Where do all the dead table saws go??

[Mark and Kim Smith]

Is there an elephant graveyard of Unisaws?? Have they been discovered by those outside of our country, similar to muscle cars and old hotrods, to be packed into shipping containers and shipped overseas?? Are they just slowly forgotten and end up as a shelf, supporting boxes of christmas decorations in the dark corner of a garage. Does the high school wood shop send them to the auto shop for a forgotten repair, where they then end up pieces in a box to be dumped while beautifying the school? Since it's creation in the late thirties, the Unisaw has been a top contender. Where have all these old beasts gone?? For years and years, hundreds and hundreds of Unisaws have been made. Where are all these old soldiers? They can't all be land fill. They can't all be in service. If they were, owwm.com would have more than just the handful of photos they tease me with. My local paper is of no help. For a moment I thought I had found one but the seller was describing a saw that was not in front of him. All other calls return "Well, it has four legs." So where do all the old dead table saws go??

[Tom Watson]

OWWM

(Pronounced "Ohm" and chanted while sitting in the lotus position in the contemplation of rare and dirty paper.)

Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker (ret) Real Email is: tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet Website:

[George]

One, complete with repulsion/induction motor, is still regularly and soundly abused by students at our HS daily.

OTOH, I know one which has stood in the center of a 40x60 tin shed full of junk - unused - for almost 20 years. I've tried to buy it twice....

. Does the high

[P©WÉ®T©©LMAN]

workshop & too valuable for parts to toss out until well stripped...two Delta contractor saws on stands...two Makita benchtop saws with sliding tables...three Makita saws without sliding tables...half a dozen lightweight imported junk saws etc etc. I try to make the customers take the whole saw if they want parts from it for the price of the parts or I would still have twice as many.....some will, some won't.

I'll have to sit them in the driveway on a nice sunny weekend.....no reasonable offers refused type of thing.....anything left on Monday morning, in the truck to the dump.

Owwm mahni padme owwm......innit?

Jon~

[Larry C in Auburn, WA]

This is a troll, right? Let me get this straight, you want to know where all the dead Unisaws go. I don't own a uni, but I've read this NG for years and have learned that Unisaws NEVER die. Good try, but come up with a more plausible question Mark...

[Duke]

for the brevity challenged.

-- Cheers!

[Mark and Kim Smith]

No troll. I'm looking for suggestions besides the usual classified hunt. Old Uni's never die but, unfortunately, their owners do. Looking at local "used machinery" businesses, I can find anything I want that will turn a chunk of metal into a useful product but not a piece of wood. On the left coast here, old ww machines seem to be a rarity. Anything eBay produces is usually expensive plus a bundle to ship ( don't fool yourself, eBay is not buyer friendly.) I don't mind the hunt, the question is where to hunt.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm an ol' balloon tire bike nut. In that hobby, everyone knows that the bulk of prewar / postwar ballooners come out of the mid west. On a regular basis, a rarity will be plucked from a barn and put on the market. Those bikes just don't come out of California ( although they usually end up here. ) Can the same be said for old ww machines? I remember high school had 5 or 6 of these machines in shop ( specialized technical school, lots of machines! ) After all the teachers and students that have come and gone, these machines are still maintained and in use?!? They were old when I was using them 25 years ago!

So where to look? Auctions? Bug the local schools for their surplus? What seems to be successful? Do specialty shops exist that deal owwm only? Again, I don't mind the hunt. I'm just looking for leads on where to hunt!

[Jeffrey Thunder]

You can take a peek at the machinery exchange on woodweb:

that link, you'll find some outfits which deal in used machinery (some of it older). In my very limited experience, the great buys/gloats you see on the wreck are not found at such outlets, but at auctions, estate sales, garage sales, etc...

[Mark and Kim Smith]

Thanks for the link! Now I'll have something to do at work today........I mean in my spare time!

[Leslie G]

I don't own one either. I was also under the impression that Unisaws don't die.

Leslie

[Larry C in Auburn, WA]

Sorry Mark, I know you aren't a troll, I was just trying a feeble attempt at a good natured poke of fun at Unisaw owners. I wish I could answer your question. I've probably been to 200 auctions in the last 10 years and I don't think I've ever seen a Unisaw available. I've run across many Crapsmans though. Maybe the answer is they really don't fall apart and they get passed down from father to a son. With most families having 2-3 kids it might actually be feasible that dad's beloved saw would pass to one of the kids.

discovered

beautifying

[Fred the Red Shirt]

Well about 20 years ago Bechtel buried some table saws and other power tools out in the desert. Only they weren't quite dead yet.

[Pat Barber]

You need to hang out at

for a month or two... There are usually several saws that show up either for sale or auction...

Getting a "clean" and "cheap" Unisaw are damn near impossible.

There will be the "odd" deal from time to time but the good old web has driven up the prices of old iron by a good bit.

Here is place to "start":

these dealers are NOT fools... they know the prices quite well.

Your best bet is a "fixer upper" and some sweat equity but you should know that a "fixed up" saw will run close to $1,000 for a total overhaul...

For example:

Old school auction table saw(Unisaw) with no fence and 3 phase motor. The above saw probably has a fence(Jet Lock) and fairly clean.

Average selling price $500 - $900

New Marathon single phase 3hp motor $380 New 50" Biesemeyer Commercial Fence $360 New mobile base $100 New paint job $ 50 New set of belts $ 50 New set of bearing $ 50 ---- $990 saw $600 ---- __ $1590

Do you SEE what I mean ????

or

You get lucky and find a "killer" deal for $850 on a saw that's 30 years old and the guy took care of it.

Here is "my" "fixer upper":

cost me $165 at a school auction...

BUT it's single phase and ran like a race horse when I got it home. I added the fence and the mobile base and paint job.

It "ain't no Unisaw" but a 1966 12"-14" Tilting Arbor table saw.

It cost "around" $2,000 brand new in 1966.

What do you think it's worth now ????

Mark and Kim Smith wrote:

[WebsterSteve]

If you're in St. Louis, I know a guy who knows a guy who has a Powermatic 65 or 66 (he's not sure which). 1 HP motor, table needs some work and no fence. I think it was 3 or 4 hunnert.

They're out there - you just need to keep your eyes open.

[Nova]

Yes, it's in Menomonee Falls, WI.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

[BIG JOE]

I always wondered that about corvettes. I mean, how often do you see a pre-1982 Corvette on the road anymore? They are made of fiberglass, so they aren't rusting away.

OTOH, I have never questioned the fact I haven't seen a Yugo since six months after the last one was built.

Joe

[Unisaw A100]

It was written somewhere/someplace and read by me at that time that there were over 600,000 Unisaws as of that moment in time. I seem to remember this all taking place tenish years ago.

I couldn't tell you but I can tell you the very first Unisaw is still in use today and looks almost as good as it did when it was sold in 1939.

UA100

[Unisaw A100]

In your best Milwaukeese this would be pronounced, Da False.

Oh, and I only have one. Band saws, that's a whole nudder kettle a fish.

UA100, who did ship off the twin 30's vintage Delta 12" band saws to their new home in the Carolinas...

[Mark and Kim Smith]

Awesome!! Nice find!! Where's a good place to find info on school auctions? How much of a hit and miss is the usual "general" auctions where they have cars, bikes, jewelery, etc? In other words, is there a decent ratio of machinery at these general auctions? ( If you have experience with those.)

That's exactly where I'm headed. A restoration. Which would not be beyond my capabilities. I already plan on the elbow grease, fence, and motor. The rest is easier to come by ( for me, anyway.) As with any "collecting", I would love to find the "used only once, get it out of here for $10" deal. But I'm also aware that it just might not happen in my lifetime. I'm okay with that. I'm prepared to spend for the good foundation that can be brought back to life!

[Mark and Kim Smith]

Were those next to all those B29's at China Lake?? I bet you if Tony Mazzoli let's use look inside Doc at Witchita, we'll find them!!

Time to fire up the Terraserver and the GPS to go a-lookin'!!!