Old Bandsaw Motor Problems

[Derek Duncan]

I have a very old bandsaw and motor. Right now, the motor still works - kind of. When I turn on the band saw, it take about 5 sec to get up to speed, which it did not do a few days ago. Next, I can saw for about 15 sec until the motor starts to smoke. I don't know if I should go for a different motor(I can't find an identical one anywhere) or see if I can fix it.
I do not know what is wrong with the motor and did not know if anyone could guess.
Here is the manual for it:
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=2920

Thanks,
Derek

[Bob Coleman]

I would suggest asking at owwm dot org, those guys will know an awful lot about motors.

One thing to check is the oil level, or did someone pack the bearings with grease years ago, which may have dried out, been wiped off the bearings, etc?

[James Heisbert]

Obviously, the motor is not in good shape. I think you should change that motor or drop it to a shop to fix it.

[Myk Rian]

Are you sure it's a motor problem, and not tight wheel bearings?
Is 1/3hp enough for it?

[Carroll Courtney]

Once the motor shuts off,is it hot to the touch?Try removing the blade and run it without the blade or remove the belt to see if theres a difference.On old motors sometimes the grease will turn hard(lack of better word) and will need to be taken apart and clean of old grease and yrs of sawdust,maybe it just needs new brushes.Before taking the motor apart take a punch and mark the end bells(one dot on one end,two on the other) related to the motor housing to help put it back togeather the way it came apart.good luck-----Carroll

[Bill Bukovec]

Does the motor have a single "click" after you turn it off and the speed slows down?

Your switch for the start windings may be stuck in the closed position. This would result in a hot, smoking motor.

Also, are there any capacitors on the motor?

It may be easier just to buy a new motor

Good luck,

Bill

[Floyd Mah]

I have an import metal bandsaw that was very difficult to start, after initially working well. The symptoms were a slow start when cold and then suddenly gaining speed finally when warm. The motor heated up because of the starting conditions. I finally figured out that the top wheel was poorly lubricated and presented a big load when cold. The way to diagnose this as a cause of your problem is to take the blade off, or just reduce the tension until it is no longer tight. Turn the machine on. If the motor spins up to speed quickly, then you know that either the motor is weak or the load is too great for the otherwise working motor. If you find that the motor gets up to speed rapidly without a load, then turn the wheels to see if they turn freely without the motor or the blade loading them. Ordinarily the wheels should turn freely without a load. If that is the case (turning freely), then the motor is weak. If the wheels turn poorly, then you need to inspect them further and replace bearings or perform needed lubrication. By the way, initially I thought that the gear box lubrication was too heavy when cold and wasted time addressing that. It's best to check the easy stuff first as I've outlined above.

[Dick Strauss]

The motor might be full of sawdust as well. Try blowing it our if you can with compressed air...

[Derek Duncan]

Ok thanks for the suggestions. The motor has worked fine until now. I had used it consecuatively 2 days after it had sat in the garage for the year. It worked great until I was sawing a piece of wood and I heard it start to work really fast. I started to smell a smell and then a few seconds later it started to smoke. The motor was hot to touch. I don't know if this helps to narrow it down.
Thanks,
Derek

[Carroll Courtney]

Guessing that the windings got so hot that the varnish started to melt(smoke) off the windings which means that its toast.If you want a motor around the same vintage look on the auction site or over at owwm.I have a BS around the 50's,but I wanted it to just work so I went w/a 3/4hp Dayton.A 1/2hp would have work but I wanted alittle extra.If you do go this route,take this opportunity to learn alittle about motors and take it apart,checking for a cause why the motor got hot.Pass the info here so we all can learn something-----Carroll

[Derek Duncan]

ok thanks. Do you have a link? I couldnt find any motors when I was looking :p