# Unisaw



## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

*Disassembly*

Well Part 2 of this blog started out nicely. I was able to sell my old Delta contractors saw today so in addition to the extra scratch that gives me I also have more room to work. I've got 2 motorcycles that I need to finish up and get out of the garage/workshop then I can really get busy with the Unisaw.

I have disassembled much of the saw and new arbor bearings are on their way as well as belts. I think I've got the wiring figured out. Looks like an aftermarket transformer was installed but that is not real important as I won't be using this stuff anyway. Most of the wiring will need to be replaced but I think if I look real hard in my shed I will find all of the 4 connector wiring I will need.

I was about to open the box containing the new T2 fence and felt like "The Old Man" in Christmas Story - overcome by what was in there. What a beautiful sight! Can't wait to get it all assembled.

I'm really not anticipating repainting anything. I like the worn look of the case so it will probably just get a good cleaning.

I'm still amazed at the ease with which the handwheels operate the lift and tilt. So much different than the contractor saw. Below are some of the most recent pics.


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## ic3ss (Oct 19, 2010)

barecycles said:


> *Disassembly*
> 
> Well Part 2 of this blog started out nicely. I was able to sell my old Delta contractors saw today so in addition to the extra scratch that gives me I also have more room to work. I've got 2 motorcycles that I need to finish up and get out of the garage/workshop then I can really get busy with the Unisaw.
> 
> ...


Barry,

I just replied to your PM you sent me, then I found your blog. Hey, your saw looks an awful lot like mine. You won't be sorry you undertook this project, the Unisaw will pay it back to you many times over. I'll have fun following your progress. Great job!

Wayne


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

barecycles said:


> *Disassembly*
> 
> Well Part 2 of this blog started out nicely. I was able to sell my old Delta contractors saw today so in addition to the extra scratch that gives me I also have more room to work. I've got 2 motorcycles that I need to finish up and get out of the garage/workshop then I can really get busy with the Unisaw.
> 
> ...


Looks to be in great shape !

I can't blame you for not messing with the cosmetics.

One less thing to worry about-getting the new paint dinged, for the first time


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

*Slowly but surely*

I have spent most of my time getting the top cleaned up and it looks pretty nice. There are some pock marks in the wing but I'm ok with those. Just got my arbor bearings and they are installed and the arbor bracket is back in place. Everything moves smoothly. Tomorrow night I hope to have a set of new belts installed.

The rest of my March is jam packed with work so my next installment will be delayed but it should be eventful. The VFD will be hooked up at that time! Sorry if I sound a little giddy but I am.


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## ic3ss (Oct 19, 2010)

barecycles said:


> *Slowly but surely*
> 
> I have spent most of my time getting the top cleaned up and it looks pretty nice. There are some pock marks in the wing but I'm ok with those. Just got my arbor bearings and they are installed and the arbor bracket is back in place. Everything moves smoothly. Tomorrow night I hope to have a set of new belts installed.
> 
> The rest of my March is jam packed with work so my next installment will be delayed but it should be eventful. The VFD will be hooked up at that time! Sorry if I sound a little giddy but I am.


Barry,

The nice thing about an old cast iron top is the scratches and dings are testament to a useful life and gives it caracter. As long as it's flat. Did you go with the link belts?

Wayne


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

barecycles said:


> *Slowly but surely*
> 
> I have spent most of my time getting the top cleaned up and it looks pretty nice. There are some pock marks in the wing but I'm ok with those. Just got my arbor bearings and they are installed and the arbor bracket is back in place. Everything moves smoothly. Tomorrow night I hope to have a set of new belts installed.
> 
> The rest of my March is jam packed with work so my next installment will be delayed but it should be eventful. The VFD will be hooked up at that time! Sorry if I sound a little giddy but I am.


I'd be sorry if you *didn't* sound a little giddy !

Looking great !


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

barecycles said:


> *Slowly but surely*
> 
> I have spent most of my time getting the top cleaned up and it looks pretty nice. There are some pock marks in the wing but I'm ok with those. Just got my arbor bearings and they are installed and the arbor bracket is back in place. Everything moves smoothly. Tomorrow night I hope to have a set of new belts installed.
> 
> The rest of my March is jam packed with work so my next installment will be delayed but it should be eventful. The VFD will be hooked up at that time! Sorry if I sound a little giddy but I am.


Wayne, not yet on the link belts. I had an opportunity to get a matched set of std. belts even before I got the saw, so I plan to use them. How about you, still using the linked belts?


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

barecycles said:


> *Slowly but surely*
> 
> I have spent most of my time getting the top cleaned up and it looks pretty nice. There are some pock marks in the wing but I'm ok with those. Just got my arbor bearings and they are installed and the arbor bracket is back in place. Everything moves smoothly. Tomorrow night I hope to have a set of new belts installed.
> 
> The rest of my March is jam packed with work so my next installment will be delayed but it should be eventful. The VFD will be hooked up at that time! Sorry if I sound a little giddy but I am.


Doh! Wayne just saw your PM and see you do still have the link belts.


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

*VFD bench testing 3 phase 3HP*

The VFD I will be using for this saw is the Teco JNEV-203-H1. As a first test I wanted to test everything on the bench. I have temporarily setup a 30A breaker and wired the 2 hots to the VFD terminals L1 and L3, the common ground to the VFD terminal PE and capped off the neutral lead.

From the VFD terminals T1, T2 and T3 I ran wire to the motor leads 9 wire setup. The only functions I have set are the frequency (60 Hz), accel time and decel time (both 10s).




























I'm a little surprised at how quiet the motor is. Most of the noise in the video is from the VFD fan. My next step is to add my remote controls as I don't plan on using the keypad to control things. Once that is done the motor goes back in the cabinet with new belts and I'll try to decide where I want to place the saw in the workshop. I'm debating using an existing 50A breaker in my main panel to feed a sub-panel that will supply power to the saw and a couple of other tools. But that will have to wait, I've basketball to watch!


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## exelectrician (Oct 3, 2011)

barecycles said:


> *VFD bench testing 3 phase 3HP*
> 
> The VFD I will be using for this saw is the Teco JNEV-203-H1. As a first test I wanted to test everything on the bench. I have temporarily setup a 30A breaker and wired the 2 hots to the VFD terminals L1 and L3, the common ground to the VFD terminal PE and capped off the neutral lead.
> 
> ...


You are one of the few who have the courage to go with a VFD - Good for you! You will discover a whole raft of benefits when you start experimenting with various speeds, also experiment with the DC braking feature to get the motor to stop in 1 - 2 seconds, be careful with your current setup. The huge torque developed in quick stops and starts will make an unmounted motor roll around your shop like a demented thing! So bolt that sucker down to something ten times what the motor weighs, better still mount it in the saw frame, then you can go to town seeing what the limits are in accel and dynamic braking.


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

barecycles said:


> *VFD bench testing 3 phase 3HP*
> 
> The VFD I will be using for this saw is the Teco JNEV-203-H1. As a first test I wanted to test everything on the bench. I have temporarily setup a 30A breaker and wired the 2 hots to the VFD terminals L1 and L3, the common ground to the VFD terminal PE and capped off the neutral lead.
> 
> ...


Thanks! Yeah I'm pretty stoked about the possibilities. And it's funny you mentioned my unmounted motor. My son and I were talking about just that. He wanted to do a quicker stop and I thought better of it until I have the thing anchored down to something.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

barecycles said:


> *VFD bench testing 3 phase 3HP*
> 
> The VFD I will be using for this saw is the Teco JNEV-203-H1. As a first test I wanted to test everything on the bench. I have temporarily setup a 30A breaker and wired the 2 hots to the VFD terminals L1 and L3, the common ground to the VFD terminal PE and capped off the neutral lead.
> 
> ...


I work with VFDs at work. 
I do not fully understand the advantage of a VDF on a table saw as I believe that you want the blade to always spin as fast as possible , no?
.What I would like on my Unisaw is a soft start. ( I know that can be done with a VFD but it should be possible to do it in a simpler and cheaper way).


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

barecycles said:


> *VFD bench testing 3 phase 3HP*
> 
> The VFD I will be using for this saw is the Teco JNEV-203-H1. As a first test I wanted to test everything on the bench. I have temporarily setup a 30A breaker and wired the 2 hots to the VFD terminals L1 and L3, the common ground to the VFD terminal PE and capped off the neutral lead.
> 
> ...


^I'd really love a soft start feature, too. I used to be shy admitting this, thinking it was too much of a luxury. But after putting a soft-start router in my router table, I really like the feature. My old JET springs to life at top speed. Sounds terrifying.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

barecycles said:


> *VFD bench testing 3 phase 3HP*
> 
> The VFD I will be using for this saw is the Teco JNEV-203-H1. As a first test I wanted to test everything on the bench. I have temporarily setup a 30A breaker and wired the 2 hots to the VFD terminals L1 and L3, the common ground to the VFD terminal PE and capped off the neutral lead.
> 
> ...


Not only that but the sudden full load on the belts and bearings cannot be good.

http://www.hypereng.com/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Baldor-S20-Single-Phase-Soft-Starter-/330636360916?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cfb767cd4

I Just talked to a technician who told me that the older motor on the Unisaw cannot be controlled by a soft start. We have the same issue at work with VFDs.


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

*External control decided. Vibration found.*

Well I decided how I want to control the saw. I wanted to keep the existing LVS 'cause I think it's cool, so I wired the VFD to handle it. Just needed to flip 1 DIP switch and reset some of the external control functions and it works nicely. The location of the VFD in the video is just temporary (it will either be going on the underside of the the table or on a wall). I set it up like this to show a vibration.

I configured the motor to accelerate to speed in 1s and decelerate to stop in 1s. As you can see in the video it does that fine but you'll also notice what I happens when I placed a knock-out plug on the table surface, it dances right off. Now, I had a matched set of belts for this thing and now I can only locate 2 so the saw is currently running on 2 belts.

My question…will running on 2 belts cause such a vibration?

More info: I have new arbor bearings but I did not replace the motor bearings.

Thanks for watching!


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## Ken22F (Jun 19, 2009)

barecycles said:


> *External control decided. Vibration found.*
> 
> Well I decided how I want to control the saw. I wanted to keep the existing LVS 'cause I think it's cool, so I wired the VFD to handle it. Just needed to flip 1 DIP switch and reset some of the external control functions and it works nicely. The location of the VFD in the video is just temporary (it will either be going on the underside of the the table or on a wall). I set it up like this to show a vibration.
> 
> ...


For vibration check for
Loose tension Belts (loose belts flap around)
Old stiff Belts (they need to be flexible)
Out of round Pulleys (use quality machined steel) not pot metal.

Matching belts don't allways match.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

barecycles said:


> *External control decided. Vibration found.*
> 
> Well I decided how I want to control the saw. I wanted to keep the existing LVS 'cause I think it's cool, so I wired the VFD to handle it. Just needed to flip 1 DIP switch and reset some of the external control functions and it works nicely. The location of the VFD in the video is just temporary (it will either be going on the underside of the the table or on a wall). I set it up like this to show a vibration.
> 
> ...


My Unisaw also vibrates, not bad and it is more like a rumble than really shaking. I had the original belts that I was to keep because they look like new( 25 years old but in very good condition) because of the vibrations/rumble I decided to replace them. I was going to put other V-Belts on but now I am considering the HF link belts.
I was told several years ago that since the production of V-belts is now fully automated and computerized, there is not longer "matched" sets of V-belts, they no longer exist as the belts are now supposed to all be exactly the same length


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

*VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*

Odd title I know, but bear with me here.

My wife and I are in the home stretch with our utility room remodel so have been able to get my workshop back into some semblance of order. I've also been able to mount my VFD to the wall and get the Unisaw in place with the T2 fence mounted. The workshop is still in disarray until this remodel is completed so I cannot get to a lot of my equipment just yet. However, life has introduced another wrinkle that we are dealing with.

My 87 year old mother who has been confined to a bed for the last 9 months is probably on her way to a nursing home and I'm having a hard time coming to grips with that.

You see, my brother and his wife, me and my wife have been caring for mom these last 9 months. Basically I stay with her every morning while he works then in the afternoon once he is done I go to work. All the in-between-times both our wives take care of her.BTW, you really know you've married an angel when you see your wife tend to your own mother's basic needs. It really takes all 4 of us to make this work. A few weeks ago my sister-in-law's cancer returned and now we just cannot provide the necessary care for mom that she needs.

So, the whole business of getting her to a facility that can take care of her is so depressing. In fact, that is how I spent most of Mother's Day weekend, trying to find a place that we all feel comfortable having mom stay. It is during these "low" times I like to escape to the workshop and a little therapy but as I said I can't do much until the remodel is complete.

Below are some pictures of what I have been able to do recently.










Here's the VFD mounted with the disconnect switch.










Here are the Unisaw's electrical guts that have been replaced by the VFD.










Here's the T2 fence mounted. I love the fence! And I love the saw! I've made a few cuts with it and all I can say is, 3HP/3 phase power is a lovely thing!


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


Looking nice, I should have my ShopFox fence the day after tomorrow.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


Wow! I love seeing some high quality electronics dedicated to an old battleship. Having 3ph really opens up a lot of opportunities on the vintage industrial used market. I'm terribly jealous. I hope to find, restore, and share a massive Oliver one of these days


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


Thanks Al, as long as I made someone jealous I'm happy! (just kidding).

Look forward to seeing you bring an Oliver back to life once you find one. I'll bet there's one out there with your name on it.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


nice!
I did the same with my 3ph lathe. those 3ph motors are really smooth and quiet.

On a note of safety though - I see you have your on-off switch on the wall. How about rewiring it to a paddle-lock type switch near the front of the saw so that you can shut the saw off quickly and hands free in the case of emergency?


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


PurpLev, thanks for the concern. I gave this a lot of thought before wiring the saw.

Actually that wall switch you see is only for the VFD…basically a disconnect. I wanted to be able to kill power to it w/o having to go to the breaker each time. I still have the original Rockwell On/Off switch on the Unisaw running from the low voltage terminals of the VFD that controls the saw operation.


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## crashn (Aug 26, 2011)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


Feel for you. I went through a similar experience with my 80 year mom last year. 4 years ago, we moved her out to the east coast to be with us, as she was living alone in Las Vegas and her health started to decline. She spent 9 months at our house, which was quite the rough time. She was used to the night life of vegas and her hours were backwards from ours. That, and she was mostly deaf, with the TV full volume during the night made for some tense times. We got lucky and found a semi-assited living, where she did great for about 3 years. Then her health went south fast and they discovered cancer in 4 internal organs (lungs, liver, kidney and adrenal gland). We got her moved to a hospice, where she passed about a month later (last september). Missed her terribly on Mothers day this year.

Keep up the hope, and know that you have done all in your power to care for her. In the end, that counts for a whole lot.

crashn


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


Oh good to hear that!


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


Thanks crashn…means a lot.


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## WalnutRidge (Sep 22, 2011)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


You'll have to excuse my ignorance. But could someone explain this setup to me. Never seen it before???


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## barecycles (Jan 10, 2012)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


WalnutRidge: I'd be happy to do that. You may also want to look at my review of the Teco VFD here.

Basically, the reason for my use of a VFD is to be able to power my Unisaw which has a 3 phase motor. Since I only have single phase power at my house (as most residences do), I need to "convert" that single phase power to 3 phase. One way to do that is with a Variable Frequency Drive. It inputs the 240v single phase power from my service panel and using a rectifier, electronics, smoke, mirrors and a little pixie dust it outputs 240v 3 phase power. Granted some of that explanation may be incorrect.


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## WalnutRidge (Sep 22, 2011)

barecycles said:


> *VFD mounting, T2 fence and nursing homes*
> 
> Odd title I know, but bear with me here.
> 
> ...


I have heard of those. There's a guy at work that uses something like that to power a big metal lathe. Very interesting setup. Thanks for explaining to the simple minded!http://lumberjocks.com/barecycles/blog/30007#


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