# Delta Unisaw



## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

I just got the call. I should have it next week.:thumbup::biggrin: I wonder if I can buy a "Getting America Going and Growing" sticker for it? :clap:


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

J.C. said:


> Does yours have a riving knife? What do you use your right tilt saw for? I always find myself moving the fence to the left of the blade anytime I can with a right tilt saw.


No riving knife, if it did I would use it.

The right tilt is used mostly for stop cuts on left and right pcs.

I had the right tilt saw for a decade before the bearings started to get noisy. And this is after the guy I got it from had it for 10 year and he got it from someone else.

So I got the newer Delta (X5) and chose the left tilt so I could have one of each. The one thing nice about the right tilt is the fence is still accurate to the ruler when you are cutting miters/bevels. You set it at 4" and you get 4" from the fence to the tip of the cut. With the left tilt you have to measure, and the thickness of the material comes into play.


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## PrestigeR&D (Jan 6, 2010)

Good point Lee....


May I ask what the purpose of the saw is, are you dedicating this to a repetative process (production) ? 


Variable frequency drive's , be prepared  your head may start to smoke..:shifty::laughing: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/industrial/equipment/vfd/vfd.cfm?attr=24 




B,:shifty:


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## PrestigeR&D (Jan 6, 2010)

another $450.00 and you could have had this...RT...dual 1" arbour both 16"d bld- dual Luiss Allis 5hp/3ph drives/and sliding table..and a quadrant.:shifty:


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

PrestigeR&D said:


> Good point Lee....
> 
> 
> May I ask what the purpose of the saw is, are you dedicating this to a repetative process (production) ?
> ...


The saw will just be general purpose. I can't say I was planning on buying one right now but, I've been eying it up since they came out with it at the end of 09(?) and now that Delta has been sold again, I figured there's no time like the present to get one. I know they are closing the TN factory and wanted to get one before they make the move. 

Am I missing something at that link? I don't see them even mentioning using it to run a 3 phase motor on single phase. They seem to mainly talk about using it for variable speed and to save energy. Why would I need variable speed on a jointer, planer, or table saw? So far, I'm not sold.


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

PrestigeR&D said:


> another $450.00 and you could have had this...LT...dual 1" arbour both 16"d bld- dual Luiss Allis 5hp/3ph drives/and sliding table..and a quadrant.:shifty:


That looks like an interesting saw. "dual 1" arbor both 16"d" Looking at the picture, it looks like the blades are side by side? What is that used for? One blade you use for ripping and the other for crosscut? Do they have riving knives? :laughing:


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## PrestigeR&D (Jan 6, 2010)

I am not trying to sell you anything.... you wanted to know what they where... now you know- And yes they convert single ph into 3ph..and a hole lot more than that.. slow start up,soft start , ramp acceleration limits, dynamic breaking...etc,etc,etc, to many options to list my friend. although.. the 260 comes with electric breaks as well..... as well as a riving knife...






B,:shifty:


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

My trade school had a bunch of Oliver tools. 16" jointer, lathe, table saw, bandsaw, and, my favorite, 30" planer. They closed the school a few years after I graduated. I often wonder what happened to all the tools. Northfield is the only company I can think of that currently still makes anything quite like them.


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

PrestigeR&D said:


> although.. the 260 comes with electric breaks as well..... as well as a riving knife...
> 
> B,:shifty:


If you ever find your saw, you should post a video of it in operation. I found some more pics and it does look like a very kewl saw. I never knew such a thing existed.


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## PrestigeR&D (Jan 6, 2010)

it's not a question of if JC,,,, but when,. The one I posted here is still for sale, who knows... it may end up in my shop but I am a patient man. I am looking for something that needs a full restoration... less expensive , but you have to have Patience. 

The reason you probably don't know is because your looking at new machinery, which is mostly produced in the chicom area's of the world-







I am an Arn freak, the down side is it all weighs a ton , or around that...:laughing: and three phase is the other issue... but both are not a problem if you know what your doing... and they scream quality, well built American made machinery....:thumbsup: 


And "when" I get that saw or something comparable (Wadkins) - you can count on me throwing up quite a few pictures...

B,:thumbsup:


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## chris klee (Feb 5, 2008)

i have a new style 52" unisaw. i havent used too many cabinets saws before, but i love this saw. its very heavy, well built, and stupid easy to use. i bought a zero clearance plate for it. it has the cut for the riving knife. this saw will be one i will have for the rest of my life. 
i have used an X series unisaw also. very simular


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

PrestigeR&D said:


> it's not a question of if JC,,,, but when,. The one I posted here is still for sale, who knows... it may end up in my shop but I am a patient man. I am looking for something that needs a full restoration... less expensive , but you have to have Patience.
> 
> The reason you probably don't know is because your looking at new machinery, which is mostly produced in the chicom area's of the world-
> 
> ...


I'd really like to see a video of switching the arbors. I'm curious to see how that works.


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

chris klee said:


> i have a new style 52" unisaw. i havent used too many cabinets saws before, but i love this saw. its very heavy, well built, and stupid easy to use. i bought a zero clearance plate for it. it has the cut for the riving knife. this saw will be one i will have for the rest of my life.
> i have used an X series unisaw also. very simular


Have you done any bevel cuts with it and the older unisaw? How do you like the bevel dial compared to the old sweeping pointer?


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## chris klee (Feb 5, 2008)

J.C. said:


> Have you done any bevel cuts with it and the older unisaw? How do you like the bevel dial compared to the old sweeping pointer?


i have done a bunch bevel cuts on mine, but not on the older one. the dial is the ****. its so easy to adjust it to exactly where you want it. my job site saw (i realize its not even close to being apples to apples) has the sweeping pointer and its not even close. i happened across a good deal on mine at woodcraft and thats the only reason i have it already. it really makes working more fun with a nice saw. 

the only issue i have had is my shop is not insulated or heated, so i kept getting some flash rust. i got a treatment at woodcraft for it, i forget the name of it. i treated all my cast iron tops, then the next day waxed them with T-9 and havent had a single issue after. so what ever you get, make sure to treat the top.


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## jonbuilder (Apr 22, 2011)

wow, nice work!


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## CarrPainting (Jun 29, 2010)

I have one of these. However, mine no longer works =( It is plugged into two seperate outlets.. a 110 and a 220. figure that one out. No vacuum just the motor... its a 3belt system.


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

Got the call yesterday that the saw is in. He's unsure how soon he'll be able to deliver it because he's gotten pretty backed up because of the constant rain that we've been having recently. Hopefully I'll see it sometime next week.


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

The saw came in last week. Unfortunately, about the only thing I've gotten done with it is I got it out of the box. Hopefully I'll at least get it turned on sometime this week.


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

Well, I finally got the saw out of the corner and hooked up and running. I started it off cutting some 8/4 rift sawn white oak. I do really like the riving knife. I got a couple boards stuck pinching the riving knife but never had to worry about it pinching the blade. :thumbup:

Generally I would say I really like the saw but, I wouldn't say it is perfect. A few of the things I really like is the totally sealed cabinet with the split dust collection, the accuracy of the fence, the blade drawer, the smoothness of the height and bevel adjustment, arbor lock, riving knife, the "hit it anywhere" stop switch. 

There was a few things where you could tell they were trying to save a few cents. The obvious one is the "economy line" Marathon motor. It's unlikely anyone is getting 50 years of service out of those. It screams cheap. 
Another would be the cast iron top. I thought the top was very well made and machined but other than the front edge, they didn't do anything with the other edges/corners. I hit them all with a file to get the razor sharp off. 

Even though I like the saw, I don't know if I would recommend it. The reason is the current state of Delta. Delta is now owned by Taiwan-based Chang Type Industrial Co., Ltd. but Black and Decker still has the contract to handle parts. Getting parts for machines still being made is difficult and getting parts for machines no longer made is just about impossible. Chang Type Industrial say they are planning on getting the parts problems worked out but we'll see. I don't have high hopes and even if they do, I don't know if it's a company I want to support.


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

I heard the same thing about any sort of Delta parts from new machines to older one's.

I think it might be the final nail in the coffin.


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