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If you didn’t get a chance to read my earlier entry about the Unisaw arriving at our shop, click here to do so.

Ahhhh! The sweet sound of a table saw running. Come on. Admit it. Some of you thought you might never hear the Unisaw running, didn’t you? I have to admit that I had questions myself. In fact, I had a running joke with the Delta account reps , and I assume the folks at Delta through transference , that the saw has yet to be fired up. Even during the Editors’ Event held in Jackson, Tenn. (to read about it, click here), no saw was available for us to use.

Other than the very first e-mail about the Unisaw redesign (which I received prior to the beginning of the Presidential primaries), no one who I knew of had heard a redesigned Unisaw run, except for the one saw that Scott Phillips demonstrated at the IWF show in Atlanta. Well, now you can rest assured. The saw does run and it sounds great!

Assembly was fairly easy. I was frustrated when I couldn’t find the instructions for assembling the extension table. I scampered into the office to watch the included DVD (although it wouldn’t take a master’s degree to figure out what went where). After opening all the boxes, I did find a guide that detailed the installation of the table, fence and rails boxed with the Biesemeyer fence. (I was like a kid in a candy store , anxious to get this saw powered up, so I kind of skipped a few steps here and there , like unpacking all the boxes before I got started with assembly.)

As I worked toward the end of the assembly process, I found an innovative installation for the front tube of the fence system. On all the other table saw fence systems I’ve assembled, I’ve had to position the front tube, then reach up from the tube’s underside to install the bolts that hold things secure. On the Unisaw, you insert the bolts through the front rail from the top side, then turn a serrated flange nut just onto the bolt. From there, you remove an end cap from the tube and slide the tube over the bolt heads. Once the tube is aligned, it’s a matter of tightening the bolts. It’s very easy to do, but you have to have the room to complete the task.

Additionally, I had to tweak the settings on the fence system to get the unit sliding smooth and locking tight. My first impression is that there is a fine line between achieving both. I’ll look more closely at that in the future.

I couldn’t help but make a few cuts with this saw when I had the assembly complete. I ran a piece of maple , tiger maple, of course , and it felt like a hot knife going through butter. (Yes, your old beater feels great when you install a new sharp blade, but this felt better than that.) Over the next few months, we will get the chance to work day-in and day-out on this saw and we’ll share our findings (good and bad) in the August 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking. Look for it!

– Glen D. Huey

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Showing 9 comments
  • Xavier

    Good Day. A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.
    I am from Islands and bad know English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Find our best deals for turbo tax software at nextag."

    With best wishes :P, Xavier.

  • Chris

    Glen,
    It was Denny Lumber. I have bought several items from them over the years. I live over 40 miles away, so I do not get there as often as I would like to. I am going to have a lot more work than just assembling the Unisaw. The saw it is replacing is built into a large outfeed table & also has an Excaluber sliding table mounted on the it.
    I will keep you up to date on my progress.
    Chris

  • Glen

    Wow, Chris, you must have been impressed. I assume you were at Denny Lumber? If so, I’ve purchased from them on mny occasions. Please contact me if you have questions and please keep us informed as you set up the tool and your first thoughts as well.
    Thanks,Glen

  • Chris

    Thanks Glen,
    I enjoyed reading your first entry on the saw & I thought I was going to have to wait until I attended the Popular Woodworking Show in May to see the new Unisaw in person. I found out that a Dealer in Middletown, OH had one on display Saturday.
    I got to take a good look at it. I was so impressed with it that I bought one. I will be picking it up Tuesday. I may have some questions for you once I start setting it up.
    Chris

  • Dave

    I’ve only been woodworking for about three years and am still on a very long learning curve. However I have been waiting for the announcement that the Unisaw saw is now available retail. Since I hope to make this saw my second – and last – table saw purchase can you think of any reason why (other than the $$)I would buy the 3hp over the 5hp? And I am looking forward to the August issue including a videeo as requested above by Mike)

  • glen

    Brian,
    Thanks for the thought. That is valuable information that has passed by most reviewers. I will make it a point to mention those figures in my review.

    Roger,
    The footprint of the Unisaw is 22-3/4" x 27-3/4" if my measuring sticks are straight. The best method to lift a saw or other machinery onto a mobile base is to have a friend’s help – he may not be a friend after the job, though. When I’ve done this work while alone, I found a way to jocky the machine onto one edge of the mobile base, then move around to the opposite side and hold a foot against the base as I pulled the tool into position. It’s not easy. Please watch your toes.

    Glen

  • Roger Pogue

    I plan on getting one, and I also plan on putting it on a wheeled base. I understand it’s very heavy. Any thoughts about how to lift it onto the wheeled base?

    Would you also send the footprint dimensions to me?

    Thank you

  • Brian Whittaker

    I look forward to your review of the new Unisaw. I would like to request that you include an important but rarely available piece of information for stationary power tools: what is the narrowest doorway or stairway that the saw can pass through. For those of us with basement workshops and narrow stairways that is the most decisive statistic.

  • Mike Lingenfelter

    I hope the upcoming magazine article will also include a video! We want to hear and see it run too!

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