to square and trim your project parts to get your project completed and looking acceptable. When you can cut the pieces accurately and square, everything fits together without all of this hand fitting. You will likely use a table saw more than any other power tool in your shop, so it's very much worth getting a good one to start with.

The Unisaw that you found is a little high in price compared to here in NC, but demand for them in various parts of the country varies and significantly affects the prices, so it may be a great deal in your area. If it's a really nice, complete, and well maintained saw, I wouldn't hesitate to grab it at that price. If you don't, you will likely not get a second chance at it. Newer saws are worth more than older ones too, but the Unisaw design didn't change much over the years. Buy once, cry once. Much older saws had lower horsepower motors than the 3 or 5 hp motors used since about the 1970's, but I have used some of the older saws with 1 and 1 1/2 hp motors, and they are quite adequate for home shop use. The really old saws had repulsion induction type motors which were stronger at lower hp ratings than the newer induction motors now being used, so I wouldn't refuse one of these because of this.

If you remove the top, make certain that you keep track of the spacers under it. You will want to put them back in the same positions that they came from. Four zip lock bags labeled with each corner designation will let you keep them in the right order. If laying the saw down, I would remove the motor. Sideways stress of the motor weight could break something when you hit a big bump. They do travel completely upside down, fully assembled, in a pickup truck quite well, and it's easy for two guys to catch the edge of the saw table on the tailgate and then pivot hinge it up and over until it's sitting in the truck bed flat on it's table top. I would put an old blanket or moving pad in the truck bed before putting the saw in. It will reduce the chance of scratching the top, and also make it easier to drag the blanket and saw forward to center the weight over the rear axle. Tie it in good and it will travel well for hundreds of miles. To unload, just reverse the process. The table top and the motor are most of the weight.

If the saw is clean with little or no rust and you can run test it before buying (take some scrap 2 by lumber and a saw blade for the test)...... If you can raise, lower, and tilt the blade to it's full extents .....If it comes with a good fence and miter gauge, it is a good deal at that price. Subtract for any condition less that this or for missing items. Blade wrenches are easily available from www.ereplacementparts.com, but will cost you about $20 for the pair. A good condition Unifence is worth $150-250. Biesmeier, about $150. 3 phase motors are good if you have 3 phase, not so if you want to use them at home. If you only have 1 phase 240 volt available (normal home power) a new motor or phase converter is going to cost $175 - $400. Factor these into your decision.

Charley

[Mike Gambone]

Charles, thanks for input.

Checked out the Ridgid this morning, an adequate saw for a newbie for sure, owner is unrealistic. Going to check out Unisaw, has the unifence and is 220 single phase. This is clearly the better deal, if i can score and get it home. It has a side extensio so is about 60" wide, very cool, but big for my space. Definitely will need it on a mobile base and will no doubt need an extension cord.

[Charles Lent]

It's the same as mine, and I couldn't bare to cut the Unifence rail down, so my 52" Unisaw/Unifence has the extension table butted up against the wall in about the center of the long wall of my 14 X 26 shop. Next to it on the left end is my 6" jointer. Then to the left of the jointer is a narrow aisle and then the miter saw is up against the opposite wall facing the jointer. I's tight, but so is the rest of my shop. I break up full sheets outside using a cutting table, straight edges, and my circular saw with a zero clearance Lexan sole on it to minimize chipping of the cuts. It has a large opening to allow the blade guard to function, but just a blade wide slit where the blade teeth rise up through the wood being cut. I break up my sheets leaving about 1/4" extra, and then take the pieces inside and trim them to final dimension on my Unisaw. I have photos of this cutting table, straight edges, and circular saw with the Lexan sole piece, if you are interested. This is all kind of a poor man's track saw system, because I haven't yet decided that I really need a track saw.

You may not like the Unifence at first, but once familiar with it's high/low capability and the ability to pull the fence back to make it shorter or longer I'm certain that it will win you over. You can also flip the fence end for end and attach it to the opposite side of the casting, then move the fence to the opposite side of the blade. It's quick and easy to do.

Good luck with your Saturday meeting.

Charley

[Ronald Blue]

Let us know if you score the Unisaw. Post pictures too please.

[Mike Gambone]

Scored the Unisaw, it was in near new condition, original owner, gave him the cash. We disassembled and put it in my Honda van, way less hassle than anticipated. Once rail and table was off, it was easy for 2 of us to slide it in. Only photos are of it in van, need to move some stuff to get it in garage. This is way better than the Ridgid. When we removed the table, we found the shims welded to the underside, so nothing to lose or put back incorrectly.


Plan is to rearrange my space in garage, get a mobile base so I can easily put it back in corner when not in use. So yeah, some work down the road, but for the moment I've scored a great saw. Mike


409670409671

[Curt Harms]

Charles, thanks for input.

Checked out the Ridgid this morning, an adequate saw for a newbie for sure, owner is unrealistic. Going to check out Unisaw, has the unifence and is 220 single phase. This is clearly the better deal, if i can score and get it home. It has a side extensio so is about 60" wide, very cool, but big for my space. Definitely will need it on a mobile base and will no doubt need an extension cord.

Nothing says you HAVE to use the wider table. I have a Grizzly 1023 that has 27" to the right of the blade and have never found that limiting. I use a saw guide and PC-314 to cut sheet goods down to size - cut 'em a little oversized and clean up on the table saw if you feel it's necessary. There's no way in the world I'm going to lift full sized sheet goods onto a table saw. I have a router plate to the right of the blade so have a router table with lots of table to the left of the cutter. Here's my homemade mobile base, it works well with the shorter table, wouldn't work with a wider table. Second pic is current iteration of the router table.

[Charles Lent]

Mike,

Congratulations on getting a REAL TABLE SAW at a good price.

For my mobile base, I found out that HTC was selling some odd sized mobile bases at a significant discount to clear them out of their warehouse. I bought one that I knew wasn't the right size, but with a plan to cut it up and add pieces of 1 X 2 pipe where necessary, to make it fit my Unisaw and extension table. The general design and the wheels were worth the price, even if I hadn't been able to use the rest of it. I think I paid $35 including shipping for the base. My son and I share a metal fabrication shop, so this modification was easy for me. When the mobile base arrived I knew what new dimensions it had to be and cut it up. Then I butt welded pieces of the same square pipe wherever needed to end up with the base size that I needed to fit my saw. I was painting it with the same color gray paint (rattle can from Lowes) about an hour later. I put it under my Unisaw the following day. After welding and painting, this base looks and works just like the proper size HTC base, for about 1/3 the price. HTC might still have some of these bases, so might be worth contacting them. They sent me a list with the dimensions of each to pick from. If you have the metal working capabilities it might be a good way for you to get a cheap base for your saw too. A welder, grinder, hack saw, and tape measure are really all that is needed, plus a rattle can of paint. Once the pipes were butt welded together, ground smooth, and painted the joints were practically invisible and I have a perfect fitting HTC base under my saw.


Since your shop is also small, if you want any info on my method of breaking down full sheet stock outside my shop on a cutting table, just ask. I'm a 77 yr old man with internal metal and plastic parts now, and I've also had 6 heart surgeries. I can no longer lift or carry thicker full sheets anymore, so I have come up with a bunch of ways to move and make breaking up the sheet stock much easier for me and what's left of my body. Thinking back, I should have been doing it this way 60 years ago. All of my ways may not be needed by you yet, but I'm certain that some of my methods will be of help.

Charley

[Mike Gambone]

Charley, thanks for your help here an convincing me the better saw was the way to go. As soon as i looked at it, i knew it was right. Lots for me to learn.

No easy access to a fabricator as I don't have a welder, but something to think about as a couple buds do, probably cost me some beer! Most likely, I'll try and score a base on close out or something, when price looks right. I don't need the saw this week.

Curt, turned out, it's not as big as i thought and by moving my air compressor and a redoing a shelf, it will fit in the alcove left as the laundry room does not extend for the full garage width. Wheel it out when needed, back when done.


Questions on splitter, need input, but seems time for a new post.

Mike

[Rick Potter]

If you decide to cut down the Unifence, it is easy to do. You can cut the aluminum fence support rail with a Miter saw. Just go slow, and it will cut cleanly. No damage to my blade.

I cut mine to about 33" (cut width, not fence rail width). I would recommend cutting it so you can still rip 36", which should cover most cabinet size cuts. You could always trim more later if desired.

[Charles Lent]

I have a pop-up splitter on my Unisaw. I only use it when ripping solid wood. Nothing else closes up around the blade so I have found no need for it. The pop-up splitter attaches under the table insert and is below the insert, until you need it. Then it's simple to lift up with a slot in the back end of the saw insert. When you don't need it, it pushes back down under the table insert. Anti kick back pawls are attached to it. I sharpened the points on mine so they dig in really good if a board starts to kick back.

You can get a new one through Amazon. They fit all Unisaws and Amazon actually has them in stock. https://www.amazon.com/DELTA-34-868-Bracket-Splitter-Assembly/dp/B0007SXGQ0 but the price is a bit high. I bought mine from a Shark Guard convert for about 1/3 of the Amazon price. I have a Brett Guard and the pop-up splitter works very well with it. The splitter does need an additional slot in the back end of the table insert, but the Delta Inserts already have it. If you make your own inserts you will need to add the slot to them. Since I always use a dedicated ripping blade when ripping solid stock, I have a dedicated insert that I made specifically for this blade, and it has the extra slot for the splitter. I don't bother adding it to my other inserts because I never rip solid wood using the blades that go with them. You might also look into the splitters offered by Micro Jig https://www.amazon.com/MICRO-JIG-SP-2-TK-SPLITTER-SteelPro/dp/B00B03PMY0

There is/was another option called **** for Unisaws (Bolt On Riving Knife), but I don't know anything about how good it is or even if it's still available. A Google search will bring up information about it.

I could not bring myself to cut my Unifence down, even though I really don't have the space to use it, but I might in my next shop, if there is ever such a thing. The end of the extension table is up against the center area of the long wall of my 14 X 26 shop and I get to the other end of the shop via a narrow walkway on the left end of the saw. My 6" jointer is next to the Unisaw and my miter saw and table are on the opposite side of this aisle. The unused portion of the table extension collects parts to be sawn and a metal drawer screw storage cabinet also sits there, against the wall.

For safety, build yourself a fold down out feed tabl,e to keep your work from falling and to keep you from wanting to reach over the spinning saw blade. It can be a free standing cabinet the same height as the saw, or just a little below it, or it can be attached, like mine. On mine I have attached a piece of steel angle to the saw and there is a 6" wide strip of 3/4 cabinet birch ply attached that does not swing down. The rest of this 3 X 4' table is hinged to this stationary piece. The legs are 2 X 2 poplar with pinball machine feet screwed into inserts in the bottom end of the legs. I can screw them in and out to change the table height by a few inches to compensate for my very uneven floor. I may soon replace this with a full cabinet on wheels, because I'm in need of more storage.

Charley

[Frank Pratt]

I have a pop-up splitter on my Unisaw. I only use it when ripping solid wood. Nothing else closes up around the blade so I have found no need for it.
Charley

A splitter or riving knife has another, and I would argue more important, function than to keep the blade from being pinched. That is to keep the piece that's between the fence & blade from shifting against the blade & then launched backward. It's good practice to always (with few exceptions) have that splitter/riving knife in place.

[Mike Gambone]

Agree, i plan to get a splitter set up of some type on this machine. The delta 34-868 splitter looks to be for only right tilt saws, am i correct on this?

[Charles Lent]

Sorry, I don't know for certain, but it looks like mine and mine is for a right tilt Unisaw. I'll look closer to see if it can be reversed for a left tilt saw. Is your Unisaw a left tilt? They didn't make left tilt for very many years, so that maybe explains why it is so clean. How about a model number. There is a model # to date of manufacture chart. I think it's on www.owwm.com.

Charley

OK, just back from looking again at the splitter that's on Amazon. To me it looks like it's for right tilt only, but if you go to the posted questions, the answer to the very first question is a list of Contractor and Unisaws that it will fit. My recommendation is to go to that list with your saw model number and see if it's in the list.

Another thought is that you might look closely at the photo and the mounting point on your saw to see if possibly the splitter could be dis-assembled and reversed to make it fit left tilt versions of the saws. The lift tab might end up pointed the other way, and possibly the mounting might be a bit different, but the pawls should be the same and just need to be sequenced the opposite way and attached to the opposite side of the splitter. (this is all just my thoughts. I'm not saying that it will work, but it might). If you get one and dis-assemble it, be careful. There is a small spring and a BB sized bearing inside that forms the detent function to latch the splitter in the up and down positions. Don't lose them !!! Other than temporarily losing the detent ball and spring, I have never tried to dis-assemble or reverse my splitter since I installed it on my right tilt Unisaw.

Because these saws are no longer being manufactured, and because the demand is still high for them, their replacement parts tend to be more expensive than you would expect. Fortunately, they don't break very often.

Charley

[Mike Gambone]

Charley,

Yeah, it is left tilt, want to say from circa 2005. I'm at work, can't recall the model number, but it is not listed on the amazon site for that splitter. Will double check model and look at attachment.

[Mike Gambone]

OK, the saw is a delta 36-953 with the 24" right side extension table. The left side wing is 10" and the table is 20" so a total width of 54". I saw some photos of a saw like this, but only cabinet was on a mobile base, i guess the legs had enough adjustment. I'm thinking i need a mobile base with an extension. This make the most sense for easy moving in and out of position. I need this before a splitter, though i'm looking, as I don't want to assemble the saw until its on the base for all the obvious reasons! Thanks.

[Mike Gambone]

Also, meant to mention i have the 30" unifence. I think this will be a great setup for me to learn on once i, well, have it set up. I don't have to rush, so can wait for decent deals on stuff i need.

[Charles Lent]

That is an "almost new" saw. No wonder it's so clean. You did very well. Mine is an early 80's saw. It was in great shape when I got it, but I'm the third owner. The first was a small cabinet shop and the second was a hobby woodworker.

You really want the base that holds both the saw and the extension table. I'm wishing that my base also extended out under my out feed table too, since I need to fold it down whenever moving the saw. I leave it up otherwise, and it sometimes becomes bench space for my oscillating spindle sander. The saw wasn't that hard for me to get onto my base. I had the saw for almost a year before I added the base. I just tilted the saw enough to get the base partly under it. Then pushed and pulled to drag the saw the rest of the way onto the base. It can be done. I had considered jacking and spacers to lift under the table with two 2 X 4 ' s, lifting and blocking until the saw was high enough to roll the stand under it, but then realized that I could just tip the saw to get the stand started under it and then drag the saw to get it the rest of the way on. It was a lot faster, and not that hard.


I doubt you will find a pop-up splitter for your left tilt saw. They weren't available for left or right tilt for many years. I'm a bit surprised that Amazon has the right tilt version now. If you can't come up with a way to modify the right tilt version, the MicroJig version is probably the best alternative. Other than that, the Shark Guard or the design of the Bolt On Riving Knife (search for it's initials) are probably the only other options. Information for both can be found through Google.

Charley

[Mike Gambone]

Charley,

As always great info. I'll get it worked out.

Mike