Advice on an older Unisaw

I forgot to add that I have no problem doing a bit of refurbishing (disassembling, replacing bearings, repainting, etc) if this is a decent saw for the money.

Thanks in advance to all for any advice offered!

Thanks again!
Theo

I have a 1950’s version of the same saw. I wouldn’t sell it for 500 dollars. I say go for it!

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

You haven’t bought it yet ? I wouldn’t wait too long, it will be gone before you know it.

-- If you can't find the time to do it properly, how will you find the time to fix it ?

$500 is about the going rate for Unisaws now days. The only thing that it seems to be missing is the “goose egg” cover for the saw which is an accessory not a necessity. (Helps with Dust collection, very expensive to buy a real one).

That OLDER fence has the only micro-adjust that I would consider worth 2 bits. I recently sold an extra fence like that with 26” rails for almost 200 on epay. Because its a good fence, its all cast iron and steel no light aluminum extrusion there.

If it runs, buy it. You won’t be sorry. The seller should let it run for a few minutes to get the bearings warm then you need to wiggle the arbor and see if you feel any play. That is the only tricky part to checking out a saw. But 500 is the lowend price on a Uni so you may want to just go for it.

The responses so far were, more or less, what I was hoping to hear. I’ve been trying to convince myself it’s a decent deal, and that I should get it, I’ve just needed a bit of pushing.

The fellow selling the saw has agreed to give me first dibs and, as a result, I’m going to look at it tomorrow night. I was planning to check for excessive vibration and noise, ease of blade tilting/raising/lowering, and was going to look for any obvious signs of damage to the cabinet, top, and internal castings. Is there anything else I should be looking for?

Thanks for the help!

I screwed up a couple of years ago and passed on the chance to acquire one for about $400.00 If the table is flat and the motor runs well I say jump on it!

-- Chris

I suggest you get a Biesemeyer fence or the Delta Unifence if you get the saw. A good quality fence will make your woodworking more enjoyable and accurate. I sold one of these in almost new condition that has the Unifence to a friend a few years ago. I am thinking of buying it back from him to have a saw that tilts to the right and is more compact than my slider. They are great saws and will give you good performance. Good luck, John

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

Actually that Unisaw doesn’t take the goose egg cover, it takes the box style cover, and the fence thats on it needs to go away someday, there are far better fences than that, such as a Biesemeyer, a Delta Unifence, a Vega, a Delta T2, etc.

-- If you can't find the time to do it properly, how will you find the time to fix it ?

Thanks to all who responded! This saw is now sitting in my garage in a state of partial disassembly, waiting to be brought back to like new.

Can’t wait to see the restoration pics!

-- Rich, WNY, www.nyrockingchairs.com