dewalt amf gwi RAS with rockwell motor?

[Stephen Lawrence]

I've come across a dewalt AMF GWI RAS on craigslist for $150. It is in great shape. It also has the saber saw attachment, which is a bit of a novelty. I was a bit surprised to see a Rockwell motor on it (14/7 amps, continuous duty). Is this a red flag? It looks like a motor from a delta/rockwell turret RAS. I didn't see any immediate problem with the setup. Does anybody know if these motors are generally interchangeable?

[Cary Falk]

I'm not an expert but I would say a rockwell motor on a GWI would be odd. I know that some frames and motors can be swapped within the DeWalt/AMF/B&D family. Here is what the motor looks like on my GWI. If you are looking for a working RAS, that is not period correct and the motor is big enough then I would probably take a look at it. I would make sure the motor saw[ doesn not cause any issues with function and alignment. If it is not and original motor I would think the asking price is a little high.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/DSC_0537.jpg

[HANK METZ]

The DeWalt GWI was manufactured from 1954- 1959. it's frame 196 motor swung a 10" blade although it was capable of turning a 12" one also. The 1-1/2 h.p. motor was 120/ 240 volts, drawing 14/ 7 amps. Funny the frankensaw got it right on that parameter, and it's just about an impossibility the DeWalt jigsaw attachment could be married up to the Rockwell motor. Unless you have seen this thing in person and can verify the swap, I'd suspect an image selection error in it's posting was the real answer.

- Beachside Hank
Do not use remaining fingers as push sticks.

[Stephen Lawrence]

Ha, "Frankensaw". I was thinking the same thing!

I actually saw this one in person, so I'm sure it is a rockwell motor on the gwi. I told the guy I would get back to him. Good point about the saber saw attachment. I'll see if by some luck it mounts, but your right. Odds are slim. Maybe I can sell it on ebay or something if I decide to buy.

Another thing was that the bevel adjustment had a bit of play when the lock was open, but the stop pin was still in. I'm not sure this is normal. It appeared that the motor had the dewalt AMF GWI arbor mount attached to it. The blade guard was definitely the gwi guard, which appeared to attach just fine to the Rockwell motor.

I also want to make sure the blade guard is offset correctly as to accept a dado. Any idea if these RAS's usually accept a full (13/16) dado stack?

-Steve

[Stephen Lawrence]

After checking it out again, I decided to skip it. The GWI blade guard poorly attached to the Rockwell motor, making for a tilted skewed guard that would not accommodate a dado stack. I'm sure I could have made an adapter of some sort, but I don't have the time and didn't want to take the chance. Oh well. Otherwise, it was actually a pretty nice saw. As expected, the saber saw attachment was not a good fit. It mounted the same way as the blade guard, and had the same tilted offset issue.