Two months ago I purchased a 5HP Delta Unisaw with 52" Unifence and industrial grade magnetic switch at a local auction for a mere $500. As the auction was crowded with various items, I had to struggle to get close enough to the saw prior to the sale to perform a visual inspection. I noticed that the saw cabinet paint was in great shape and that the motor was 3 phase. I didn't expect that the motor would be a problem as I expected that a replacement 3HP motor would cost $250, but the saw would still be a good deal for $500. Soon after the saw arrived at my house, I realized an unfortunate fact about the Unisaw assembly process; a Unisaw loses 25% to 50% of its value from the beginning of the assembly line when the first bolt is attached to the end when the saw is prepared for shipping.
The saw apparently belonged to a school system. I started finding that a couple items that were missing or broken:
- No power cord - OK, I should have expected that, as three phase equipment must be hard wired
- Matched belts - missing, ten feet of link belt should be more than enough
- Arbor nut - missing
- Plastic handle on the elevation wheel - missing
- Tilt angle indicator arrow - missing
- Arbor bearings were in rough shape - had to be replaced
- Bearing preload spring - missing
- Arbor wrench - missing
- Arbor spanner nut - missing
- Outer rim of a Woodworker II registered at least .012" to .015" run-out at the rim.
- When fully lowered to the bottom-out point, a 10" saw blade protruded 1/4" above the table surface.
- Plastic handle on the Unifence - broken
- One of the two plastic knobs on the side of the Unifence - missing
- One of the two Unifence slide assemblies (nylon pads that push against the front of the Unifence rail) - missing
- One of the two Unifence nylon set screws that control alignment - missing
- Unifence cursor - missing
- Special studs and nuts used to mount the Unifence rail to the saw - missing
- Adapter plate that mounts to the right of the Unisaw - missing (I had to order this item 3 times from Delta before receiving a box that was not empty)
- 3 angle brackets that mount to the adapter plate - missing
- Laminated table board for the Unifence - missing
- Metal label on the Unifence - badly gouged
- Unifence's aluminum rip fence was badly gouged and was hit a couple times by a spinning saw blade - replaced with a Uni-T-Fence with all the extras
- Electricals in the magnetic switch were designed for 3 phase operation - had to be converted to single phase
- 3HP Baldor motor - to replace the original 3 phase
- 220 volt plug and outlet
After replacing or repairing all of the above, I might be able to turn the saw on for the first time tomorrow. Anyone want to take a guess how much this Unisaw cost? Keep in mind, a Unisaw loses 25% to 50% of its value from one end of the assembly line when the first bolt is attached to the other when the saw is prepared for shipping.
At what point does a $500 Unisaw no longer qualify as a bargain?
Charles Hooper