I feel robbed

[Darius Ferlas]

Just kidding.

I installed a riser kit in my 14" General BS and it turns out that I now lost about 1 1/2" so my saw is no longer a 14" one, but rather a 12 1/2. I will surely get over it but I do have some questions concerning the motor.

I'm looking to replace the 1HP factory installed motor and get a farm duty replacement. I have been pondering a 1 1/2 (17.5 apms) or a 2HP. Not sure about the amperage of the bigger one.

So I would like to appeal to the collective experience and wisdom of the SMC:

- would 1 1/2 HP be sufficient, given that I wouldn't normally resaw 12" pieces when I have a plane to catch and time is of essence?

- if the answer to the above is no, would a 2HO motor be an overkill for those rare occasions?

[Chris Nolin]

I'm confused about how you lost 1-1/2". Are you saying the throat depth decreased because of some kind of added obstruction from the riser block or blade guard? Do you have a picture? Regarding the motor hp, 1.5 should be all you'll ever need on a 14" BS. 2.0 means you're using 220v, too, which may prove inconvenient depending on your shop layout.

[Darius Ferlas]

Chris, the main body of the riser block is the same as the column holding the upper and lower wheel assembly together, but the two are connected by a collar/foot which are wider and longer. Kind of a base. Before, that base was a little below the surface of the table. Now it is above the table, and since it has a larger footprint the distance between the blade and the riser block is limited by that foot print. I don't have a picture here, I may post it later today.

And yes, I do have 220@20amp circuits in my garage.

[Howard Acheson]

Did you buy the riser block from General? If so, what did they say?

Couldn't you grind off a little on the part of the riser base that is higher than the table?

[Mike Harrison]

I put a 3 horse motor on my BS several years ago, and it doesn't seem to have hurt it any.

[John TenEyck]

If you are going to have to buy a new motor, I'd go for the 2HP one on the guess that it won't cost much more than a 1.5 HP one. 1 HP = 760 Watts. Amps = Watts/Volts, so at 110 V a 1HP motor draws 6.9 amps and a 2 HP one will draw 13.8 amps. At 220 V, it's half the amp draw. You should have no trouble running a 2 HP motor on a dedicated 110 V, 20 amps line, but you could just as easily run it on 220 V if that offers you some advantage. I have a 1.5 HP motor on my bandsaw, and it occassionally struggles while resawing at it's full 6" depth of cut. With a bandsaw I don't think you can ever have too much HP. Better unneeded than unavailable.

[Matt Meiser]

I just updated my Delta to a 1-1/2HP Farm Duty Leeson. Haven't used it much, but it made a big difference. I went 1-1/2 so it could stay 110.

[Darius Ferlas]

Howard,

The riser kit is from General but I got it with the BS when I bought it on garage sale. The kit was never installed and the saw looked like it was use perhaps once. I looked at the upgraded saw a bit closer and it appears that grinding is a no go. It turns out that the riser block's collar and foot are not that much bigger than its main body. I could perhaps grind away safely less than 1/2".

I may call General but I think all I'll hear will be a polite form of "oh, bummer".


1 HP = 760 Watts. Amps = Watts/Volts, so at 110 V a 1HP motor draws 6.9 amps and a 2 HP one will draw 13.8 amps. At 220 V, it's half the amp draw. You should have no trouble running a 2 HP motor on a dedicated 110 V, 20 amps line, but you could just as easily run it on 220 V if that offers you some advantage. I have a 1.5 HP motor on my bandsaw, and it occassionally struggles while resawing at it's full 6" depth of cut.
John, are you sure about the specs?
I was told by a fella from a motor service shop my 10amp is not true 1HP as, according to him, for 1HP th draw would be about 12amps. The 1 1/2 HP I asked about draws 17.5amps and a 2HP over 24amps. I have a bunch of 220 circuits so tha would not be a show stopper for me.



I just updated my Delta to a 1-1/2HP Farm Duty Leeson. Haven't used it much, but it made a big difference. I went 1-1/2 so it could stay 110.
That's what's been suggested to me too regarding the 1.5HP and the motor quoted is also farm duty. Not sure what a difference is between that and a non-farm duty(?).

Anyway, I took a shot at it with my 1HP tonight, resawing 8/4 cherry, 11" and the length was 5 feet. I used a 3T 1/2" blade. It was a little bit of a struggle because of the weight and I was too lazy to set up support on either side of the BS table. It went through alright and it was a pretty good cut too, but I was close to stalling the motor a couple of times when I thought I could push it a little faster. I am definitely getting a bigger motor

1.5HP looks like 75% more power than I have now, 2HP would be still within my budget. I guess I'll just toss a coin before I spend it. Unless I go for 1.5HP@220 I will also have to change a few feet of wiring (it's 16awg) and perhaps the switch to match the amperage load.

Thanks to all for your responses.

[Phil Thien]

Is there any chance the riser is upside down?

[Matt Meiser]

Not sure what a difference is between that and a non-farm duty(?).

I didn't find much, but from what I did, they are better sealed for poor environments and rated for 100% duty cycle--neither of which is a bad thing.

I got mine from ElectricMotorSite.com.

[Darius Ferlas]

Thanks Matt.
Online retailers were my first choice but my existing motor has a non-standard mount. Given zero experience with that and no proper tools for the job I will be buying from a local guy who can adapt the mount to the new motor. Also, the "farm" part seems to be echoing well in this case since he's been servicing farmers where I commute to work.


Is there any chance the riser is upside down?
There is always that chance but the sticker on the riser block is pretty clear.

196124 196125

[Matt Meiser]

What does the mount look like? I'm surprised a 14" bandsaw has a non-standard motor.

[Darius Ferlas]

Again, picture worth lotsa words:

196126 196127

[Myk Rian]

My 2001 Delta 14" had a 1hp motor. It had struggling issues when re-sawing.
My 1966 model has a 1/2hp motor. It re-saws with no problems at all.
Must be the new and improved hp rating systems.

[Matt Meiser]

Again, picture worth lotsa words:

That is wierd!

[Bruce Kohl]

I have the same issue with my 14" Rockwell with the riser block. Looks just the same as in your photo, and the result was to lose about an inch or so of the throat depth. That's the price you pay for increasing the resaw height of a 14" saw with a riser block.

I replaced the original 1/2 hp motor on mine with a 1 hp Baldor, and the saw does reasonably well resawing hardwoods in the 6 - 8" range, but you have to go slow. I have a friend who put a 1 1/2 hp motorr on his 14" and it does seem to cut a bit faster than mine. I have the old style enclosed base so I was concerned about fitting a 1 1/2 hp motor in the space I had, which is the reason I went with the 1 hp. If you have the space to fit it go with the larger motor, as the added cost of the motor will be small. My friend also added double belt pulleys which also seemed to increase the power to the blade.

[Myk Rian]

I just realized my Delta lost some width with the riser. You just had to bring it up, didn't you. :(

[Chip Lindley]

You are lucky (in a respect) that yours is a C-face motor. Doubtful a 2Hp motor would fit inside an enclosed base. One won't on my Delta 14" BS! I am limited to 1.5Hp.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=196127&d=1306595907&thumb=1

2Hp is the way to go (on 230V) if the face-mount is a standard configuration, and the shaft will mate with your existing drive train. You will have to pull your existing motor and measure shaft diameter/length and bolt hole spacing/thread size, before going motor hunting. Good Luck!

~Chip~

[Matt Meiser]

I was wondering if that was a C-face motor, but it looks to me like the bracket is actually the end cap of the motor, not just bolted to a C-face motor.