The Woodworking Table Saw Myth

[Bruce Wrenn]

Only paid $450 for Uni several years back. Bought it from a used equipment dealer. Had a half dozen to choose from, at same price. School shops are being up graded to Saw Stops for liability reasons, so school auctions are a good place to look.

[george newbury]

/edit Bruce posted while I was building the following:
Your looking in the wrong place. Here are just a few of the ones I've passed up in the two years. Follow the links for tablesaw pictures

Delta catalogue II 34-450
3 phase
220 volts

$103.50 http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auc...iew?auc=980167

Powermatic Table Saw Model# 66 - Serial# 8166953 - Working When Taken Out Of Service In routine Rotation -

$162 http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auc...ew?auc=1266272

One each Used Delta Rockwell 10" Unisaw
Model # ER1436
Ser # 34-450
Asset # 66122

$103.39 http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auc...ew?auc=1262938

Delta Table saw, has single phase 1 hp motor, 115/230 volts, and is rather large measuring 82" long x 27" wide x 36" high. Comes with guide and exhaust tube. Recently removed from school wood shop and runs fine. Great deal, see photos.

$188.01 http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auc...ew?auc=1219744

TABLE SAW, POWERMATIC, S/N 466725, MODEL 66, CONDITION UNKNOWN.

$405.00 http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auc...ew?auc=1147851

And of course my score:

8x6equipment.jpg
20130919_094225.jpg

Which I paid about $1K for ALL of it, including 2 saws.

This is MOSTLY 3 phase stuff, but usually well maintained in high school woodshops. Around here the schools contract for maintenance. I often see the same item in a school auction showing up weeks later on my local Craigs list with THE PICTURE copied from the auction and with the auction number in the CL pic. And then the prices are well over $500.

And during those last 2 years there were dozens showing up in the midwest, but I don't drive that far.

[Bill Adamsen]

I have a Uni that is almost uni-purposed at this point (finger joints and ripping). In fact, I've been serious debating for at least two years cutting it down (the fence and extension tables) to a really narrow saw, so as to reduce the footprint. I have had this saw for 35 years (bought new) and it runs perfectly. Nothing has ever broken or been replaced. I probably have 15+ excellent blades. I wish it were right tilt and Biesemeyer equiped, but it's left and unifence. If I could only get $500 why get rid of it?

For those hunting, I would say, consider the value of the fence and blades.

[Rich Riddle]

I have access to 3 phase power via a rotary phase converter used to power an Agazzani 600. The publicserviceplus links are much appreciated. I was simply tiring of reading folks telling others about this overabundance of plug and play cabinet saws around every corner. It seems most of you are saying they can be found but they are on the rare side. I have the Hammer Winner K3 and use it for most things but would like to find a Powermatic 66 for some of the things I haven't quite figured out on the Hammer.

[george newbury]

I have access to 3 phase power via a rotary phase converter used to power an Agazzani 600. The publicserviceplus links are much appreciated. I was simply tiring of reading folks telling others about this overabundance of plug and play cabinet saws around every corner. It seems most of you are saying they can be found but they are on the rare side. I have the Hammer Winner K3 and use it for most things but would like to find a Powermatic 66 for some of the things I haven't quite figured out on the Hammer.

I also frequent (almost live on) a tractor forum and they are all the time talking about the $500 tiller, the $250 plow which I rarely see. But the public schools ARE turning out wood working equipment fairly routinely.

[Rich Riddle]

Can't speak to iron like that but will tell you that I talk to guys all the time who "saw a used MM16 once for $1,000" (and they are often quite specific about a price as opposed to "around such-and-such amount"...) or, "My buddy got one for so much", and ask me how often I see those/ when do I think one might pop up?/ where to find that sort of thing/ do I know anyone who has one for sale?, etc.

I think that we all have our dreams about finding that magical deal of a lifetime and some of us take longer to come to grips with reality or just don't let go, ever. Not a judgment, just an observation.

Erik Loza
Minimax

Erik,

Well I just witnessed a 2004 version of the MM16 draw a $1375 winning bid. It has the 3.6 HP motor and 14" resaw height if the buyer is lucky. On a good note, at least he got the mobility kit with it. Decent deal for a decent saw, but not the value of the newer models. That's ok; ignorance in bliss on parts of buyers.

[Patrick Curry]

In my search, mostly limited to Indiana, the Chicago burbs, Southwest Michigan, and Kentucky, I've noted more Unisaws that PMs. I was able to pick up a Uni with 1.5 hp motor and 52" fence similar to this one: http://muncie.craigslist.org/tls/4845656104.html for $650 - that was 2 years ago. I had been looking for months. I haven't really seen a deal like this for some time. The only PMs I ever see in the $500 range are 3 phase models that appear to have been used and abused in production environments. Most of the Unis I see below $900 appear to be in need of some work. Right now searching the Indianapolis area for Unisaws the prices range from $900-$1700.

There has been a few nice Unisaws sold lately in the Indy market for just under $1k. But those are the exceptions. It's hard to rationalize paying more for a 10 yr old delta than a new Grizzly GO1034.

[Chuck Hart]

Funny I read this and went on to CL and bingo the first listing was for a Delta Unisaw with a 54" aux table and fence for $1000 and a 1966 Powermatic for $700 that looks clean and runs

[Jeff Duncan]

I've outfitted most of my shop with used equipment and much has been for what's generally considered "good deals". There are plenty of deals out there but it usually takes some looking. When I'm in the market for a machine I spend a LOT of time looking, CL, various auction sites, and a couple other various sources. In terms of table saws I've bought 3 over the years, my first Unisaw cost $200, but did need a bit of work. I had to wire a new cord and buy a fence for it. My second Unisaw came from an auction, that one cost $235. Luckily that one came with a fence and was pretty much plug and play. My daily driver, a Wadkin 12" cost me $500 also at auction. Again plug and play in very good condition.

As the others said area plays a big part of it, and having a bit of luck certainly helps as well. If you keep looking chances are good you'll find something, maybe not for $500 if you want fantastic condition, but still for a "good deal". Oh and patience is a necessity. If you look for a couple months, or look in 1 or 2 places, your odds are not going to be high. My 3 table saw deals were spread out over about 20 years, and the only one I bought while actually looking for a table saw was the Wadkin. The others were just too good a deal to pass on.

good luck,
JeffD

[Keith Hankins]

In the forum and at shows I have read and heard woodworkers talk about this overabundance of old iron Powermatic and Delta cabinet saws that people are apparently giving away for $500 in perfect condition. Thing is that I have heard about those deals but never seen one. I typically see folks asking anywhere between $1200 and $2400 for the nice saws. Junk may come cheaper but the nice ones seem to hold their values. So where are these great old saws for $500?

Keep the faith! Use Search tempest and something will come up. Of course you may have to go travel a bit, but it's up to you. I waited for over a year for a big planer to show up. Finally a Northfield 20" planer showed up for 1500. Deals will pop up. Hang in there!

[Mike Schuch]

Finding a great deal on a old iron table saw is pretty easy. Plunk down $3500 on a new saw stop then all the old iron saws will come out of the wood work... all over the place! That is just the way the world works.

I paid $500 for my 3hp 1ph Powermatic 65 (cabinet saw that was the predecessor to the PM66) about 15 years ago. It was in the want adds of the local news paper. Any one remember what want ads are or even what a new paper is? It was in the era when not many people had internet connections and I could search the want ads before they actually made it to print. Of course I wasn't really looking for a table saw at the time but knew it was a deal and pounced on it.

On the other hand I had a quest machine, a horizontal boring machine, that I spent over 8 years searching for. I took a cabinet making class at the local community college where I used a horizontal boring machine for face frames and decided I had to have one. It took 8 years of searching but I finally found one for $100. It had been dropped and the spindle slide bearings had cracked (which the seller tried to hide) but it was easy enough to refurbish.

About 6 years ago my father was the only one to answer a Craigslist add for a Powermatic 12" cabinet saw for $1. When he got there he asked the seller how much he really wanted for the saw and the seller said $1! The saw was left in a factory by a previous owner that the seller was leasing to produce paint and he just wanted the saw out of the way. The seller even expended considerable effort helping my father load the saw into his trailer. It took us a good 6 months of work to refurb that Powermatic 71 cabinet saw in which we had to get get a couple of parts custom machined by some friends and did a considerable amount of grinding to grind off the welded on casters. It is a 5hp 3ph saw that runs well on a the same phase converter I use for my RAS.

When I picked up my Walker Turner shaper for $200 I was not in the market for a shaper (Also 3ph). I am stuck with a 3/4" spindle because parts have not been made for that shaper for decades but 3/4" cutters are very common.

My father used his Craftsman 4" jointer for almost 40 YEARS before he tripped over a Jet 8" shaper for $200 in like new condition. Unfortunately the 8" Jet jointer is mine now and I sold my 6" Harbor Freight jointer to a friend for $100 which he considers the score of the century.

[Jim Andrew]

My nephew bought a unisaw for 500 on a purplewave auction. It is an older model with the old pipe rails. Was that fence called jet lock? Not a biesemeyer.

[Mike Heidrick]

I wish it were right tilt and Biesemeyer equiped, but it's left and unifence.

Interestimng. IMO, Those are sought after upgrades to a right tilt and bies setup. A unifence can be a unifence very easily if you want - google bigafence or uni-t-fence add ons. The left tilt makes bevels easier as it tilts away from the fence when the fence is on the right.

[Chris Padilla]

Finding a great deal on a old iron table saw is pretty easy. Plunk down $3500 on a new saw stop then all the old iron saws will come out of the wood work... all over the place! That is just the way the world works.

LOL! Yep, Murphy rules the universe!

[Joe Hillmann]

I just did a search on craigslist and found 4 nice looking cabinet saws in the $500-$650 price range, all of them either had after market fences mounted on them or the description said they had a uni fence that went with it but wasn't mounted to it in the photos.