upgrade from Delta 9" 34-600?

[betamax]

So for years I’ve been using my grandpas 1960 delta Rockwell 9” 34-600 tilting arbor. Upgraded the fence finally to a biesemeyer that I got for $75. Saw is a 1 hp and with the fence upgrade made it much more enjoyable to use. Sentimentality aside, I found a later Rockwell 10” tilting arbor saw, with full cast iron wings. Looks to be an updated version of what I have now (full cast iron extensions but visually almost identical), same look almost exactly except 10” and a 27” deep table by 35" wide vs. 22” by 25" (without the wooden extension I put on) . I like the old delta cast iron saws, but was wondering if it’s worth the switch? The newer saw has a more powerful motor I think. I would move the biesemeyer fence over if I made the switch. 9” blades are expense and not common, but I did get some new ones a while back. Sometimes I put an 8 1/2 on it. Thoughts?

[EvilTwin]

Welcome aboard.  You sound like an OWWM guy, going from a old delta to a Rockwell.  In any case, I would probably agree with the swap. This is another contractor style saw?  Should be a 1.5 or 2 hp motor on the bigger saw and a larger table is always nice to have.  Sentimentality would be the only reason to keep the smaller saw.  Good luck.

[betamax]

Yes, it's another contractor style saw, pretty sure the motor is more powerful, too.  I was toying with the idea of swapping some of the parts like handwheels over, to keep some of the old saw and have it live on, as silly as that may sound.  I think the newer saw is a 34-400, but yes, the table is much bigger, with more infeed.

[TDKPE]

Does it have solid extensions? My '68 catalog shows solid extensions for even the 9" CS, but by '73 waffle grid extensions were showing up. I won't own a saw with those finger biters.

Oh, and if memory serves, the solid Unisaw extensions were the same as those for the 10" CS, at least for some generations. And I think left and right were the same, at least back in the day.

[betamax]

Yup, it has solid extensions. The seller said it was purchased in '77 but that doesn't mean it wasn't an older model. I'd post pics of mine and the new one but this site is picky about file size

[TDKPE]

I'm guessing it was not new, then. 1977 was in the Rockwell International era, but my 1973 catalog (still Rockwell/Delta era) shows the 34-338 10" Contractor's Saw with waffle wings. $269.99, without motor. The 1-1/2 hp 52-494 motor for that saw was $109.99, by the way. That's $1879 in today's dollars, by the way.


If you like the 9" Builder's Saw (34-643 in my '73 catalog), I'd say go for the 10". The table is the same size as the Unisaw, and 1-1/2 hp is plenty for most work, and adequate for heavy ripping if you use the proper blade and let the motor do its work. Save the 9" for a relative just getting started, or for a second house later on, or whatever. You'd be surprised how small you can make something if you want to. Flare legs unbolt (unless they're very very old, when they were welded), tops and motors removed, and things hung from rafters if necessary.

I dragged my almost antique 230 amp Linde welding machine that I bought new in high school around for decades before plugging it in again, so I could teach first one son, then the other, to weld. Glad I never sold it. Heavy beast, though.

[TDKPE]

p.s. I'm using my Grandpa's 12" Craftsman band saw (103.0103, if memory serves) from the 40's. It ain't great, but it's good enough for my needs, with CI wheels and a wooden stand he made. So I know what you mean about sentimental value.

[betamax]

I've been trying to get the model number, but have been unsuccessful. It looks to be like a 34-400 but clearly says "Rockwell 10" tilting arbor saw" and has rectangular start stop buttons to the right of the tilt scale, and has solid wings

[TDKPE]

If the photos are too big, open them with MS Office Picture Manager and resize them to something like 640 x 480 in an instant.  Save to another name if you don't want to wreck a photo (I usually just add 'reduced' to the name for future reference), which will be well within the size limit, then upload.

If it's the 34-400 then it's a solid machine, IMO.  I don't know what changes were made over the years, but that 10" contractor's saw was made for a very long time.

[betamax]

Here's pictures of my 34-600 and the "maybe" 34-400