Heath,

There is a pre-70's Rockwell saw for sale in the triangle right now.

Go to the triangle.forsale newsgroup if your interested - the post was put
up at about 2pm today.

Good luck

-Rob

"Heath Roberts" wrote in message
m...
I'm considering buying an older (1951, according to
http://www.owwm.com/Delta/VintageProject/Part1.asp) Unisaw, but it has
a couple of problems, and I thought maybe I'd run it past the group.
I've Googled quite a bit, and have read what's on OWWM. The owner is
asking $350 for the saw.

My motives: I'm interested in the saw to use, but particularly because
it's an older machine. I've ended up with mostly 1950's-vintage
Rockwell tools, and there's a nostalgia factor for me. Most of what I
have has been in good shape when I bought it, but this saw would be a
big project.

First, it's pretty rusty. All surface rust, as far as I can tell, but
it's everywhere. I'd want to disassemble the saw, sandblast and have
it painted, and put it back together. This doesn't appear to be
particularly difficult, but it certainly looks like a lot of work. I'd
probably send the arbor to have it checked and have the bearings
replaced.

Even with the rust, the elevation and tilt controls work pretty
smoothly, with no obvious slop in the worm gears. As far I can tell,
the saw is complete except for the motor cover. The trunions appear to
be in good shape.

Now for the negatives: The two big concerns I have are the table and
the motor.

I wasn't able to check the table for flatness, but it wasn't obviously
warped. But it has a chunk of iron missing where the right extension
bolts on. That's a little worrisome, but I plan to use a
plywood/MDF/etc extension table there with a 52" fence, so maybe not a
big deal. The bothersome crack is at one of the holes on the front
where the fence would bolt on--this concerns me more, because I don't
think a fence rail would be adequately supported. I would consider
replacing the table, and even though it wouldn't be original, I would
like to have T-slots anyway. If I decide to replace the table, other
than price, any comments on whether I should buy a new one, or is
there any advantage in finding a similar vintage to the saw?

The motor is a three-phase motor, and it's the old style, of course. I
understand that I could install a new motor, but I'm not willing to
cut the cabinet to allow it to tilt--for me, that crosses the line
into destroying the nostalgic value of the saw. So I either have to
find an old-style single-phase motor or buy a phase converter. I'm
familiar with conversion issues and I think overall I'd rather find a
single-phase motor, but I understand that's very difficult.

An old-style round rail fence is included, but I think they're
essentially worthless--I would buy a new Biesenmeyer or Unifence.

Bottom line: my brain says this saw would be a lot of work, probably
not a good investment, and potentially a real money pit. My primary
goal is to end up with an older machine that's in really good shape.
That's more important than cost in the long run, but I don't want to
waste money, either.

So, should I buy the saw and take on the restoration project, or just
keep looking for an old saw that's already in good shape? Are there
resellers who specialize in vintage or restored machines?

Does anyone have a cast Delta table, motor cover, or old-style
single-phase motor they want to sell (or an excellent-condition
single-phase 50's Unisaw in central North Carolina)? If so, email
me--you'll get an automated spam filter response, but click on the
link in the email and it will go through.

Thanks,
Heath