Band saw motor replacement.

[silver]

Recently I have had a motor fail on my bandsaw.

Its an SIP 14" which isn't that old and everything is working well apart from the motor.

It has two speed via the belt change, I tend to use it on the high speed most of the time, however when I do change to low speed it always seems too slow for what I need.

The band saw for me is the "go too" machine and does 95%of my cutting.

So, here is the quandary that wanted to pass it by you knowledgeable members on here.

Do I go VFD or do I stick to the stock replacement?

I know the costs are going to be higher than a stock replacement but as I already have a spare 1.5kw inverter I was wondering if it was worth the pain of converting it.

Answers on a postcard please....

 

[Neil]

Haven’t got any postcards which is just as well cos I haven’t a scooby what the hell youre on about Eamonn.

 

[silver]

Haven’t got any postcards which is just as well cos I haven’t a scooby what the hell youre on about Eamonn.

Do I go with a variable speed conversion or stick to a stock fixed speed motor Neil.....

 

[Curly]

Is the existing sick motor a single phase or a three phase? If a single phase make sure it isn't something simple like the starting capacitor being burnt out. You can check by spinning it and then turning on the switch. If it runs you would only need to replace the capacitor, not terribly expensive. Now if it is a three phase and the blue smoke is gone, getting another delta wound 220V motor makes sense if you want to play with different speeds for metal and wood cutting. The VFD will change the 220V single phase over to three phase that you can vary the speed with. Single phase motors are generally more expensive than a three phase and the expense of a decent VFD from China added to the new three phase wouldn't be hugely more than the single phase motor.

Pete

 

[silver]

Is the existing sick motor a single phase or a three phase? If a single phase make sure it isn't something simple like the starting capacitor being burnt out. You can check by spinning it and then turning on the switch. If it runs you would only need to replace the capacitor, not terribly expensive. Now if it is a three phase and the blue smoke is gone, getting another delta wound 220V motor makes sense if you want to play with different speeds for metal and wood cutting. The VFD will change the 220V single phase over to three phase that you can vary the speed with. Single phase motors are generally more expensive than a three phase and the expense of a decent VFD from China added to the new three phase wouldn't be hugely more than the single phase motor.

Pete

Thanks Pete,

exsisting stock sick motor is s single phase, hence the reason for asking if it's worth converting it to a three phase.

checked out the capacitor when it first failed, had electrical engineer put a megger test on it and the windings goosed.

The main reason I asked was if it was worth doing, but sounds tho it may be cheaper as I already have a 1.5kw inverter in the workshop anyway..

Not looked at motor pricing as yet beacause of health reasons been struggling for a few months and now the lockdown has hindered a few things..

Thanks for your reply tho.. much appreciated.

 

[Dalboy]

Why would you need a slow speed to cut wood as with many saws the two speeds are high for wood and the slow speed if you intend to use it for metal cutting (with the correct blade)

 

[Penpal]

Second hand motors abound over here especially three phase because the average user does not have three phase. Band saws are so easy to adapt other motors They stick out like frogs legs. Now I agree use the three phase you should pick up easiest and whack the inverter and you can then use the saw for cutting metal as well. Have fun I would mate. Kind regards mate.

Peter.

 

[Lons]

Hi Eamonn hope your health is improving, just stay safe in the current climate!

Unless your motor shorted when it should have blown a fuse or smelled of burning it's unlikely to be that serious a fault especially as you say it isn't old. The most likely issues are as said capacitor which is a common failure, brushes, worn or dirty or a broken wire / connection.
If you feel up to it my advice would be take it off, remove the brushes give the whole thing a good clean and blast with air if you have a compressor then test wires for continuity and check all connections. Motors are pretty simple really.
As Derek said, why do you need variable speed? My last bandsaw had that and I never changed it just as I don't for my 2 speed Startrite now.

 

[pittswood]

I have never changed the speed on my band saw, only the saw blade itself. Mine is a 10 inch throat saw. I have blades from 6mm to 15mm, and with two different cut blade styles.
Kelvin

 

[21William]

Why would you need a slow speed to cut wood as with many saws the two speeds are high for wood and the slow speed if you intend to use it for metal cutting (with the correct blade)

The slow speed on wood cutting bandsaws is still far to fast to cut metal even with a HSS blade. It’s an issue that comes up regularly as lots of folks would like to cut light alloys on their bandsaws. There was a guy who fitted a new pulley so he could cut wood and metal but I can’t find the link. Here’s a metal cutting conversion though:

Access Denied

 

[Dalboy]

The slow speed on wood cutting bandsaws is still far to fast to cut metal even with a HSS blade. It’s an issue that comes up regularly as lots of folks would like to cut light alloys on their bandsaws. There was a guy who fitted a new pulley so he could cut wood and metal but I can’t find the link. Here’s a metal cutting conversion though:

Access Denied

I have not tried the slower speed for metal cutting as I never had the need to cut metal that requires this but it is what is stated in the blurb on the machine. But I do find that the faster speed is ideal for all of my wood cutting from blanks to thin stock like most things with the correct blade.

 

[silver]

Why would you need a slow speed to cut wood

Exactly why I was asking this question as with my motor up the duff then was hoping to pick the "old" brains on here to see if it was worthwhile.

Hi Eamonn hope your health is improving, just stay safe in the current climate!

Unless your motor shorted when it should have blown a fuse or smelled of burning it's unlikely to be that serious a fault especially as you say it isn't old. The most likely issues are as said capacitor which is a common failure, brushes, worn or dirty or a broken wire / connection.
If you feel up to it my advice would be take it off, remove the brushes give the whole thing a good clean and blast with air if you have a compressor then test wires for continuity and check all connections. Motors are pretty simple really.
As Derek said, why do you need variable speed? My last bandsaw had that and I never changed it just as I don't for my 2 speed Startrite now.

Thanks Bob, wouldn't say improving but not deteriorating is the main result t the min.
I have been cutting some big stuff recently, even with the 3tpi 1" blades its taken its toll on the motor. it started to smell a little so left the motor to cool down with the saw running. which went away all good., however when I went to restart the motor it kept taking the RCD out.

The motor is off, I checked out the capacitor and the windings with an Ohm meter and wasn't happy with the results. Also checked and cleaned the stator and checked the brushes and all looked OK.

I got electrical engineer tested it with a Megger (before the lockdown) and its down on the main coil.

I was just looking at options as sometimes I felt that the 2nd speed was a little fast for some of the stuff and the low speed too slow when I was cutting.

Just wondered if anyone on here with their vast knowledge had used a variable speed band saw. But guess it seems limited in the UK.

I may just replace the stock motor for simplicity, just didn't want to miss something especially while its already off.

Thanks for the replies tho

 

[silver]

Second hand motors abound over here especially three phase because the average user does not have three phase. Band saws are so easy to adapt other motors They stick out like frogs legs. Now I agree use the three phase you should pick up easiest and whack the inverter and you can then use the saw for cutting metal as well. Have fun I would mate. Kind regards mate.

Peter.

Thanks for the reply Peter,
I rarely need to cut metal but mainly cut hardwoods.

I have a few big pieces of an Oak beam from an old cotton mill and at times I think it is steel.

Converted a few things to 3 phase over the years and still have an inverter from my old metal lathe. No longer have the metal lathe tho and sold it with the single phase on. The 3 phase motor off that has the wrong bed plate otherwise that would go on it.

Nice to catch up with you again.

 

[wm460]

Cutting metal on a wood bandsaw, I would be paranoid of a spark setting some saw dust alight.

Probably just from growing up in a grain growing area, where a spark could start a fire at harvest time, farmers worst nightmare.

 

[bigbob]

I would stick to standard motor the slow speed on a Bandsaw for wood as far as I know is for cutting plastic and acrylic sheet as the lower speed stops melting caused by friction.