The saw is older than I am...it was made in 1946...and it's seen many better days. Still, it will see many more good days. I'm not interested in restoring it to original condition--just want to ruin wood with it in the best possible fashion.
When I inherited the saw, it had the original motor on it. For me, it worked fine. But there was a period where I wasn't doing woodworking and a friend was, and he asked to borrow the saw to use as a dedicated dado saw in his cabinet shop. I agreed. He replaced the original Delta fence with a Biesemeyer and side extension table. He also installed a new 3-HP motor (this required cutting away part of the cabinet, which didn't seem so awful at first, but now...oh well, damage done).
Thing is, the original owner of the saw (my dear departed dad) had the machine installed in a huge work table (about 16' x 12') and had reconfigured the on-off switch. It is a standard toggle switch in a 4" square metal box (yeah, like the one on the wall in your house). When the saw left the big table some years later (but before I got it), that box was screwed onto the sheet metal cabinet. It's still there, and adequately, if not terribly safely, turns the motor on and off.
I really would like a better switch situation. You know, guards around the push buttons, big paddle to kill the motor, etc.
Suggestions? Make and model of switch, installation location, etc.
Thanks.