According to the Wiki (above) it should be a 1954. Where is your serial number tag located? As for the model, it's a Unisaw. The model number variations listed in the catalog had to do with single/3 phase, accessories included with the saw and other relatively minor details but a Unisaw is a Unisaw.
Offed only as a point of reference, a 1956 model 11x24 3 jaw 6' chuck 8'faceplate no other accessories or tooling missing compound and cross slide a couple gears with missing teeth price of scrap. Approximately 200 dollars i was given a compound rest and cross slide the previous owner picked up from the guynhe bought it from, turns out it is from a hardinge 1940 model 7-9' lathe. Approximate value 300-700 dollars:whistle: I just saw another 11x24 on ebay a couple of weeks back advertised as a parts lathe.
Price asking 750.00 my feeling it will be very hit or miss, pay the prime dollars asked by some ebay sellers or do the leg work and find a deal. Well Bebop came by and looked at my Rockwell lathe and Chinese mill, we pulled the carriage and found some wear and he did a quick scraping in the middle to get the wear patterns a little more even on the V and adjusted what constitutes a gib and now 95% if the lateral movement I had is now gone. A quick visual, and he said that I got a fair deal with all of the accessories that came with it. The mill will be my first project but I need and be looking for a new lead screw for the lathe, a V-way wiper and cover and the magnifier for the taper attachment. It was impressive to watch him scrape, I can only hope to get close to his skill. Tim So if anyone has a line on a new long lead screw, way wiper and cover and the magnifier for a taper attachment, please give me a shout.
Well Bebop came by and looked at my Rockwell lathe and Chinese mill, we pulled the carriage and found some wear and he did a quick scraping in the middle to get the wear patterns a little more even on the V and adjusted what constitutes a gib and now 95% if the lateral movement I had is now gone. A quick visual, and he said that I got a fair deal with all of the accessories that came with it. The mill will be my first project but I need and be looking for a new lead screw for the lathe, a V-way wiper and cover and the magnifier for the taper attachment. It was impressive to watch him scrape, I can only hope to get close to his skill. Tim So if anyone has a line on a new long lead screw, way wiper and cover and the magnifier for a taper attachment, please give me a shout. Its a Tiawanese 6x26 mill that was given to me from a friend who retired from the plant.
It was cast in the late 70's to late 80's, the column is cast into the base unlike the newer mills that bolt together. I am going to do a full rebuild on it, rescrape the ways and it will need new bearings for the spindle.
I may also convert it to a DC motor with a varidrive. Its a small mill but with a DRO it will be a good machine to work on small projects. I will need to take some pics soon and post them. Was that a Harbor Freight engine crane lift you used to load and move your lathe? I'm in the process of buying a D/R 11X36 and trying to decide how I'm going to get it on and off my trailer and into place in my shop. That lift makes it look like not too bad a job.
Incidentally, looks like I'll be moving to the Payson area just south of you next summer. Good to know there's someone else around with a similar lathe. Thanks for posting the shops and services you are using in your restoration efforts. Was that a Harbor Freight engine crane lift you used to load and move your lathe? I'm in the process of buying a D/R 11X36 and trying to decide how I'm going to get it on and off my trailer and into place in my shop. That lift makes it look like not too bad a job. Incidentally, looks like I'll be moving to the Payson area just south of you next summer.
Good to know there's someone else around with a similar lathe. Thanks for posting the shops and services you are using in your restoration efforts.
So I ran the lathe today turning some cast iron, I found that there are some problems that concern me. The spindle got really hot and made some noises, I am not sure if it was the belts or bearings causing the heat. The spindle got so hot with the cover off that it was uncomfortable to the touch. I also had one heck of a squeal when the carriage reached a certain point, either the force to cut the material caused the belts to slip or I have some serious problems in the apron. I also have the motor wired to 110vac, it felt that the motor was not powerful enough, does the tribe think that converting to 220 would increase the torque ability for the motor? Do I run the motor again and do a thermal image to find what is causing the heat? What belts are supposed to be used?
I have dayco x48 belts with the same date code in 2010. I also need to replace the lead screw because of wear and its bent. I am going to take one thing at a time, but I am real frustrated that I may not be able to use the lathe until I get some major items identified or fixed. I only offer this as one mans opinion, please regard as you feel best suits your situation. ) 220 is always my preference for larger equipment, they run smoother, and more efficiently.
When given a chooce that is. As for the heat situation, it may not be the case for you, but it might be worth a look, the reeves drive setup is not the best situation, the belts can be to tight in one range and too loose on the other, resulting in overheating or lose of power. Do a search here, there have been a couple of members who have eliminated the drive system for other methods. Worth the search and read anyway. Also, i have a link somewhere on gaines belts, they pointed to an article about matched belts, i think its in my phone, unfortunately its down for a couple more days.
Hope there is something in here you find useful. I have been reading through the manual and came across the part about adjusting the bearings.
With regard to your heat problem, I would bet that's your problem. It's a simple thing to fix, so I'd take a minute to read that part and do the adjustment. You simply loosen a set screw, rotate the locking ring, give the head a good rap with a mallot to loosen the bearings, then readjust them properly, then lock the screw back down. They should be adjusted so that when you spin the chuck by hand, you feel a slight drag. Too tight creates the heat. You can download the manuals from the Yahoo group 'RockwellLathe' under their 'files' section. By the way, just this morning I won the bidding on a D/R 11X36, model 25-100.
I'll pick it up next week. It looks exactly like yours on the trailer, including the missing tailstock (I've already located one). I'll be following all your posts, so keep them coming!
1947 Delta Unisaw Restoration 1947 Delta Unisaw Restoration Project Before.and After. Since its introduction in 1939, the Delta Unisaw has been the standard in cabinet-style tablesaws.
Even today, Delta still produces the Unisaw, in substantially the same form as it built them in 1939. While certain accessories have changed and certain details have evolved, the size, shape, operation, and basic 'guts' of the saw are very similar to that first 1939 saw.
Although there are a number of other quality cabinet saws on the market today- some of them more expensive, or perhaps more 'deluxe' than the Unisaw, most woodworkers dream about owning/aspire to own/think it would be really cool to own a Uni. I was fortunate enough to have been able to purchase a brand new 3hp right-tilt Unisaw for myself back in 2005- still fairly early in my woodowrking career. Even then, I had long dreamed about owning a Unisaw.
I suppose that you might compare it to a Rolex, or a Corvette, or some other iconic brand that people aspire to, although those analogies are not quite right- those products are high-end luxury items. While Unisaws certainly aren't cheap, I think most woodworkers like them because they set a certain standard, and not because they are the most expensive saws out there (which they are not). Anyway, since I bought my new Uni in 2005, I have become aware of a number of folks who have refurbished older Unisaws. The reasons for refurbishing are as varied as the person doing the refurbishing. Some people think that older Unisaws- built with a lot more cast iron and such- are more solid than the Unisaws built today. Others want a table saw that is totally American made (today's Unisaws have a lot of foreign-sourced parts, although they are still supposedly 'assembled' here).
Still others just appreciate the history behind an old tool, or enjoy fixing up old things. When I saw the 1940's-era Unisaw that my friend Dave Richardson ('JustGeorge' of the and ) had restored, I told myself that if an opprtunity to fix an old one up came along, I would take it. Fast forward two years or so to my new home in Virginia, and a posting on the DC Craigslist for a '1930's-1940's Delta Unisaw and Jointer'.
He was asking $1500. Since I already had a mighty nice jointer and didn't fell like restoring one fo those, I inquired as to the price of just the Uni. He said $900.
I politely told him that he was insane. He politely ignored me. After a couple of weeks went by, and his Mrs. Got on his case about freeing up space in the garage and getting some spare cash, he was a bit more receptive to my next offer. To make a long story short, $400 bought me this beautiful 1947 Unisaw, with the original repulsion-induction motor still in operating condition: Now, you're probably thinking, 'Wait a minute- I thought that you said 'beautiful' Unisaw?' Well, having seen a couple of nice restorations, I knew what was hiding underneath those years of abuse, neglect, and rust.
They key is getting everything disassembled, stripped down, cleaned up, repainted, repaired/replaced as necessary, and reassembled. With the help of a number of useful internet sources (including the aforementioned Dave Richardson and a whole group of great, great people on and ) and some good old-fashioned trial and error, I was able to get the job done.
Incidentally, although you can't see the serial number in the last picture, that number (52-4466) was how I was able to date the saw to 1947, thanks to the at. The following pictures represent more or less of a chronological overview of the process I went through (although to be honest, some of the pictures were taken simply as a reminder for myself on how things went together, so that if I screwed up later, I would have some sort of reference as to how things were supposed to look). The view from above with the table removed- front bracket, trunnions, and yoke (I had already removed the rear bracket). It was a real joy trying to get this assembly out of the cabinet.
The cabinet with all the guts removed, turned upside-down. The rust on the underside of the cabinet was pretty bad. As is even more evident in this picture.
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In among the rust was this odd stuff that kind of reminded me of amber. Shiny bits of a resinous substance. A moment later, with the cast iron plinth (i.e. Base) removed.
Here's that same rusty partition, after a few minutes with an angle grinder equipped with a knotted-cup brush. The next task would be spraying it down with some Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer. Here's the plinth after also getting the knotted-cup brush treatment, some additional elbow grease, some primer, and the first coat of Rustoleum Dark Machinery Gray (which, by all accounts, most closely resembles the original Delta paint color on this vintage of Unisaw). The cabinet during the stripping process.
Unfortunately, the stripper I used was not nearly as effective as I had hoped. The wire brush attachment for my drill ended up doing a lot more more for me than the chemical stripper did. The cabinet, with a coat of primer. The cabinet, with a coat of paint. The dust door, with a coat of primer, and a coat of paint.
Before and after shots of the yoke and trunnion assembly. 'After' shots of the rear trunnion bracket. And front trunnion bracket. The cabinet, after its final coat of paint.
The underside of the table, after a good scrubbing, priming, and painting. The top, after 3 good scrubbings with various cleaners. I used a wire brush mounted in my drill, a Scotch Brite pad with Simple Green, then a solid scrubbing with the SCotch Brite pad and Barkeeper's Friend (an abrasive powder). After this shot was taken, I managed to get those spots out of the lower center with a razor blade. A custom-welded mobile base. I found that modern Unisaw mobile bases are too small for the old Unisaws, with their cast-iron plinths. However, the next-size-larger mobile base was a little TOO big, as the saw base was only supported by about an eighth of an inch at each corner.
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The solution- weld a few more supports onto one of the bigger base. Touching up the paint on the nameplate. Base and cabinet- awaiting a reunion. The cabinet, with the angle adjustment rod, handwheel, dust door, and nameplate resintalled.
The interior, post-restoration. The saw reassembled, before adding the fence system. The finished product. This page was created in October of 2007 and has been viewed times since 31 October 2011. The Homepage of James C. Knapp, Jr./ [email protected]/ Last modified 31 October 2011.
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