Radial arm tripped breaker on the saw. Can't reset. Bypass?

[dirk martin]

I've got a 10" Craftsman radial arm, that I got for $100 a couple of years ago.
Not a real strong motor, but it works, if I cut slow.

Today, cutting Bloodwood pen blanks, the motor stalled when I was a bit too aggressive, and I shut it off right away.

I've had this happen in the past, and I press the reset button on top of the saw, and I'm off and running again.
This time, no amount of pressing that reset button works.

I've got the saw open now.
I want to manually bypass that reset switch.
There's 4 wires going to it. Brown, Black, Red, Blue. The Red and Blue are on the same terminal.

What wires should I connect, to bypass the reset button?

[Jim Matthews]

Somebody call the fire department.
Safety switches are not optional equipment.

Would you drive a car without brakes?

[Doug Colombo]

Somebody call the fire department.
Safety switches are not optional equipment.


+1 to Jim's comment. I had the breaker go on my 30 year old Craftsman RAS - pulled the motor and had the breaker replaced. I can't recall the cost, but it was less than a new motor. The saw has been running great ever since (at least 20 years).

[Mark Ashmeade]

You may want to consider why the reset tripped, and correct that problem before proceeding. Many's the fire that was caused by replacing a constantly-blowing fuse with something that wasn't going to blow. The fuses and breakers go for a reason, not because they feel like it.

If it all goes to rats, then just buy another CMan. They're five-a-dime on CL. Even better, get two. Send one to Emerson for $100, and get the recall kit off the other one. Then you'll have a replacement motor, new guard, new table and $100 in your back pocket.

[phil harold]

If it all goes to rats, then just buy another CMan. They're five-a-dime on CL. Even better, get two. Send one to Emerson for $100, and get the recall kit off the other one. Then you'll have a replacement motor, new guard, new table and $100 in your back pocket.

the recall is my first thought!

http://radialarmsawrecall.com/

[Dave Zellers]

If the motor was warm when the breaker tripped, it won't reset until it cools off.

[dirk martin]

You may want to consider why the reset tripped, and correct that problem before proceeding. Many's the fire that was caused by replacing a constantly-blowing fuse with something that wasn't going to blow. The fuses and breakers go for a reason, not because they feel like it.

If it all goes to rats, then just buy another CMan. They're five-a-dime on CL. Even better, get two. Send one to Emerson for $100, and get the recall kit off the other one. Then you'll have a replacement motor, new guard, new table and $100 in your back pocket.

The breaker blows because I pull it through the wood too fast.
Like I said, it's because I get too aggressive sometimes with my repetitive cuts, and it's a small motor.
It's not because of any fault within the saw.

[Myk Rian]

Do you have a thin kerf blade on it? That always helps with low power saws.

[Doug Colombo]

The breaker blows because I pull it through the wood too fast.
Like I said, it's because I get too aggressive sometimes with my repetitive cuts, and it's a small motor.
It's not because of any fault within the saw.

That was the same thing that happened to me - "operator error" not machine issue. :eek:

And Dave is correct - if it is hot it will not reset.

[Joseph Tarantino]

The breaker blows because I pull it through the wood too fast.
Like I said, it's because I get too aggressive sometimes with my repetitive cuts, and it's a small motor.
It's not because of any fault within the saw.

what is the model number of th esaw? my 10" c-man RAS, which dates from the 60s, has only stalled when too aggressively hogging out too much material with an 8" stack dado blade. just how hard are those pen blanks?

[Kirk Poore]

Have you checked to make sure the motor is getting power? Maybe the circuit breaker in your panel popped. If you have power, have you checked inside the box to make sure your overload is what's actually stopping it? Maybe a wire is loose, or your capacitor or relay (whichever this saw has) has fried. Of course, maybe the overload just died. I think you can bypass it, but only to test.

Kirk

[Neil Brooks]

Get out your multimeter.

If it's the saw's breaker, it will not pass power from one side to the other.

If it's the motor, it won't create power on the motor side of the saw's overload protection.

If it's the house breaker, you won't get power at the outlet.

If it's the motor, and you CAN fire it up, it'll draw more than the rated amps, wherever you read it.

All but the last should be fixed by resetting or replacing the relevant breaker.

The last will require some motor work -- cleaning, at the very least.

Nah. If it were me, I wouldn't run it without diagnosing it, first, and -- in ANY case -- would NEVER bypass the circuit protection.

But ... that's me ;)

[Aaron Berk]

Sounds like the perfect opportunity for a bigger RAS :cool:

I used to stall out my 10" C-man as well. Now I got a 14" Dewalt, it WON'T stall :D it eats wood and asks for more.

I also used to stall out my little bench top TS many moons ago, then I got a contractor saw, then I stalled it, then I got a baldor motor upgrade :D I sold it for other reasons.
Now I have a 5hp cabinet saw, I'll be darned if I stall it. That would really be a scary day.

So don't bypass that RAS, toss it out and get an old Dewalt. Trust me when I say you'll thank me later, and for way more reasons than just a better motor.

[dirk martin]

It's certainly cooled off by now, guys.....
I do recall the breaker not resetting a few days ago, until it cooled....but it's been 6 hours now, so it's cooled.
Thin kerf blade is smart.....if I can ever get it going again.

[Mark Ashmeade]

+1 on a bigger RAS. My longarm Delta sits there sniggering at the RIDGID (Emerson/Craftsman) across the shop.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Most motor repair places can replace the overload switch. I think that Grainger also stocks them.

[Lee Schierer]

Have you tried cleaning the reset switch. Dust gets into them and causes problems. I had similar problems with the on off switch on mine. Try blowing it out with compressed air.

[Alan Muller]

Something like this is happening on my DeWalt RAS--if the overload pops and takes hours before I can reset it. Check for a cracked housing, fouling with dust. If the overload (or switch) is full of dust, some may fall into the contact area and prevent proper closing.

IMO, you shouldn't bypass the internal "klixon" overload unless you install some sort of external thermal protection--usually a motor starter with heaters. This will usually be more trouble and expense than just replacing the overload and likely gives inferior motor protection: The internal overload is somewhat sensitive to both overcurrent and actual motor temperatures. The starter box heaters only know about current, and a motor can overheat without exceeding its current limits if the air passages are plugged, the fan is loose, etc.

[Bill White]

I'll sell ya some fire insurance for $100.00. "Course it won't cover anything related to anything.
Bill