Unisaw update #4 IT"S DONE!!

[Jeff Horton]

Here is the before photos in case you don't remember.


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Purrty ain't she? Here are some comments I got on another forum. ;)

Your a better man than I, or just more masochistic. http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif Sure is a lot of rust to clean up. I hope it's still structurally sound after you clean it up.

I am at a loss for words ....
.... which is probably a good thing at the moment. http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowbiggrin.gif

Alright I'll bite...what's the attraction to an old saw like this ? Its rusty, worn out, and lacks any appeal to me.

Um....nice blade! http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Makes you appreciate SMC doesn't it?

NOW The after pictures!


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Photos pretty much speak for themselves. I have not restored the dust door but I do have it. I just haven't figured out how to take the name plate off without damaging it yet.

Besides that, I plan on building one to allow dust collection ductwork to attach there so I don't have to cut the cabinet, so it's not been a priority.

[Seth Poorman]

Jeff
Good job, Id say you should get a little more satisfaction from a saw that you rebuilt, than a new one you would have purchased..:) Besides its a USA built machine that you brought back to life...;)
GREAT JOB !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a saw just like it, and I love it !

[Chris Rosenberger]

Excellent job Jeff.
Seeing yours makes me want to get started on the one I have.

Chris

[Brad Kimbrell]

Jeff,

That's a saw anyone would be proud to own!

What steps did you take to get rid of the rust on the tables and fence guide?

Also, was the motor in good shape or did you have to work it over also?

Again, great job and you should be very proud of the outcome.

[Brett Baldwin]

I can see what those other posters mean. I mean who would want a old piece of iron that can be put to working order with some elbow grease and a little sweat when you can spend a lot more on a machine that may or may not last half as long as your machine has so far. :rolleyes: Nice job Jeff.

[nic obie]

Looking good!

I see you found a goose egg motor cover too.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Great job, Jeff. Looks like it's ready for another 50 or 60 years of sawdust-making.

Out of curiosity, have the folks on the other forum seen the 'after' pics yet? I wonder if they prefer their crow boiled, baked, fried, or lightly braised with a mild bernaise sauce? ;)

- Vaughn

[Larry Cooke]

Jeff,

Looking good! Congrats on a job very well done.

So tell me, how much ya want fer it? :D

Larry

[Mike Canaris]

Excellent job Jeff,what did you use to clean the top?

[scott spencer]

somebody's been busy! wow!

[tod evans]

nice job jeff! that`ll last for a few more generations, something to be proud of every time you hit the switch...02 tod

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Excellent work Jeff! Another one saved from the dump!

[Mike Kelly]

Fantastic job. I would also like to know how to remove that kind of rust. Are the fence supports new? Good candidate for a Bies splitter! http://www.biesemeyer.com/safety/splitter.htm

[Matt Meiser]

Looks great! I wouldn't remove the name plate. Just mask it. If you are sandblasting, I'd try masking with blue masking tape first, then duct tape. Use a razor blade to trim the tape to the plate. My experience with sandblasting has been that duct tape is good for protecting surfaces. Do be careful about cleaning agents. Castrol Super Clean removed a little of the paint on my lathe's nameplates.

[Jeff Horton]

I know someone will ask so I just did a little ciphering and best I can tell I have about $500 in the saw plus my labor. That includes a portion of the trip expenses to Mississippi to pick up the load of machines,

The repo goose egg and the NOS long fence rails make up almost half the of that figure. I sent the motor to shop and they said they went through it with a fine tooth comb and did everything it needed. That was $150. Add to that new belts and painting supplies. And no I wouldn't take my money back either. :) :p

I was going to keep up with my labor but I lost track. (I was doing in my head, DUHH!) Most people would be surprised but I don't have that much time in it. I spent Just over 2 weeks working nights and weekends on the saw. There is a lot of time spent waiting on paint to dry so you can do something else. I am guessing around 30 MAYBE 35 hours. And I enjoyed almost every one of them!


What steps did you take to get rid of the rust on the tables and fence guide?

Also, was the motor in good shape or did you have to work it over also?
Table top was sanded with a ROS. Started with 80 grit and worked down to 220. Then a good coat of wax. The top was worse than I expected, it has some pitting in it. But after waxing it I can't see any reason to have it ground. I could have made it shiny new but I like the patina that makes it look like an old saw.

Many of the parts were cleaned using electrolysis. I am a firm believer in this method! Dirt cheap and it works great. Cabinet was not as bad as it looked. Started with a wire brush, then sanding, more wire brushing. Turned out very good, got it bare metal in a couple of hours. Electrolysis would do the job easier but it would take about 48 hours.

Motor did work. Once I got everything back together it started acting up. So I just sent it to the motor shop like I should have from the beginning. They said it should be good for another 40 years.


Out of curiosity, have the folks on the other forum seen the 'after' pics yet? I wonder if they prefer their crow boiled, baked, fried, or lightly braised with a mild bernaise sauce?
Not yet. I am crafting my reply carefully ;) I want to savor that reply :D


So tell me, how much ya want fer it? :D
You couldn't afford it! :)

Thanks for all the nice compliments. I sure have enjoyed rebuilding it and I am sure I will enjoy using it just as much.

[Wes Bischel]

Jeff,
Fantastic job on the restoration! You now have a saw that can be handed down to the next few generations.:D

Great to see an old workhorse back on the job.

Wes

[Mike Wilkins]

Don't worry about taking the nameplate off. Just use some blue tape over it and spray the paint on. Thats the method I used when I restored my 1964 vintage Rockwell/Delta Unisaw. Sweet machine.
Just wish I had the goose egg motor cover.
And if you are feeling froggy, the Unifence bolts on with no problem.

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful job!! That's a great saw and going to give you many years of service.

For a future add-on project, have you thought about putting a "floor" in the cabinet as well as a DC port?

[Jeff Horton]

http://www.kudzupatch.com/woodshop/unisaw/before10.jpg

These are the dust doors I have to restore. Trust me, they have to be taken apart! They need lots of attention. One shaper door (not shown) is OK and I might be able to just sand it without taking it apart. But these two are pitted and need more than just sanding and painting. I need to remove the plates to protect them.:)

[Jim Becker]

I wonder if electrolysis might be a good choice for those dust doors rather than, at least initially, sanding them?

[Hank Knight]

Great job! She's a beauty and a classic.

[Kyle Kraft]

Excellent work, Jeff!! Never be discouraged by the naysayers. It really takes an intelligent visionary to see the potential in what others call junk.

[Greg Ladd]

Jeff,

I restored an old Unisaw about 10 years ago. If I recall. there is a small pin at the top and bottom of the aluminum strip. These pinw is spiral and will come out easily, This strip should come out through the front with a tap from a small punch on the back side.

Total disassembly shouldn't take more than 10 minutes or so. Of course, my memory could be wrong, but I do recall removing some pins on mine.

Hope this helps.

Greg

[Jerry Olexa]

Beautiful work...A labor of love....Its even better when you've restored it yourself....You should be Proud!!!!

[Wes Bischel]

If Greg is correct about the fasteners, and I think he is, they will be easy to remove. I have removed a number of nameplates with these fasteners by tapping them out from behind (with a nail punch or awl) or gently prying them out with a small blade and or screwdriver - using a piece of wood or plastic to pry against. Once you see how one comes out, the others will be a cinch.

Good luck,

Wes

[Al Killian]

Jeff, Great job on bring the saw back to life. The reason the motor started acting up after you put it back togfether is because it was in shock.:D Keep up the good work.

[Jeff Horton]

I wonder if electrolysis might be a good choice for those dust doors rather than, at least initially, sanding them?

Thats my plan and why I want to remove the badges.

No doubt these are held on with drive screws but these doors have a back peice that blocks the back of the pins. Will probably have to drill them out. Might get lucky and cut a slot and 'screw' them out but what are the odds of that?? :(

[John Miliunas]

Jeff, I've been following your progress with previous posts and am now convinced that you've truly resurected a wonderful saw from the past!!! :) Beautiful job, my man! I'm sure it will give you many years of great service! :) :cool:

[Ernie Hobbs]

Jeff:

I'm sure you've already figured out what to do with your doors but, I thought I'd share what I did with mine:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=24750

For the dust doors, I just slid a thin chisel (an old junky one) behind the plate and clipped the rivet off. When I needed to reattach, I just put a small self-drilling screw in place of the rivet.

[Bruce Page]

Jeff, that’s quite a transformation! When I saw your original post last May, I thought you had just bought an ugly boat anchor. I didn’t think there was any way that old Unisaw would ever see the light of day. I admire your vision and your tenacity to take a lump of coal and turn it into a diamond!
Well done!!

[Corey Hallagan]

Awesome Jeff! It looks great. How do you like the fence system on it?

Corey

[Jeff Horton]

Was surprised to see this thread alive again.

Ernie, actually have not finished those doors. I have the mating shaper and one of the doors on it was in decent shape. (It was high enough the shop dog couldn't urinate on it. Assuming that 'is' what caused all this rust) I cleaned it and put it on the saw since it was quick and easy. So I still have the two left to finish.

I had not thought about a chisel. that makes as much sense as anything and should be able to fix the badge should it get bent since they are aluminum. When I start the shaper rebuild I may try that.

Bruce, I think most people thought it was a boat anchor too. Thats why I was able to get all these machines. No one could see the potential there. Of course there is a lot of labor in each of them and most people probably don't have the skill and patience to rebuild them. Sometimes I don't have the patience either! When I finish this planner I am working on I am done for a while. I am tired of mechanical work and want to do some woodworking!

Corey, thanks for the compliment. As for the fence I have no problem with it. Seems like everytime I see someone asking about an older Unisaw one of the comments is Your going to have to replace that fence. Fact is this fence works just as good as Bessy. now I will be the first to say that a new design fence is much smoother and nicer feeling. But it doesn't guide the wood any better than this one. And it costs a LOT more!

My original rails were in poor shape so I replaced them, I think that is the biggest problem with these fences, rusty rails. Mine stays square, the scale on the bars lines up well. The only problem I have is that one of the special bolts that holds the rails in place sticks up a bit above the rail. So the fence will bump on it and sometimes hang. I just need to take it out and work on it at the sander. I just can't see any reason to swap it out for a newer one.

[glenn bradley]

Was surprised to see this thread alive again.

THAT is an accomplishment. I hope it brings you years of enjoyment. Love the monochrome look. A machine that LOOKS like a machine.

[Corey Hallagan]

Jeff good to hear. I read so much about those old fences not being real accurate etc. Glad you got yours right on... I always thought there was something kind of sexy about those chrome tube rails like that.

corey