Pwk5017 Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Turns out that box on the back is a control starter, and they are kinda pricey. I cant believe I almost let this guy talk me into trading a 5hp 3 phase motor, switch, and control starter AND $200 for his "new" 3hp single phase motor and paddle switch. Those paddle switches are $25 bucks. That would have been a horrendous deal on my behalf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 That would have been a horrendous deal on my behalf. I dunno, how much is that worth to YOU, having no 3 phase power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 ==>his "new" 3hp single phase motor If it's a new Baldor, et al... The controls are mounted on the saw already.... I'd see if the controls can be wired 1p... If they can, why go to the effort to dismount/mount a new set --- he can get his own controls -- around $200-$300 for an OK set -- or Grizzly for $89... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ResidentEvil Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Finally, dust collection inside the cabinet looks like it is going to suck. Atleast on my contractor saw, I had a 6" port directly under and in close proximity to the blade. I can modify the base of the cabinet to a 6" port on this saw, but im still 3 feet from the blade. While I was disassembling the saw, I noticed a vertical metal attachment bolted directly in front of the blade. It looked like a deflector of sorts to force the sawdust downward toward the ramp. I believe this deflector tilts with the blade. Is it possible to buy a blade shroud for a G1023 and bolt it into position using the deflector's bracket? Is there a newer delta shroud available that would work? I have an Excalibur blade guard for the top of the saw, and a blade shroud in the cabinet would make my dust collection extremely effective for this saw. I have a 3hp grizzly cyclone with 7" spiral duct with 6" flexible hose to most/all machines. I have the same saw, except mine is 3hp single phase. The dust collection on it is miserable. I've tried to cover every possible air leak source I can find and it's still practically non-existant. I dont have as nice of a DC as you, and am not running big enough pipe and dont have overhead DC...so you are better off from that respect. If you figure out a way to mount a dust shroud inside the cabinet, I'd love to see how you do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 I dunno, how much is that worth to YOU, having no 3 phase power? The crown jewels of England aren't much use to me either, but if I owned them, I wouldnt hand them out for free. I would like to think value is value despite the usefulness to the owner. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 I have the same saw, except mine is 3hp single phase. The dust collection on it is miserable. I've tried to cover every possible air leak source I can find and it's still practically non-existant. I dont have as nice of a DC as you, and am not running big enough pipe and dont have overhead DC...so you are better off from that respect. If you figure out a way to mount a dust shroud inside the cabinet, I'd love to see how you do it. In my very brief research, I saw a guy welded a shroud for his unisaw that looked pretty good. The thread was 7+ years old, but he had mentioned making them to sell. Not sure if he did or would now. My plan was going to involve ordering the part from the G1023 for $7.50 and seeing if I could get it to work on the machine. I believe the earlier G1023's were generic copies of the unisaw, so I have that working towards my advantage. What I don't have working in my favor is the G1023 being a left tilt and my saw being a right tilt. That difference could cause me some issues depending on how that 2.5" dust port exits the shroud. I hope it exits straight down and it's not angled. If it is angled, I have a feeling it will be angled right into my 3 belts and motor on my machine, since that would be the open pivot space on the grizzly. I think it would be worth the $7.50+shipping gamble to try and make it work. With all the talk of dust collection and the sheer volume of unisaws out there, I am slightly disappointed there isn't a shroud available already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 I have tried for years to improve the dust collection on my UniSaw. Had a motor cover fabricated before they even offered them from Rockwell. Covering openings doesn't help, it just restricts the airflow needed to carry away the dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted July 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Alright, saw has been up and running for a week and a half! Total cost=$710. I sold my delta contractor saw for $400, so technically a net cost of $310 for the unisaw. $310, probably 6-8 hours, and a bit of frustration. The unisaw is actually very easy to work on, but doing anything mechanical for the first time is usually a frustrating endeavor for me. I have made a few projects on it, and it is a great saw. I love the extra cast iron space for my jessem sliding table and the shark guard splitter is perfectly aligned--unlike my old contractor saw splitter that had been bent a hundred times this way and that. Not sure if I'm in love with the Excalibur blade guard, which is a new purchase, but atleast it makes it very unlikely that my fingers or hand will ever touch the blade. I purchased it solely for dust collection. It is OK, but I think it could be better if I move the guard forward so the hose is closer to the blade. I ended up going with a new baldor 3hp single phase motor. Cabinet dust collection seems to be nothing to write home about. I altered the machine to have a 6" port. I know everyone says dust collection is better on a cabinet saw, but I'll be the first to say my contractor saw was much much better. Having a 6" port 4-5" directly below the blade left almost no dust build up. The unisaw is quite the opposite unfortunately. Good saw, it has taught me a think or two about mild machine restoration and it's a source of pride for me as I walk by it every morning for work. Thanks for all the advice prior to and after the purchase. If you buy these 3 phase machines for the right price, I think it can be rewarding and "worth it" To rehab them to be single phase hobbyist machines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 That looks like a great machine. All in, what did it cost you to convert from the 3 phase to 1 phase motor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted August 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 That looks like a great machine. All in, what did it cost you to convert from the 3 phase to 1 phase motor?Sorry for the delay, Brendon. I purchased 4 of those late 90s unisaws at auction, and was in the midst of selling the other three when you asked this. I know how the forums and this craft can be very connected, so I didnt want to answer right away and show my hand. I bought each saw for about $250 a piece. This might shock a few people, but you would be surprised at how quickly you can sell off three phase motors and controls. I sold the first motor and control on ebay for $350. You need to pay fees and all, so I only netted about $300 for the motor and starter, but right off the bat I was up $50. Baldor motor cost me $500 shipped to my door. That price somehow kept going up and up with Plaza machinery as I did the other saws. I sold the other motors and controls for $200 to Plaza machinery. Bearings cost me $25 for my saw, and $8 for the other saws--high quality american bearings versus korean bearings. Matched set of belts will cost you $20. switch from amazon is $15ish. Nice rubber 12awg cord is $20 for 15'. 220v plugs are surprisingly expensive at $11. I think that just about wraps up the costs associated. Doing the work isnt bad. Im by no means a mechanical person, and I lose patience with machines very easily. When you were working on your jointer beds, I would have gone into a fit of rage and most likely broken the machine. I nearly did that with one of the unisaws when I was attempting to get the inner most bearing off the arbor shaft. Thing was so wedged on there that I couldnt get the crappy rented pepboys gear puller in to get it off. I then put the arbor wrench on the bearing and proceeded to whack the hell out of it with a hammer(see that note about patience and machines). This damaged the threads on the shaft side opposite the blade requiring me to find a machine shop to remachine the threads. It cost $20, thankfully. The hammer method moved the bearing 1/8" or so for me to use the gear puller to extract it. I cant tell you how much this sucks. It could just be the pepboys tool, but getting the inner bearing off the arbor is hell. That tool is like those stupid claw arcade games where you attempt to fish out a stuffed animal for your teenage girlfriend. It was full of frustrating failure back then, and it's no different 13 years later at the age of 27 in your woodshop. Take the arbor to a machine shop and have them do it for you in two seconds. Getting the bearing back on is cake. Arbor in the freezer, bearing on a bulb, then whack it on with a piece of pipe and wood block to support the bearing. Same goes for the rest of the work you would need to do on the saws. Unisaws are brilliantly designed machines that are so simple. I worked on 4 saws, and I could be a unisaw expert now. I felt like forrest gump assembling his rifle on that fourth one. I made a fair amount off the remaining 3 saws. It was a pain in the rump, and frustrating, and any other word you want to use to describe an annoying series of tasks. If you are going to do this on a machine, its pretty simple to swap motors and rewire a switch; however, if you are going to do this to make money or save money, then you really need to purchase the tool for a laughable price. I sold my saws for around $1100. A used unisaw really isnt worth anymore than that in most markets. I sold them pretty quickly, because they had new everything, but you cant get top dollar for a used saw. This means that it wouldnt be worth all the work if I purchased the saws for $500-800, which most used 3 phase stuff goes for. Food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 Good to know, thanks for the rundown. The reason I ask is so many people buy a fixer upper and when done fixing er up, it cost more than one new one would have. It sounds like you did quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 Yeah, I have read similar stories, which is what made me a nervous nelly at first. Heck, read the posts above. I think 90% of the consensus was I was an idiot if I went through with the purchase. Two things I had going for me: the saws werent ancient, so I wasn't dealing with 50 years of industrial use. Next, the price was so low at $250 a saw. You need a lot of cushion if you are to come out ahead on the deal. No getting around motors being very pricey, and it's unfortunate that unisaws require a very specific motor mount. This is the make or break point of dealing with a 3 phase unisaw. A 3 phase planer or whatever could be dealt with for a lot less money on the motor, because they are relatively universal motor mounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsmith Posted January 20, 2020 Report Share Posted January 20, 2020 I have an old Delta Unisaw table saw that needs a replacement motor. The bad motor is 1 hp 220 volt single phase 1725 rpms. Any suggestions where I can get a good used unisaw motor replacement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 21, 2020 Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 Is there anything special about the motor mount on a Unisaw? If not, a general purpose motor might work. This is a close match, electrically: https://www.harborfreight.com/engines-generators/electric-motors/1-hp-agricultural-farm-duty-motor-68288.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted January 21, 2020 Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 There is something special about a Unisaw motor. The special mount is built onto the motor case. That is, if we're talking about the cabinet saw. Also, the mount is mirror imaged for the old right tilt, and later models that left tilt. This thread is pretty old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris3 Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 I just replaced my unisaw stock WEG motor with a American made Leeson 4HP 1Phase. I decided on more HP than 3HP that came stock. Motor was cheap at $450 at Zoro. Going price is 500 to 650. Would not go with HF junk. FLA is 17.6 Had to get new mag switch for increased Amps and overload protection. Good deal on Amazon for $60...Taiwan made. Switch range on OL protection is 18 to 26 Amps. Set to low end. Changed extension cable to 12AWG on 20 Amp breaker. 3 belt pully slipped right on new motor. Leeson motor wire lead connection box hits cabinet at max blade raise when tilted. Can avoid this by tilt first...or Will have to grind a small 1/4 inch resess in cabinet motor opening. Not a big deal as big plastic motor cover edge will cover this from being seen. Pig tail cable lead was 41 inches (supposed to be 54"). Made it work with full travel and no way to hit blade. Upgrade your 1Hp to at least 2 or 3HP if you can. I went with 4 as i frequently bogged down my 3HP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.