20 Year Old 1.5 hp Delta Unisaw

[Ken Frohnert]

I have been looking for a cabinet saw there is a 20 year old 1.5 hp Delta Unisaw that is in very good shape. Made in USA. Prior to that I was thinking of a 3hp Grizzly cabinet saw for around a $1000.

The Grizzly has 3hp and the ShopFox Fence while the Unisaw is only 1.5 hp and has the old style tube rails and fence. I assume I could wire the 1.5 hp to 220 which may make it slightly better than running on 120. I would think the fit and finish would be superior on the Unisaw but I figure I get more bang for my saw dollar with the Grizzly 3hp with ShopFox fence. Be cool to have a USA Delta but might not be worth it.

I would appreciate your opinons on the 1.5 hp Delta Unisaw; is the 1.5 hp motor going to be a limitation? Down the road will it be possible for me to put a 3 hp motor on the Unisaw or will it not fit? How are the older Unisaw fences - is this something that will require upgrading down the road? What do 1.5 hp Unisaws in good condition bring on the market today?

[Jamie Buxton]

I have one of those 1.5 hp Unisaws, wired for 220. It is about 25 years old, and it has built lots of furniture -- check out my website. 1.5 hp is fine. It cuts everything I've ever thrown at it. That OEM fence (maybe it was called Jet-Fence?) is okay, but I eventually replaced mine with Biesemeyer-style one. It is a definite improvement; the fence is always parallel to the blade.

[Richard Butler]

www.owwm.com and www.owwm.org has all the info on older Unisaws.

[Kermit Hodges]

If it is one of Bullet shaped motors jump on it. But your saying 20 years old makes me wonder if it is a capacitor start motor? The old bullet motors are Repulsion Induction motors and they have much more torque than a capacitor start, so the 1.5 HP rating is a little misleading. I will cut anything you will ever want it to do.

The early fence work good. But they are not as nice as a new Bessy. I use one of the pre-Jet Lock fences and it suits me fine. But I can't fault anyone for wanting a nicer one. They are much smoother, but both get the job done.

Not to knock Grizzly, but that Unisaw will be a much better quality machine. I have a couple of Grizz machines, but nothing beats an old Unisaw or PM cabinet saw.