Old Unisaw Gloat

[Kevin Swindle]

I found this Unisaw at an estate sale over the weekend. I almost missed it while rummaging thru the garage. It was surrounded by junk and coverd by boxes. The best I can tell so far it was built in the mid to late forties. I will try to a better date today.
This saw is in very good shape for it's age. The motor runs smoothly and the cranks operate very smoothly as well. If any one can provide any info I'd appreciate it.

[Marty Walsh]

Nice score Kevin! Good luck on the restore...be sure to post pictures.

- Marty -

[Wes Bischel]

Great find Kevin! I'm green with envy!:D

Wes

[Jim Becker]

Nice find!! I guess it paid to dig under all the dreck at the sale!!

[Jerry Strojny]

There is a bunch of info on www.owwm.com (http://www.owwm.com) regarding tons of old iron. Great find!! I'm sure it will be with you a very long time.

[nic obie]

Hi Kevin,

A while back, I also found one of the same vintage. The top on mine was flawless and the paint was a little better. It had the good switch like yours has and was also missing the goose egg motor cover. All I did to it was clean with simple green and lube the moving parts.

It sold for over $1000 on ebay. I was shocked. The guy that bought it had to drive 800 miles one way to pick it up. He was tickled pink to have won the auction. Needless to say, so was I. :D


BTW, I didn't see a top in the pictures. But thinking about it, you probably took it off to make it easier to move.

[Jeff Horton]

Just finished restoring one this weekend very much like yours. If you get me the serial number of the red tag on the front I can find the age for you. Your saw looks very much like mine does! Looks very complete too, the original switch is quite uncommon! What are your plans for it?

BTW there is a plastic reproduction goose egg/motor cover on Ebay this morning. Last one sold for $110 I think? If your wanting one that is the cheapest way to go. Originals are going for OVER $200.

Look for the Unisaw Restoration threads and you can see photos of mine. Email me if you need help, I am no expert but I just finished mine up.

[Kevin Swindle]

Hey guys, thanks for the comments so far. I am very happy with this saw. I always said if I could find one at the right price I would buy it. I plan on restoring it to replace my Grizzly contractors saw.

Jerry, owwm.com was the first place I went when I got home with it. It is a great resource.

Nic, I did remove the top to move it. When I took the pics I was at home alone and didn't want to try picking it up by myself. With the wings and fence rails attached it is heavier than I wanted to handle alone.

Jeff, I have been keeping up with your progress for awhile and am very impressed with the restoration you did. The serial number on mine is 67-118. It was built in Milwaukee. I called Delta this morning and they couldn't help.

Thanks

[Jeff Horton]

The serial number on mine is 67-118.
Your is (most likely) a 1948 model just like mine. Judging by the serial number I am assuming your was made earlier in the year than mine was. Mine starts with 70-.

Here is a link to my source. (http://www.owwm.com/Delta/VintageProject/Part1.asp) It on the OWWM site but good luck finding it! So far I have dated all my machines except my DeWalt RAS. I haven't found any date info on them yet.

I really suggest you take the extensions off when you handle the top. I took mine off as one peice and I have the hernia to prove it! ;) I put it back on one piece at time too.

I am envious of your dust door. Mine looks like garbage. I haven't even decided how to approach restoring it yet. Since I will probably replace it with a MDF piece with a dust port I haven't been to concerned, but it so rough!! It's going to be a job to repair.

[nic obie]

Kevin,

According to OWWM your saw looks to be a 1948 model. The one I had also was made in 1948. It's serial # was 60-xxxx (can't remember the last 4 digits). Even though your numbers don't quite jive with any on the chart, I think your saw was built the same year as mine (or close) as it has the cast iron base, a floor pan and the hand wheels came painted from the factory. Earlier and later years had polished outside rims.

http://www.owwm.com/Delta/VintageProject/Part1.asp

Every once in a while I see an add on Ebay from a guy who is making reproduction goose egg covers at a reasonable price.

[Kevin Swindle]

Jeff and Nic, based on the info at owwm I think it is a 1948 also. As for the paint on the hand wheels, it's hard to tell now if the outside rims were painted or polished. The saw was repainted a light gray at some point. The "newer" paint comes off quite easily with air to reveal the darker gray original paint.

[Tim Clark]

Nice old Uni Kevin. Enjoy the resto.

[Mike Swindell]

Nice score. I found a 1970's era Uni which had painted handwheels. I used a 3M magic wheel to remove the paint - worked great. Results are a nice satin finish with a fine wheel. I assume you're doing a full rebuild, as did I, buy bearings local, they're standard. You'll have to go to an auto shop to press off and on the bearing by the flange, but everything else is easy.

Good Luck

[Jeff Horton]

My '48 had polished wheels (with painted centers). They were pretty rusty when I got it but they didn't appear to painted on the edges. I was lazy and just painted the whole wheel. It would simple enough for someone to strip it and polish them if they ever wanted.

I just want my motor back!

[Matt Meiser]

Good score! Seems to be a run of old arn around here lately.

A place here in Michigan is starting to make repro parts for old Delta equipment, including the motor cover for the Unisaws. Not cheap though. http://www.renovoparts.com/

[Dev Emch]

Just finished restoring one this weekend very much like yours. If you get me the serial number of the red tag on the front I can find the age for you. Your saw looks very much like mine does! Looks very complete too, the original switch is quite uncommon! What are your plans for it?

BTW there is a plastic reproduction goose egg/motor cover on Ebay this morning. Last one sold for $110 I think? If your wanting one that is the cheapest way to go. Originals are going for OVER $200.

Look for the Unisaw Restoration threads and you can see photos of mine. Email me if you need help, I am no expert but I just finished mine up.

Cast iron reproduction goose egg covers are being made by one of the OWWM guys. Several OWWM guys including myself do make reproduction parts so that is another way to go. The goose egg cover as I recall is now handled by Ron Curry of OWWM membership and the casting is being done by Emanuel King whose family runs the Cattail Foundary in Lancaster PA. Please note that the Emanuel King is of the Amish religion so all amish rules are in tact.

The saw you have is a bullet uni. Nice score by the way. Even has the orig. switch.

[Dev Emch]

Your is (most likely) a 1948 model just like mine. Judging by the serial number I am assuming your was made earlier in the year than mine was. Mine starts with 70-.

Here is a link to my source. (http://www.owwm.com/Delta/VintageProject/Part1.asp) It on the OWWM site but good luck finding it! So far I have dated all my machines except my DeWalt RAS. I haven't found any date info on them yet.

I really suggest you take the extensions off when you handle the top. I took mine off as one peice and I have the hernia to prove it! ;) I put it back on one piece at time too.

I am envious of your dust door. Mine looks like garbage. I haven't even decided how to approach restoring it yet. Since I will probably replace it with a MDF piece with a dust port I haven't been to concerned, but it so rough!! It's going to be a job to repair.

Rick Antobus (sp?) had some spare time to play. Since DeWalt used sequential SSN numbers with no encoding, he assembled a regresstion curve based on SSN, year and number of RAS machines made. This regression equation can be used to date your RAS with a fair degree of accuracy. Worked on my GE.

[Jeff Horton]

....The goose egg cover as I recall is now handled by Ron Curry of OWWM membership and the casting is being done by Emanuel King whose family runs the Cattail Foundary in Lancaster PA.....
I snagged one of the last two he got. From what I understand the production is very hit and miss. He got two this time and had no idea when he would get another one.

I noticed them on the Repo Parts web site mentioned on here for $249. Kinda step if you ask me.

I have not seen Ricks list. Will have to ask him about it. But nothing on the OWWM site like that is easy to find.

[Kevin Swindle]

Getting some good advice. Thanks to all for your comments.

Matt, Thanks for the link. I would like one of those goose egg covers but $249 is a little high. That's more than I paid for the saw. I guess since I got such a good deal on the saw, I could justify spending a little more on the restore though.

Dev, What do you mean by "bullet" uni?

Would anyone know how I could find the Model# on this saw?

Thanks.

[Jeff Horton]

Don't forget the plastic one in Ebay right now!

Also old ones are going for around d$200 on Ebay when they come up. I htink $250 is going to sell well.

[nic obie]

Jeff and Nic, based on the info at owwm I think it is a 1948 also. As for the paint on the hand wheels, it's hard to tell now if the outside rims were painted or polished. The saw was repainted a light gray at some point. The "newer" paint comes off quite easily with air to reveal the darker gray original paint.

Hi Kevin,

It's interesting about the paint. The saw I had was the same color and also had a darker undercoat. I assumed that it was primer, but who knows. After seeing that your handwheels were painted like mine were, I figured that is what Delta did to all their Unisaws in 1948. However, as others have pointed out, I was wrong.:o

Anyway, enjoy the saw. It's easily the equivalent of a $1000 Craftsman hybrid and will hold it's value forever.