Delta Unisaw

FredP

Fred
Corporate Member
STOP!!! THEIF!!!. :eek: :) Bondo will fix the saw kerf in the top. Bearings are cheap and easy so I would do that first. check the belts. they could be the noise issue. get a matched set. did you get the motor cover? it would help with dust collection to enclose it. not too tight though as you don't want the motor to overheat. There uset to be a unisaw100 thread over on OWWM. I think the owners name was Keith? Good advise on restoration.
 
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bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
The hum comes from the $470.80 (1998 prices) 52-704 (likely) low voltage control magnetic starter's transformer. Its perfectly normal. I have several starters like that around the shop. The older starters have much noisier transformers.
Full length Unifence. Either Baldor or Emerson made motor. Good bones for sure.

Bearings are the very common sealed 6203 size. Get some good ones.

Maybe another hard wood for the base if your existing base's strength is compromised from the rust. Oak's tannin when combined with moisture in the air gets really mean on ferrous metals.

The first two digits on the serial number indicates the year made.
 
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bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
Maybe replace the motor's bearings while you're at it. Likely the motor will use a 6205 and a 6203, but don't bank on it until the motor is open. Its a relatively easy motor to take apart and put together.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Costco is on the other side of the island, so was the saw...... never waste a trip to Kona ..... always the Costco run. Useless fact- I cannot get MEK in Hilo (east side) but I can in Kona (West Side)......... same island, same state.......go figure..........



Wow..It came with supplies.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Ok thinking it is now a 2-tone Maple top oak under base ...... ;)

The hum comes from the $470.80 (1998 prices) 52-704 (likely) low voltage control magnetic starter's transformer. Its perfectly normal. I have several starters like that around the shop. The older starters have much noisier transformers.
Full length Unifence. Either Baldor or Emerson made motor. Good bones for sure.

Bearings are the very common sealed 6203 size. Get some good ones.

Maybe another hard wood for the base if your existing base's strength is compromised from the rust. Oak's tannin when combined with moisture in the air gets really mean on ferrous metals.

The first two digits on the serial number indicates the year made.
 

Charles Lent

Charley
Corporate Member
Don't worry about the hum. It's from the transformer in the top right of the box. It's normal for this thing to hum.

That's an incredible deal for what you paid, even for main land pricing.

Clean it up and put new bearings in both the motor and saw arbor.

Clean the centrifugal start switch and very thinly apply a light grease to the area of the motor shaft centrifugal weight collar slides.

Get a set of new matched belts from www.ereplacementparts.com and install them with their numbers in sequence, either way left-right or right-left.

Clean the top to bare metal using a ROS and Scotch Brite pads and wax it several coats with Johnson's Paste Wax. If you end up removing the table, there are washers (or should be) between the cabinet and top. Make certain to note the location for each group and put them back when replacing the top. These are shims to get the top perfectly flat. Also, without them, you will not be able to lower a 10" saw blade completely below the top surface of the saw. They and their positions are very important.

Align the top to get the miter slots parallel with the blade as closely as possible. There are special dial gage fixtures for this.

Install the side table and fence. Did you get a miter gauge? Install it too.

There are molded plastic motor covers available through Amazon and online that do a pretty good job of enclosing the motor opening and reducing the noise. Mine has a foam Weather strip around the edge that seals against the saw cabinet well. Mine also has slots to hold the miter gauge bars when the miter gauge is not in use. Mine has 2 of these slots and I have 2 miter gauges, so this works well.

For dust collection, most Unisaws have a plate on the back side of the bottom black frame and Delta once offered an adapter for this. You will likely need to make one now. For good results, sloping a bottom board toward this adapter helps considerably. Plugging some of the holes in the underside of the table casting to base helps create more flow past the blade.

I make my own zero clearance inserts, usually from 12 mm (1/2") Baltic Birch or Corian by copying the edge profile of the metal Delta insert.

I added a Wixey DRO and an additional Wixey extrusion with PC strip to my saw many years ago when Wixey first came out with them. Going digital significantly increased my work accuracy. I can help with photos, etc. when you get far enough to do this.

My Unisaw was a little less rusty, but in not much better condition when I bought it almost 20 years ago, and I paid about 2X for it. You got a great deal. Send a PM if I can help further.

Charley
 
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Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Thank you Charley for the concise narrative.
I did almost the same thing to the Jet saw I got (which I got for 300 too :) )
I may silver braze the top nick, only because I can.
I am going to take the machine apart and am planning to clean entirely. I'll replace all bearings. I'll clean the ways and use the elec silicone/graphite as the lubricant since it is not a petroleum solvent based type.
The motor looks like a Baldor. It was made in 1986/Dec so, not totally old but old enough to still be great steel/iron.
I have the blade guard, the miter and the Unifence. This fence is better than the other one I had on my previous Contractor Delta. The adjusters are real steel screws on the face but the top are the Delrin type.
The saw was shipped here from Oregon in 2012. The guy I got it from was from Oregon and got it for 300 from someone who supposedly was the original owner. He was a HVAC Guy and used this saw infrequently.
What I do like is- as bad shape as this saw is in it has way less vibration than the totally restored Jet I have.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
The motor looks like a Baldor. It was made in 1986/Dec so, not totally old but old enough to still be great steel/iron.

The bottom of the motor tag will give the maker if your tag is readable in that area. In that era, there were four motor makers that Delta (rockwell) used. The Unisaw motors from that era were all pretty good.


1   motortags - 1.jpg
Leeson
1   motortags - 2.jpg
Emerson
1   motortags - 3.jpg
Baldor
1   motortags - 4.jpg
Marathon
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
A suggestion for you to consider is the switch location. I've found that having the switch (starter control) mounted on the left of the saw makes controls easier and safer to reach. Having the control on the right puts your body in front of the blade if you're right handed. Take some measurements with the fence bar semi mounted to get an idea how far out the controls need to be.

1     switch mount - 1.jpg

1     switch mount - 2.jpg

1     switch mount - 3.jpg
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Based on those pixs It is a Baldor. Yeah I agree the switch on the left I think is better. It was placed there already. Is this switch integral to the starting mechanism ? Or, Can I replace with a paddle ?
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
Under the control buttons is a modified Furnas 50CA momentary control that processes the small amount of current it takes to activate the electromagnet. The electromagnet inside the starter box slams the switch contacts together. To use a paddle switch as a starter control is possible with some re-wiring but I've never done that. To replace the starter mechanism with a modern Asian paddle switch will be huge downgrade in current flow to that motor. Try it as is. I think you'll like it as well as any motor control. Replacing a $400.00 motor control with a $40.00 switch is just as ill-advised as you think it is.
 
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Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Great ! You made me think this out better I'll just make a paddle I can attach so it is bigger and will allow me to stop with a bump stop.

The newer invertible type ac motor this can done without issue
 

Charles Lent

Charley
Corporate Member
I use Johnson's Paste Wax for the gears and trunnion ways, applied with an old toothbrush. It quickly develops a hard crust that does not attract saw dust, but remains soft and lubricates well. It stays in place too. I use a teflon base lubricant for the shaft pivot points.

Yes, move the start/stop buttons to the left for a right tilt blade saw.

Once you have this saw remade and in use, I don't think you will ever be looking for a better saw. My son will inherit mine, and I don't think he will ever want a better saw either.

I have a ceiling mount Brett Guard for mine that I am about to install.

I also have a laser line generator attached to the ceiling that draws the blade cut line across the table and well beyond the table in both directions. I like it because the line shows on top of any work that I'm cutting. It's a great reminder of where the blade is or will be. If my fingers ever have a red line on them, they are in the wrong place. It also helps to keep long pieces lined up well before the fence. There is a 1 button wireless remote Velcro attached to the top of my Unifence casting that turns it on and off, so very convenient, and I have a Delta Pop-up Splitter to lift into place when ripping long stock. I bought the laser unit from Woodline. They aren't listed in his catalog any more, but he might still have one, if you ask.

Charley
 
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Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
Costco is on the other side of the island, so was the saw...... never waste a trip to Kona ..... always the Costco run. Useless fact- I cannot get MEK in Hilo (east side) but I can in Kona (West Side)......... same island, same state.......go figure..........
What I NEED to know is did you buy ME COFFEE while you were there! LOL
 
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