Sears 10 inch Cabinet Table Saw needs help

[Neil Kuzio]

Hi Guys,

I have a Craftsman TS Mondel # 152.221240 Cabinet saw. 1.75 HP (continous duty) 2.4 Hp (maximum developed) and 3450 R.P.M

Bought it used few years ago and love it. Cuts well and not used much but has been very good.

Went to turn on yesterday and this is what it did:

Started turning slowly with a hum (kinda like a strain) but it usually has that sound anyway. 2 seconds later the circut breaker trips. 20 amp by itself and never a problem before. Did that 6 more times and then I gave up. No smoke, blade turns freely.

Tried it this morning and when I flip on I hear the hum but now no turning??

Newbie to fixing these things but of course I'm in the middle of interior home remodel and this has sent me into major frustration with the timing.

New motor from sears parts direct is $350 Do you think I just order it now?

THanks for any advice

Neil

[Gary Kvasnicka]

Neil,

I have the same saw. It sounds like a bad start capacitor. Looks like #224 on the parts diagram.

link to start cap at sears parts http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/part-number/Craftsman-Parts/Saw-Parts/OR91723/0009/152/Model-152221240/0247/0744600?keySuffixId=C&pathTaken=partSearch&pathRender=modelComponent&documentCompId=P0607068&diagramPageId=00002&productTypeId=x&searchModelNumber=152221240&subCompDesc=Blade%20assembly&brandDesc=CRAFTSMAN&modelDesc=TABLE-SAW&blt=11&shdMod=

I would give that a try before ordering a motor.

[Lee Schierer]

It sounds like the start capacitor has died or there is dust in the centrifugal switch. If you have an air compressor, try blowing out the motor with compressed air and then try your switch. However, based on the humming, I would say that the start capacitor has died. Disconnect the power and take the capacitor (should be a lump on the side of the motor) to any industrial electric supply house or motor shop and they should be able to set you up with a new one for $25 or so.

[Dick Brown]

Agree with the others on this. When you get it going again, be sure to post what you found and the fix. That is how the rest of us learn from someone else's problem and cure.
Dick

[Troy Turner]

...Disconnect the power and take the capacitor (should be a lump on the side of the motor) to any industrial electric supply house or motor shop and they should be able to set you up with a new one for $25 or so.

+1 Took my older 80's motor down there, not only did he put a new capacitor on there, but he threw in a couple of machined pulleys as well :D I think all in all it was about $30.

[Neil Kuzio]

Thanks Gary, Lee, Dick and Troy. I ordered the new capacitor for very short money this morning. I was reading a lot of posts about fine dust getting into the motor end....so I took the beast out and started pealing back the parts on the fan end....shop vac in hand and compressed air into the copper area. Wasn't a ton but did blow out some dust. Put it back together and the thing works better than it did before. Quicker response turning on....Unbelievable.

Thanks for the quick responses...back to the fun.

I will hold onto the capacitor just in case....Thanks again.

Neil

[Lee Schierer]

On my Craftsman, there is a large opening at the back where the belt and motor hang that lets a lot of saw dust out onto the motor and floor. When I started connecting up my dust collector I built a floor into the frame with a 4" dust pick up and still ended up with sawdust on the floor. I purchased a set of magnetic air return vent covers 249805from the Borg. I trimmed and attached this magnetic shield to the back of the saw which close off some of the opening so the air flow from the 4" duct could pull in the errant saw dust. Besides getting far less sawdust on the floor my motor stays cleaner. You could probably also use a piece of heavy duty cloth (canvas) so that it wouldn't have to be removed when you tilt the blade.