Buying guides
Read one of these before you buy. They cover checking a used machine from the listing photos to the first cut, running a three-phase motor on house power, dating Delta and Powermatic iron by serial number, the Unisaw against the Powermatic 66, which Craftsman contractor saws to restore, and getting a heavy machine home. New to old iron? Start with how to check one.
How to check a used woodworking machine
What to look at in the listing photos, what to ask the seller and what to check on arrival, from the motor plate to runout, cast iron, missing parts and wiring.
Read the guide →Single-phase, three-phase and VFDs: powering an old machine
How to tell a three-phase motor from a single-phase one, what static converters, rotary converters and VFDs do, and how to wire a dual-voltage motor.
Read the guide →Dating old iron by serial number
How to read the serial numbers, nameplates and paint on Delta, Rockwell, Powermatic, Craftsman, Walker-Turner and Oliver machines to tell when they were built.
Read the guide →Powermatic 66 vs Delta Unisaw
How the two classic American cabinet saws compare on motors, drive, trunnions, fences, weight and parts, how to date each one, and how to choose between them.
Read the guide →Craftsman 113 machines: which ones to buy and restore
What Craftsman's 113 model numbers mean, how to tell a belt-drive contractor saw from a benchtop one, what the radial arm saw recall covers, and what to check.
Read the guide →Getting a heavy machine home: pickup, freight and rigging
What old machines weigh, how to strip one down, when a trailer beats freight, what a liftgate can lift, and how to crate a machine for LTL freight.
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