rockwell table saw,is this worth buying
alwaysoverbudget
| Posted in Tools for Home Building on
this is on graigslist http://wichita.craigslist.org/tls/738492238.html . i have always wanted a pretty good table saw,used to be the only way to get one was to buy a old one.but with all these portables out there that do a pretty darn good job,i’m kinda undecided. spend this or spend a little more and have something portable that folds up out of the way.
let me know what ya think ,old cast iron or new lightweight portable? larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there’s not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
Replies
my father has one, works great!
Looks like a Unisaw table and fence set up.
Probably a decent deal, he'll take $150 betcha.
Joe H
I thought all the Rockwell tools were shades of gray. I wonder why it would be repainted and what that implies about how and where it has been used.
Larry I bought a sears 10" table saw in mid eighties.
It has a cast iron top
The plastic handwheels broke.
These are the handwheels you use to raise and lower the blade or to tilt the blade
So I replaced the handwheels with vise grips
I bought the table saw with the cable drive and have had to replace the cable once.
I should have bought one with a belt drive. (maybe they don't even make the cable drive anymore?)
A table saw takes up a lot of room in my one car garage. That's always been a pain
Also, get one with roller wheels
I have fought this one for all these years with no wheels
Mine is a one HP motor that develops into 2 HP and it gets bogged down if I rip a 2 X 4
Plus it pulls so much juice it will throw a breaker when it starts getting bogged down
Unless it's so old as to be a real antique, most Rockwell stuff is first rate. I still miss the little 3/8 hammer drill some junkie ripped me off for....
I've got it and it's a very good saw. Don't let anyone tell you it's even just slightly portable cause it ain't. It isn't a true production shop saw but it's perfect for home use and can be fitted with wheels. Mine is dual voltage and that one probably is too. Make sure the gears are in good shape for tilt and raising/lowering the blade. The handles on those adjustments are kinda cheap but hey the saw was only about $600 new so a 'unisaw' it isn't but it's a good second choice none the less.
looks like a sweet thang from here.
And a cheap date to boot!
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Larry
I have a 9" and a 10" Rockwell/Delta table saw just like the one you pictured. Both work great although I don't use either one much anymore.
built a lot of cabinets out of those saws.
Doug
I have one like that and use it most everyday. The motor can be re-wired to 220 which makes a big improvement in performance and capacity. The fence and the miter bar may need a little tweaking to operate accurately but they can be made dead on. There is a rubber bushing in the fence locking mechanism that often wears out. There is some vibration from the motor hanging off the back. Balanced pulleys and a link belt help a lot. Throat plate is the same as modern Delta cabinet saws. Hard working saw that is as close as a portable gets to a cabinet saw. I bought mine new as a jobsite saw in the 70's. It spends it's time in the shop now. Grab it at that price.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Looks like what they called the Bench Saw, all cast iron tables. I bought mine about 1978, still going strong. Used to haul it to the job, need help to do that now. Like the other poster said, wire motor to 220. I put a Power Twist V-belt on it this year. What a difference in smoothness. You can always upgrade the fence also.
John
If you want a saw for the shop, that's a good candidate. It's not something you'll wanna hoist in and out of the truck, tho.
Rockwell/Delta saws of that era were excellent tools. I'm still using my dad's 1950 Delta on a daily basis. Original motor; I've changed the driven pulley and the belt once. I know Dad changed the belt once or twice over the years, but nothing else. The saw is indestructible.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
you guys surprissed me,i figured it would e,go get a new bosch,it'll do everything that will do maybe better.
anyway i was on the fence,i've got a call in to him,we'll see how it works out,i'll let you know.if i don't like it the cast top might bring 75 for scrap.lol larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
You're right about that, the top weighs a ton.
It's the same as a 50s Unisaw top and rails.
Joe H
Larry I have seen some shops where they have two or more table saws one table saw is dedicated for dados
If you are getting ready to make a set of cabinets you will be cutting a rabbet joint in sides and tops which will allow you to attach your 1/4 ply back to the cabinet
Also You might be cutting dados in each cabinet on each cabinet side for where the bottom/shelf gets joined to side via a dado joint.
You could get things set up and cut all your pieces and then start cutting - kind of a mass production type of set up
It's a pain to change back and forth from dado blade to regular saw blade - back and forth etc.
You have to install the blade, then make a practice cut, reset the dado blade, etc etc etc
Also you're welcome to borrow my table saw - then you would have 2 or 3 saws going at the same time? - providing you're not using it to cut firewood, tree branches, concrete framing materials with dry concrete stuck to the boards, old wood with lots of nails where you are watching sparks fly through the air like a sparkler - hey that's an idea for fourth of July Sparklers
one of the reasons i haven't run out and grabbed the saw is i really don't need another one. i have a saw similar to this one ,but it has a 3/4 arbor and getting blades is a pain.then i have a ryobi that i use as a portable,it's a pretty good saw for what it is. then i have 2 other portables that i use for nasty stuff like hardie board etc. i can leave them at a rental and if someone steals them oh well.
i'm looking at this to replace my other old saw and get a 5/8 arbor.
hey how did the air turn out? it's starting to get a little warm around here now? larryif a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
Larry the heat and A/C tech is coming over today. This is the guy who installed it a year agoI'll let you know what transpires
Larry the a/c tech was here this morning and it was low on freonHe topped it off and I wrote a check for $74 and he was on his way.I'll see what happens over the next few days.I thought of something else regarding table saws.Sears had a small table saw for a c-note last weekend. It was on a stand. But the table top area is small I didn't look at the size of the motorsomething else to check when you look at a used table saw is to see how quickly you can change bladesThere is a throat plate and in the old days it just sat in placeI think the newer plates take more time to remove because of a machine screw holding it in placeWhen you look at a used table saw you could test it by raising the blade up and down and see how it feels.You can crank the handwheel and tilt the blade and see how it feels.When you want to set it back to 0 degrees, you should be able to crank it back and it should stop at 0 degrees which you would check with a square.If it's off, you would need to be able to adjust the stops so that you make these changes quicklyJust some things to think about.I'm looking at some high dollar saws priced at several thousand dollars. Wouldn't it be nice to buy one of those?
"- providing you're not using it to cut firewood, tree branches, concrete framing materials with dry concrete stuck to the boards, old wood with lots of nails where you are watching sparks fly through the air like a sparkler - hey that's an idea for fourth of July Sparklers"LOL! I have a 9" Rockwell/Delta Table saw that I got from my Grandpa. He got it from his brother who was in construction - Grandpa used it to cut up pallets and firewood to burn in the fireplace - then he gave it to me and I use it to build furniture. Grandpa saw that I put a new blade on it asked me why I put it on - I showed him the old blade with several of the carbide tips missing and all he said was "OH!"It's a great saw, but it is heavy!
Good saw and it appears to have a Vega fence. The fence is a real plus, I believe that fence has micro adjustments.
If the motor is 2 hp as the ad says, then I would say the price is fair.A 2hp motor and a Vega fence are worth more $170.00 ,even used. The saw is cast iron, wings too are solid not grated or stamped steel.Go for it.
mike
went and looked at the saw,did have the good fence,but it needed some work.the lever that locks it in place didn't function,cranks were both missing the handles ,and it needed just a good general tune up. i'm going to check in a week and see if he still has it,see if he'll take a hundred for it.if not no big deal. larryif a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
My dad had a cast iron saw. If you plan on moving this more often than taking it off your truck when you buy it, i'd say you're crazy.
I think alot of the new saw offer the tolerances that the cast saws did without he weight. Granted you have to do some tweaking, but i'd rather adjust the fence than my back.