New old stock unisaw

[Chris mcadoo]

I've been looking for a unisaw several years. Looked at many. Saw one yesterday 130 miles away. When I got there I realized the saw had never been used. $750. It's 34-802. Right tilt 3 hp. Wish it was left tilt but I can live with that. Old gentleman next door bought it. He got sick and died. His neighbor ended up with it. It sat in his garage since 1989. I pulled the motor cover off and no saw dust what so ever. The top had a few rust spots but very minor. The cranks are a little stiff. The gears inside have some minor rust. Going to clean them up with a steel brush. The question is, what do I lubricate things with. Needless to say, I'm a happy camper

[Mike Heidrick]

I like wd-40 dry lube and pb blaster garage door lubricant.

[Geoff Crimmins]

It's also possible that after sitting unused for almost 30 years the grease in the bearings in the arbor and motor may have dried out or separated. It might be worthwhile to evaluate the bearings and see if they need to be replaced. In any case that sounds like a good price for a saw with little use.

[Bruce Page]

I’m not a fan of anything “wet” that sawdust can cling to. I use Molykote 321 dry film lubricant. Congrats on the Unisaw, your perseverance paid off.

[John TenEyck]

Awesome deal. You won't regret that it's a right tilt. They all were originally. I use TriFlow to lube mine, and let it dry overnight before using again. You'll hear the bearings talk if they are bad. I ran my 1954 Uni that had sat for 20 years for a couple of years w\o issue, and then the arbor bearings started to talk. Not a hard job to change them. Lot's of info on OWWM on how.

John

[Mike Cutler]

Nice find.
Give it a good once over,and finally put it to work.

[Martin Wasner]

Grease. Dust clings to it and that's a good thing.

[Ted Derryberry]

I've never owned a left tilt saw and always dreaded the day I'd end up with one since that seems to be all they make any more. I like that on a right tilt you can change blades and your fence scale doesn't change significantly because most of the difference is going away from the fence, not towards it. It's not that big a deal to move the fence to the left of the blade, even with the Uni-Fence, for the few times you need to make a bevel cut.

Luckily my new saw ended up being a slider which is a right tilt.

Congratulations on your find.

[Ray Newman]

If the arbor bearings are bad, the Saw Center has a on-line tutorial on replacing them. See: http://www.sawcenter.com/unisaw.htm

[Earl McLain]

Great deal on a great saw. Besides bearings, the belts may have developed a "set" with the years of sitting in the same spot on the pulleys.
earl

[Charles Lent]

I've never owned a left tilt saw and always dreaded the day I'd end up with one since that seems to be all they make any more. I like that on a right tilt you can change blades and your fence scale doesn't change significantly because most of the difference is going away from the fence, not towards it. It's not that big a deal to move the fence to the left of the blade, even with the Uni-Fence, for the few times you need to make a bevel cut.

Luckily my new saw ended up being a slider which is a right tilt.

Congratulations on your find.

I agree with Todd, and I switch my Unifence to the left of the blade when the intended cut will trap the wood if not cut on the left of the blade I see no need at all for a left tilt saw, and I'm left handed. I've owned both left and right tilt saws in my lifetime, and I prefer right tilt.

I have used Tri-Flow lubricant on the shafts and bushings, but I use Johnson's Paste Wax, applied with an old tooth brush to the sliding points and trunions, and the 3 In One brand Teflon based lube on the pivot points, because I haven't found a local source for Tri Flow. The paste wax surface dries, so the saw dust doesn't build up on it, but it will continue to lubricate very well for a long time. I usually clean off the old and re-apply new about every 6 months. I also apply the Johnson's Paste Wax to the top more frequently, like every couple of weeks, and more frequently whenever the wood doesn't seem to slide as easily.

My Zero Clearance Inserts also get waxed frequently, no matter what material that I make them from, 1/2" BB plywood, sometimes HDPE, and sometimes Corian. All three take threads well enough for the leveling set screws to be installed.

My Unisaw is about the same age, but I'm the third owner. The two previous owners of my saw were first, a small local cabinet shop, and then a hobbyist, and it has survived both of them quite well, but I paid almost as much for my used Unisaw as you just did for a new/old one.

My saw came with a 52" Unifence and at first I wasn't sure about this fence, but I quickly grew to love it. A new/old Unisaw would have made me happier, but my Unisaw will likely last me the rest of my life, and maybe that of my son's too. I bought the Uni-T-Fence extrusion for it from Peachtree www.ptreeusa.com, so I can switch to it whenever I need T slots on the fence, or back to the original when I want a low fence. I also have a 16" long Uni-T-Fence for when I want to use the fence as a stop while cross cutting and using the miter fence.

You didn't say if this new/old Unisaw came with a fence. If it's a Unifence, don't be too quick to replace it. I had never used a saw with a Unifence before getting my saw, but I quickly grew to prefer the Unifence over any other fence that I've ever used, and now with the Uni-T-Fence extrusion to use with it I have the most versatile fence that I've ever used. I can quickly switch from the original Unifence extrusion to this Uni-T-Fence and back whenever I want the benefits of either one. I run a 12" 7.5 hp Delta saw with a Biesmeier fence on it at work and I way prefer my Unifence on my 10" 3 hp Unisaw much more than this Biesmeier fence at work. I added the Wixey DRO to my Unifence too, and can now repeat cuts to within about 0.003" any time that I need to. I found the Wixey DRO easy to install by cantilevering pieces of 1/2" square tubing off the bottom of the Unifence rail and then attaching the Wixey extrusions upside down to the ends of these pieces of square tubing, then applying the digital encoder strips right side up in their place on the extrusions. I added a piece of steel to each side of the Unifence aluminum base casting to form the magnetic link connection to the display module of the Wixey DRO. This makes it easy to switch the Unifence to the left side of the blade or back and the Wixey display module will attach itself easily and magnetically to either side of the fence.

Charley

[Chris mcadoo]

My unisaw is just as it came. Haven't set it up yet. In the middle of a project. The saw is pristine. Going to replace the belts and used dry graphite lube to moving parts

[Mike Wilkins]

Great deal. I would also be concerned with any rubber components on the saw after all those years. Things like belts and the power cord can dry rot and loose their effectiveness. Even replacing those, you still got a great deal. Enjoy and watch those fingers.

[Roy Turbett]

The question is, what do I lubricate things with.

I like paraffin wax (Gulf wax sold in grocery stores for canning) for the gears because it goes on dry and sawdust doesn't cling to it like grease or other liquids. Its also great to quickly lubricate hand plane bottoms. You can also melt it and brush it on because it quickly returns to a solid when it cools. Johnson paste wax for the top (avoid silicone because it can ruin wood finishes).

[Mike Manning]

Are we ever gonna see pics of this imaginery NOS Unisaw? Just sayin' without pics it didn't happen. Did it?