Uni-saw…. Trick R Treat.. ??
“As has been oft discussed in Knots, many Unisaw-style TS do not have well-engineered safety features, such as riving knives and guards. Those supplied seem to pay lip-service to safety but, as you note, are soon removed as they interfere with work”…. Lataxe… Blade Guard thread
I needed a new saw dedicated for ripping. I”ll do my cross-cutting and what little panels I use on my old saw which has a riving knife. Should I spring for the over 2K PM to be safer. I just want to rip stock, but I do want to be as safe as possible.
Had an opportunity to pick up a factory re-conditioned Uni-saw at a deal I couldn’t refuse. But… what about the safety issues I am concerned with? Should I wait and get the PM? I just want to rip some stock!
The Uni-saw is home in the shop after carefully going over it. Trunnions replaced.. table re-ground.. new motor and even a new Delta junk throat plate and blade, which was going to be sacrificed for what I was going to do after I wrote a check for $999 with a new Delta mobile base thrown in.
She was quite noisy.. she belched saw-dust from every opening.. she had a throat plate that is a joke.. she had a splitter with a plastic thingy-ma-jig on the roof that impaired visual cut line-up.. she had those “god-less” pawls that I almost cut my finger off with years ago changing blades while the saw was off. With a wrench or socket you can remove the whole contraption in no less than 5-7 minutes of fumbling and knuckle skinning.
But beneath that ugly package of not so great safety features.. I saw a shining light in the form of a tamed beast. I don’t need a riving knife to cut stock in a 90* degree setting. I do all angles and cross-cutting on a SCMS. I will do panels (rarely use) on my old TS as it is set up for that. I just want to rip some stock!
So… how can I tame my new beast and be safe without having to foot the bill of the PM or the 4K “hot dog” slicer. How do I get quick release splitter in case I do want to take if off occasionally? How can I have a crown guard as on Euro saws? How can I have a Euro “short fence” that is much more efficient IMO as I have used one for 4 years? How.. how.. how??
Simple.. with a lot of thought and a little work and for the exorbitant price of over $40.. under $50. Throw in a few scraps that sat idle in my shop…
And after all was said and done:..
Splitter release now under 30 seconds.. check! Adjustable Euro “short fence”.. check! Crown guard.. check! Blade covered without loss of vision.. check! Way of securing stock while cutting.. check!
And in the house-keeping department:..
Noise level under control by widening the zero clearance to 1.5 mm (approximately 1/6″) one each side so the run-out doesn’t make clanging, whining sounds as the the blade deflects and just doesn’t stay true to that slot you originally cut in good faith. And not much chance of run-out causing a tooth to catch and launch the insert.
Saw-dust under control by closing up every opening with campers weather -strip seals. Over-head saw-dust control connected on top of guard.. by next week-end!
At this point I deem the saw safe as your going to be without forking out $2-infinity. Dang it.. I just want to rip some stock!
Bargain basement priced.. the beast has turned into a real “beauty” IMO….
And with a few Trick’s pulled out of the her shop-masters sleeve.. she turned out to be a real Treat! He just wants to safely rip some stock!
Sarge.. jt
Replies
Top of the evening er morning to you Sarge ,
Congrats on your purchase , might I say at a super price imo .
You didn't say but is it a 3hp single phase motor ? Was the fence included also ? The fence , even used has got to worth 2 -3 hundred and the mobile base is handy .
The saw appears rather new , it may have been used up in a production shop but from the looks of the current condition , she ought to see you out if you know what I mean .
Clarification : "Appears rather new" you got to remember my old Unisaw was born during WWll in 1943 October , so to me rather new means anything younger than say 20 or 30 or 70 years old or so is rather new to me .
Very innovative safety features you have added and done well .
How will ripping thin strips be handled with the blade guard in position , will you add an auxiliary strip between the fence and blade while allowing room for a push stick ?
dusty
Early morning Dusty..
Just getting ready to retire as I don't have to be at work till 2 PM 4 days a week. I don't do thin strips on a TS. The 18" BS gets the call for that task along with anything over 10/4.
Funny that you mentioned the over-head feather on the fence. I don't normally use one as the spring board does an excellent job. But I thought I would add it. After I posted the pic the thought that the feather would interfere hit me. duh..... Tom much of this late nite shop work I'm afraid! ha.. ha...
I do use what I dreamed up called an over-head bridge on the rear of a saw when ripping over 8". Basically a bridge clamped to the rear of the saw table that allows the stock to go under. Just in case things went foul and the stock somehow got out of control. With the crown guard and bridge.. it can't twist and it can't go up. About the only thing remaining it can do is forward or rearward in "the lane". Keeping the "lane" clear is the answer to that situation, IMO.
The Biese came with the saw. The mobile base was thrown in as I helped the seller show BS's at the recent Atlanta WW Show. Scratch my back.. I'll scratch yours I believe is the expression.
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
SARGE,
What can I say? It's a beauty and very nice extra's you have added. Lot's of item's I have never seen before, (Spring board, Euro fence to name a couple). Are those item's of your design or are they on the market? I must be living in the dark ages. And by the way, your new TS may last longer than you do. Great Job!!!
RGJ
Morning RJ..
I first saw the spring-board used over 20 years ago. It's just a piece of 3/4" birch ply ripped and spacers in appropriate places added. Slots for fore and aft adjustment and rides in a 3/4" metal insert that is T'ed on the bottom to fit most miters. They also sell a track that you can insert yourself on router tables,etc. and I installed one on mine.
The crown guard is a piece of pecan (hickory family) scrap. Shaped and cut to fit over the splitter. Couple of coats of metallic blue from a spray can. Total for the crown is about $4 as I keep the necessary through bolts and knobs on hand for building jigs.
Splitter is stock from the saw. But.. I cut another piece using it for a pattern from 18 gauge and bonded them together as the stock splitter is much too narrow for a full kerf. Drilled the appropriate holes and have quick release T bolts connecting to a threaded knob on the opposite side. 2 coats of silver metallic. Total cost around $3 for the knobs and T bolts
The plexi shield is from the Uni-saw. I just re-designed it in a way to fit the crown and give maximum coverage of the blade and not interfere with line of sight blade-stock line-up. It flips up as the stock moves under it and can be raised back when making a blade change. Again no $ outlay as it came with the stock splitter. Just took it to the band-saw for a face-lift to fit my needs.
The Euro fence has been around forever. First time I ever heard of one was about 4 or so years ago by Sgain Dubh (Richard Jones) of this forum. Built one and wouldn't rip without it. The one on the Biese is made of 1/2" MDF covered by ripped melamine coated phenolic, Bonded them and added two fore aft adjustment screws on the non fence side as it will slide fore and aft with the twist of two screws. Total cost was around $11 for the phonetic. MDF is scrap.
The insert is zero clearance I purchased from Highland WW for $21. It has a side and front rear adjustment. I cut the slot by raising the blade and then took it to the drill press and cut a 1/4" slot on top of that. Cleaned it up with a file. That gives me 1/16" clearance as all saws have arbor run-out and the blade will scream on a standard zero clearance. It also eliminates the possibility that a rising rear tooth will catch the insert and launch it. The extra clearance will quieten the saw as their is no rubbing from the blade. I could care less about splinter free. I just want to safely rip some stock!
Thanks for the compliments as I have to get ready for work.
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Edited 2/26/2007 12:27 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47
Edited 2/26/2007 12:30 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47
Sarge,
You are The Man and I salute your superbe American ingenuity and can-do. Also, I like to think of old sodjers staying safe, now that they have weathered those terrible times and events.
Mr Unisaw and his fellows, skulking there behind their accountants in the back of the counting house, should be knocking at your door to give you wads of cash for your inventions. If not, I feel you may have a ready market anyway, should you wish to give up the day job and become an entrepreneur.
I say it again. You are The Man!! Now you will safely remain so, fully intact and all man, as it were. :-)
Lataxe, impressed.
Morning here Lataxe as afternoon there...
Thanks for the build-up Lataxe but... what I have done is "nothing" any swinging mate on this forum can't do themselves if they grab a cup of coffee, sit down and stare at their saw.. ponder what needs to be done.. and then "just do it"!
And yeah I do agree that most American manufactures need to hire design engineers that have wood-working experience. Until then... there's always a niche for us machine tinkerers. I will say that I have met the owners of Steel City and they fit those shoes. Hence a new SC 18" BS and a new SC '8 jointer that I gladly wrote the check for.
Gotta get to work. Any questions will be answered latter to-nite if anyone has any!
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Sarge,
Thanks for posting! I've been toying w/ different ideas on what to do w/ my Unisaw since I gave up on getting the factory splitter/guard/PITA aligned. You had some good ideas. However, one question. You talk about how much you like the Euro-short fence for ripping, but then the spring board that you have mounted appears to be constraining the outfeed portion of the stock on the side opposite the fence. Is that how you really set it up to cut? Why would you constrain that side while going to the trouble to remove the constraint (back end of factory fence) from the other side?
bd,
I thought the same thing then I saved the picture and took a closer look. It appears that the spring board is relieved just past the center contact point. It looks like the contact point of the stock is on the fence/Euro side as it guides the stock into the blade. A generous kerf is cut into the spring board to give the stock a soft entry and exit. I may be wrong on this point but that's what it looks like to me. I'm building one to see how it works for my Unisaw.
RGJ, Richard Jones
Just explained to BD about the haste used to get this picture. A hastily set-up one man show with my wife waiting up to get them processed and into the computer. Quite a comedy of error created on that picture for sure! :>)
What you stated is correct. I set up the spring-board so it ends just a hair before the end of the short fence. The push stick gets the call for that last hair of the resistance as one eye-ball is fixed on the blade and the other on that last nib before the final cut off point. When the stock makes the final sever point I can use the push stick to make a gentle move of the trailing end of stock to the right in the "free zone" created by the short fence mounted forward on the long fence. The saw is turned off at that point with my left knee as I continue to maintain a locked visual on the spinning blade and the stock until all comes to "dead still".
You are also correct that the spring-board allows a gentle entry and a gentle exit. Quite a bit of flex and they can be made cheaply in any size you chose. I much prefer it over feather boards and the adjuster slots give it good reaching range as need varies from machine to machine.
BTW.. If this is the Richard Jones (aka Sgain Dubh.. Slainte) that planted the seed and idea in my mind for Euro short fences and crown guards several years ago.. I extend my gratitude! That small seed and glimmer of light for a better way to "get it done" sprouted and gets larger and stronger every day!
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Edited 2/27/2007 1:03 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
"BTW.. If this is the Richard Jones (aka Sgain Dubh.. Slainte) that planted the seed and idea in my mind for Euro short fences and crown guards several years ago"
Nah. Different Richard to me. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture
Morning Richard... good afternoon to you in England
I had serious doubt that RJ was you when he mentioned that he had a Uni-saw. Anything short of a Wadkins 12 HP just doesn't seem to fit your mode of operation and style. :>)
My local lumber supplier has a 48" saw down in their prep shed. It has a series of belts and pulleys that attach to what appears to be an old Austin-Healy in-line 6 cylinder engine (even though American Muscle Cars is how I tweak out my daily bread I have owned a 60' Healy road-ster and two 67' Austin Healy 3000's in younger years in the 70's). I am not allowed to go back to that side of the saw to confirm for liability purposes and the guys down there wouldn't know a Healy motor from a Singer sewing machine motor. They just get paid to "fire er up and get er done". ha.. ha...
Every time I go down there, I am tempted to re-don a flak jacket (even though I did swear off flak jackets) and put at least a crown guard on that big boy. I just haven't acquired a wrench large enough yet.
I have visions (usually after heavy drinking) of dropping a Healy body over the engine when I retire and sitting in it at least one day a week shifting gears as a 36" log gets sliced behind me in my tail-lights. That would fill my needs in my two major non-related family interest for sure! ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
Hope you are doing well and again thanks for the interest you generated within me for the "short fence and crown guard". Both have served me and those I have passed the idea and they adapted to well!
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
I'd guess from your description Sarge that you're looking at an insert tooth circular saw used for planking up tree trunks. I'd also guess that there is a bogey on tracks with dogs to hold the logs and pass them by the saw as each plank is ripped off, along with hydraulic arms of some sort for rotating the log as required.
Insert tooth circular saws used to be common in the US for milling logs. Less so now that vertical and horizontal band mills are becoming more popular.
It's nice to know that I brought you the joys of the short rip fence, riving knife and crown guard in those dark prehistoric days (possibly the 1990's) when Americans still thought the latest in bees-knees advanced technology was one of those crude and primitive antediluvian cabinet saws with a long fence. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture
I believe you nailed it Richard as it was a circular as you described. This is an old lumber firm and hold-outs with old equipment. You won't see a cell phone there either. But they keep their prices low and that may be part of the reason. If you show up at lunch they will offer you a sandwich because they truly appreciate the business. ha.. ha....
I saw many of these on-site at saw-mills when I was a kid in the 50's. Where sawmills and cotton fields stood here in the Atlanta area, condo's and shopping malls now stand. Things change and time erodes but memories still remain clear...
Regards to you and family...
Sarge.. jt
"I'd guess from your description Sarge that you're looking at an insert tooth circular saw used for planking up tree trunks. I'd also guess that there is a bogey on tracks with dogs to hold the logs and pass them by the saw as each plank is ripped"
Otherwise known as a Break Down Saw.
Familiar to me with a five foot diameter plate. I would think a Healey 3 litre motor would blow some gaskets driving that- certainly wouldn't get into overdrive....Maybe Sarge should up-grade to one Jaguar vee twelve.On second thoughts, since he said cell phones are not to be seen there, one of them 2cylinder kerosene John Deere engines would be more suitable.Philip Marcou
Edited 2/28/2007 4:53 am by philip
Morning Phillip...
This 4 footer (eye-ball estimate) is not a break down saw which they do have at the far end of the building in a restricted area. The saw head looks as if it could have been one at some point but this saw rides on an over-head track and it is used for cross-cutting. The few times I have seen it, I didn't see any mechanisms that allowed it to swing to a rip position as a RAS even though they do have 20' (eye-ball guess again) home-made table extensions on both sides.
So.. even though it looks like a large radial arm saw, it appears to be basically a large cross-cut saw riding on an over-head arm. I have never noticed any markings or manufacturer marks on the saw... and again appears to be a home-brewed saw as the over-head arms are made of somewhat crude metal angle beams.
But.. without further speculation, I'll ask the next time I drop by to pick up stock as getting it straight from the horse's mouth carries more weight than all speculation pooled without the real facts.
BTW.. I worked at an Austin-Healy-Jaguar-Triumph dealer-ship for several years in the early 70's. The Healy 6 was basically an in-line 6 cyl. tractor engine. I have never seen one that cracked a block or seized a piston. I have seen too many Jaguars that did.
Did they leak any oil? Have you ever seen a British made oil seal that would not leak oil eventually. If not.. chances are you have never worked on early British engines! ha.. ha...
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Interesting, Sarge. Maybe you could photograph that home-brew.
I am mortally offended over your unkind comments on Jaguar engines-I was under the impression that it was a design feature to have a constant outflow of oil, so that one never actually changed the oil-merely kept adding from the top....
I did have a Mk 2 3.8-but this was not well-the engine failed to leak oil, but this was compensated for by the gearbox (;)Philip Marcou
I had to rebuild the tranny on the last 67' A-H twice, so the identification with leaking transmissions strikes a nerve. I was not being un-kind to the Jags.. just pointing out that under all that surface beauty there lurked a few demons the owners manual nor salesman brought to your immediate attention. As long as you had pockets lined with cash.. a good mechanic that was willing to travel and you only took it for short Sunday forays... it was one sleek and impressive car. ha.. ha...
But I do have fond memories of those Healy's and wish I had them back, especially at today's market price. $3600 U.S. in 1967 took one home. They would roll in 5th and 6th gear (electric over-drive as you know) as long as you went a relatively straight line. The design was too long to be a serious turning car.
This all brings back memories of jovial but excellent English mechanics that came over with the introduction of BMC to the U.S.... And many British engineers that came over to work on the C-5A aircraft up the street at Lockheed Air-craft. Quite a number stayed after that boom... so there is quite a large community of British here in Atlanta.
BTW.. I am curious about your referral to someone here in a bush war and no recognition. Your name being Marcou.. bush war.. would Dien Bien Phu possibly mean anything to you? If so.. I would be shocked to find you that age as I would have never guessed it!
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Morning Philip...
E recieved "gunny".. PM sent.. Out
Highest Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Sarge,
Those early British engines leaked all that oil on purpose. It was a sophisticated system for slowing the rust within floor pans, suspension arms and similar. Also, it confabulated the burglars, as they would skid on the slick in front of the garage and never get to your tablesaw or planes because of the broken ankle or pelvis.
Some foolish owners fixed the leaks with home made gaskets or various magic gasket gunks (always a vivid pink, for some reason). Before long they were seen standing folornly by their dead motorcar, after the floor (with them sitted on it) fell into the road; or a wheel snapped off and went bowling away as children chased and laughed along.
I have seen many Morris Minors, for instance, with various large parts such as whole engines and gearboxes fallen into the road, evidencing their rust-eaten bolts, welds or other attachments that the fixed oil leaks no longer protected. A chap looks foolish when his motorcar's engine falls out, especially if it's in town on a busy day.
Of course, they also burnt quite a bit of oil, those engines. This too was intentional as it is a good way to keep the tailgaters at bay. Also, the oil gets renewed every 100 miles or so, thus avoiding the need for those tedious and expensive oil changes at the garage, where it is the "labour" that provides the financial shock.
We had better not mention the "brakes".
Personally, I never owned a car until 1990, aged 41 and three quarters. It was a deisel that eventually died of prang in the hands of daughter number 2, having trundled 225,000 miles in toto. As it was French, it didn't leak oil, only water (from the outside in). It had a sliding sun roof that, when open, acted like a giant flute and jellied one's brain with vibrations circa 30 cycles/second.
But I am rambling now, and about the past - a bad sign.
Lataxe, a cyclist
Early morning here Lataxe...
You are quite an English wildman my friend.. If you had been King back in the 1700's there probably would have never been that little "riff" between the Crown and the Colonies and a lot of good tea would not have gone to waste. ha.. ha...
Let's don't let word spread about the battery being in the boot. The good news was you weren't going to get it stolen in the U.S. as nobody had a clue where to find it. And we won't mention the "brakes" with that leather diaphragm in the... ahh.. never mind. :>)
An acquaintance named Doug Hyde managed to squeeze a Chevy 327 cubic inch engine into an Austin America. He just loved to pull up beside a big American Muscle Car at a traffic light and smoke those those tiny tires when the light changed leaving the other driver wondering how that happened. ha.. ha...
Yes... all this does bring back memories of younger days. Thanks for the memories! Perhaps I should have also gone the cyclist route as you even though I don't have fond memories of going down hills on one and the chain coming off. The American bikes didn't have handbrakes at that tiime! :>)
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Wonderful discourse on the function of the british engine gaskets. For years I had assumed that the reason my TR-4 was down a quart every morning was due to a flaw, now I understand that this is a design feature.If I am not being too forward, will you enlighten me on the purpose of vehicle electrical systems being designed by Lucas, the Prince of Darkness?Forever grateful,Jim
"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other is that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo LeopoldEdited 3/2/2007 9:07 am ET by JimV
Edited 3/2/2007 9:08 am ET by JimV
Morning Jim...
"Prince of Darkness".. huh.... ha.. ha... Before Lataxe answers with his "whimsical magic" I will add that things could be worse. The dealer-ship I worked for in 69-71 also carried Alfa-Romeo (Ferrari.. Lambrogini.. etc.). Alfa in those days sub-contracted their electrical systems and weren't picky as to who.
You could pop the bonnet of an Alfa and usually find electronics from Lucas.. Morelli and Bosch all in the same engine compartment. And I refuse to the discuss shimming the valves on them.
BTW... I have restored 2 TR-3's. I loved how those doors were angled down from front to rear. And ample room for a case of spare oil and a set of wrenches in the boot.. Some things never changed. ha.. ha...
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Sarge,
"You could pop the bonnet of an Alfa and usually find electronics from Lucas.. Morelli and Bosch all in the same engine compartment."
I think that is an ongoing trend: I had a Nissan pick-up and found that the windscreen wiper motor was Bosch (very good), the alternator was Heng Shui (excellent), the ignition electrics Japanese (excellent) but the starter motor was LUCAS (very terrible). However, in spite of that handicap there were no problems with the starter motor-mainly because happily it was not the bendix type. Some years of driving Ford Cortinas have left me with a paranoid fear of Lucas Starter Motors Fitted With A Bendix Drive...
I see the subject has changed somewhat from Unisaw- we might as talk about Cobras now (my idea of a decent all purpose veehickle, provided it is equipped with Jaguar running gear, instruments, connolly hide leather and Chevy engine plus turbo box).Philip Marcou
Evening Philip...
Might as well............... ha.. ha...
Alex W. and I scraped together an pooled $4500 for a AC Mark II 289' hypo with a blown engine in 1970. Re-built it and sold it 4 months latter for $6000. $750 profit each and we thought we had made a "killing". Now I would kill at the thought of what we sold if for.
Proving... when are 23 years old, having been around the block doesn't necessarily mean you are an experienced world traveler. :>)
Highest Regards...
Sarge.. jt
JimV, it seems that you never got the hang of that car. You should have been parking the veehickle on a downward slope at night-this allows the oil in the overdrive gearbox to migrate forward into the engine sump-showing a daily net gain in oil volume. The proof of this lies in the recognition of the little known fact that the engine used in the TR4 (A) is a Vanguard engine, which is a tractor engine- have you not observed how all old tractors are parked on a downward facing slope?Philip Marcou
Philip,Being the scion of 5 generations of farmers, I've ample experience with old tractors. However, I must point out a major divide in the design criteria between tractors for the American Great Plains and those of the British Commonwealth.Because of the exceedingly flat land here (in the realms of .001" tolerance), the slope must be built into the oil pan. My father once imported a rare tractor from Switzerland, he had to mount eccentric tires on it to keep the motor from seizing up due to lack of oil circulation.It's my understanding that throughout most of the commonwealth, flat land is of such scarcity that many of the larger animals have evolved to possess legs that are shorter on one side, so they are able to stand on the side of a hill and not tumble. Personally, I find it fascinating that there are clockwise and counter-clockwise sub-species dependent on what side of the animal has the short legs.But I digress. I do appreciate that nugget of wisdom. I believe that I'll build a set of custom ramps this weekend. What do you think, QS white oak, mahogany, walnut or ipe?Jim"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other is that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo Leopold
Thanks for the digression.
"I believe that I'll build a set of custom ramps this weekend. What do you think, QS white oak, mahogany, walnut or ipe?"
Be sure to use Red Oak, not white. Due to the structure, this will enable you to filter oil if you plumb it right. That is why Red oak is not good for barrels but white oak is. I have not patented the idea.Philip Marcou
Excellent idea concerning the red oak. I could also fit a charcoal filter into the end of the plumbing, which would finally provide a use for the scraps that I can't seem to throw away.Jim
"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other is that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo Leopold
Richard..
And in haste to get to bed.. I forgot something if you are building one for your Uni. ha.. ha...
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
SARGE,
Thank you very much for posting the pictures of your design. Very nicely done.
I am the Richard Jones of D&J Performance. I would be in the poor house if I built furniture for a living.
RGJ
You're quite welcome RG... It's self explanatory on how to make it from a picture and only takes about 30 minutes of your time. The glue dry on the spacers can be filled with other shop task.
The 24" sliding bar I use in the miter track is available from Eagle America pt# 415-9243 ($15.99) or you can get a set of two 3" bars pt# 415-9500 ($14.99). Then again a 3/4 T nut will suffice with through threaded wing knobs. http://www.eagleamerica.com
Let me know how how you like it after using it. I may add a 4" home-made extension on the existing left cast iron extension (left tilt) and add a miter track that is available from the same source.. 24"-32"-48" lengths. I did just that on my home-spun router table. BTW.. I do use the spring-board well foward of cut point on a router table. My two hands control the stock on the fence going in and the spring-board keeps it tight on the fence on the out-bound side as I rarely make more than a 1/16" pass with that Milwaukee 3 1/2 HP spiining carbide.
A larger spring-board could handle small, wider sheet goods on the TS as I cut them down to size with a circular and Tru-grip on the rare occasions I do use sheet goods. Just thoughts at the moment.
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Edited 2/27/2007 9:56 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
Evening BD...
Good catch and you would be correct in what you perceived. It would be counter-productive to extend the fence beyond the out-bound tip of the Euro fence.
And..... Now for the real story! I finished up the modifications last evening around 8 PM. Promised the family I would take them to dinner. Got home around 10 PM and blew saw-dust from the shop. Hastily ran up got the digital camera as my wife was waiting to put them in the computer for me. In a hurry as she wanted to retire for the evening.
Hastily took 6 pics and ran back up for her to process. While she was doing that I remembered I forgot to get one with stock and the spring-board in action for those that have never seen a spring-board. Hastily ran back down with the camera.. found a piece of scrap stock.. jerked the spring-board off the router table and hastily threw it on the TS with a quick eye-ball of the set-up.
But alas.. the stock I grabbed was a piece of white oak about 5' long. With the proper set-up, the weight of the trailing end of stock wouldn't allow it to stay on the table un-assisted. Remember I had a camera in one hand and if dropped my wife's camera she uses for business a severed finger would be welcome compared to the alternative. :>)
Had to move the spring-board forward and put more pressure than normal on the stock to get it to stay put while the picture was taken. I don't normally use a feather board on the fence either , I hastily had to cut off the end of a 2' used flat feather used as the spring-board is now from former times to slap it up there. In haste it shouldn't have gone where it did.. but in haste you are not at your mental best.
So... what you see is what you get when I do things in haste as dead-lines are not my normal routine in the shop. Several years ago I took a picture in haste of my router table. I slapped the feather boards on upside down with the wings pointing up. Did not notice till someone on this forum caught it and brought it jokingly to my attention. ha.. ha...
But... you have a good eye for detail and that will serve you well! Good luck with whatever up-grade you decide to put on your Uni. Any way I could be of assistance... just shout!
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Hey, Sarge, sounds like you are on the right track! By the way, where can I get a recondition Unisaw for $999? I need to add another 3HP saw to my shop, and that sounds like a bargain...even if it needs a tad of work. Thanks!
Morning Sunbelt...
You probably can't get one for $999. The going price at Redmond & Son Machinery here in Atlanta (Delta.. Power-matic.. Jet.. Steel City.. General.. and many more industrial machines) was $1100 with the 50" fence. They purchased a trailer load and have one left (as of two weeks ago?). They have purchased another trailer load and on the way.
I got the saw as I went to look at a floor demo model that had been reduced to $400 under list. It was their that morning as I called.. but sold 2 1/2 hours latter to my dis- may when I arrived. I had also gone to pick up a new Steel City 8" jointer. So.. with my disappointment and going to purchase two pieces of machinery.. I've gained some leverage here. I gained more by reminding them that the Steel City Management had put me work selling SC band-saws for Redmond (Steel City distributor here) several weeks before at the Atlanta WW Show.
I loaded a new SC 8" jointer and a $999 Uni-saw X5 on my pick-up to go home. I took the 31" fence rails instead of the 50" as I was only going to use the saw basically to rip. Cross-cut and panel ability lies elsewhere. So...... volume.. leverage of not on having what I wanted and a re-ciprocating favor got it done for $999. :>)
Not sure if they have the one Uni left or when the next load is due (they sold over 100 in about 4 months). But if you are interested call them and they can give you the poop. http://www.redmondmachinery.com I believe is the site. There may be a - between the redmond and machinery?
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Sagre, thanks a million for the information.
Sunbelt
Your quite welcome, Sunbelt....
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
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