Rockwell Unisaw Is it a good deal???

[Shannon Seelig]

There is a Rockwell Unisaw for sale by me. It is an older 80's model (I don't know the model). It has the original fence (I think I would replace that), 3 hp motor, and a home made mobile base. The gentleman wants 850.00 for the saw, fence, and base.

It needs a good cleaning and a lube job. The blade rise/lower and the blade tilt are a little stiff but do work. He says he hasn't lubed/cleaned them in a long time. The cast iron top is clean with no rust and with minor scuffs on it. The motor runs fine and sounds good. It does cut smooth.

I guess what I would like to know, is it worth the 850?

[Bruce Page]

$850 sounds pretty high to me, especially if you have to change out the fence.
I’m sure others with more first hand knowledge will chime in.

[Dan O'Connor]

I have a 1986 unisaw Delta 34-802, same 3hp motor. This is the model that norm has on his later shows, at least it says so on the website. I paid 500 a couple of months ago with a great blade and a delta mobile base - all in great condition. I would want at least 2 or 3 hundred more if I was selling it though. I would offer him 6 or 7 hundred. If your not sure it's worth 850 then it probably isn't. If you want the saw though, the tuneup required is minimal and over the lifetime of the saw a hundred or two more will be nothing. All depends on how often you can find them in your area.

[John Thompson]

Ditto Dan and Bruce.. If you have to change the fence, you are going into the $1000 plus bracket. I paid $999 for my factory re-conditioned Uni-saw that came with a Biesemeyer fence.

I did negotiate a deal down from $1150 which was the going rate for re-conditioned at that time by purchasing a 8" jointer with it. But.. most of the older Rockwells go from $600-$800 depending on the shape.

I would take the suggestion from Dan and offer $675 to see what response you get. You could go a bit higher if he is still interested in selling after your first order. I personally would not go more than $750 when you really don't know how many hours are on the motor.. the gears are tight and you're going to have to clean them up.. and you feel the fence will have to be replaced.

Just too many Rockwells out there to warrant $850 from the git-go IMO!

Sarge..

[Shannon Seelig]

I was on the fence with the deal from the start. The guy isn't looking for a quick cheap sale. He isn't even advertising the saw. He said I could take my time and he's not in any rush to get rid of it. My gut feeling is that I will have to upgrade the fence to a unifence or a Bies and then I'm in the price range for a nice hybrid that is brand new! With a brand new saw, I know what I'm getting as well. I'm in no rush to buy just yet, but I'm always hunting for that "diamond in the rough". :)

Thanks for the great advice. I appreciate it!

[Ken Herold]

I paid around $1000 for a similar vintage 3HP unit. It included the Biesemeyer fence, several carbide blades, a 6' outfeed roller table, and a number of assorted jigs.

[Chuck Lenz]

I was looking at a older ( blue ) JET left tilt with a 50" Exacta fence that is about 225 miles away. The guy wanted $800 for it but he didn't clean it up much, looked like it had welding soot on it at one time. He had the extension tables off of it and the fence rail was laying on the ground in some rumble. It didn't look like he took to good of care of it. He said he cleaned the cast top up real good but makes me wonder with what. I felt it was too much of a gamble to drive that far, especially with the price of gas. His sales pitch was he hadn't used it much and that a new one was about $1600. Well the new ones have a riving knife, a arbor lock, a storage drawer, chrome handwheels, and a 5 year warrantee. Usually all the parts are there also.

[John Cooper2]

Just got a nice older one with a Bies fence for $550.00. Doing some cleaning and other maint on it now, but was a working good saw when I got it.

John