craftsman 14 inch bandsaw 119.224010 starts very very slow, and general opinion

[cody michael]

I have a craftsman 119.224010 14 inch bandsaw, it was free, so the price was right.

When I started it up it starts very slow. Like 30 seconds to full speed. (My older blue jet 14 starts up almost instantly, same electrical plugin.) It also doesn't seem to cut well (may be blade I have a new haven't had a chance to try it out)

My question is, why does it take so long to spin up, is that normal or is there something wrong?

Is it worth keeping, my shop space is limited. About 15x27 and there are a lot of other tools in there.

Should this be a decent saw, so I can have a smaller blade on it an a bigger one on jet? Or is it just junky?

[glenn bradley]

I'm going with a starter cap as a first guess. I believe this is a starter capacitor style motor from the pics. Caps are inexpensive and around here, I go to Temco (http://www.temcoindustrialpower.com/product_selection.html?p=start_capacitor_selection _guide) but, there is probably a source in your area. As to whether it is worth it or not? I love having a large AND a small saw for just the reasons you cite.

[cody michael]

I'm going with a starter cap as a first guess. I believe this is a starter capacitor style motor from the pics. Caps are inexpensive and around here, I go to Temco (http://www.temcoindustrialpower.com/product_selection.html?p=start_capacitor_selection _guide) but, there is probably a source in your area. As to whether it is worth it or not? I love having a large AND a small saw for just the reasons you cite.

is there any way to trouble shoot this? And make sure that is the issue?

[glenn bradley]

Pull the blade and leave the lower wheel guard/door off/open. Turn the switch on and give the lower wheel a push in the direction that is normally goes (this is what the starter cap does when you ask the motor to start). If it speeds up and reaches running speed in a fairly normal manner, your start cap is a good bet. There are various testing methods of varying complexity. Here's a simple one (http://www.wikihow.com/Check-a-Start-Capacitor). Your cap, if present, (the reason I say 'if present' is because there are different types of motor and some use a starter-winding or other methods of giving the motor that first kick from a standing start) is probably under the cover shown in the last pic. My next guess will be the centrifugal clutch.

I guess I should say that I am assuming you have already removed the motor from the mechanical path to confirm that the lower and upper wheels turn freely and that the motor turns freely(?)

[Joe Kaufman]

Is the motor wired for 240V operation?

[Myk Rian]

Take the blade and belt off the saw. Start turning flat round things to see what's binding.
Unplug it first, of course.

[cody michael]

I am not sure if it is wired for 220, I had assumed it was 110, I will have to check. I am will have to try look for anything that binds.

[glenn bradley]

Is the motor wired for 240V operation?

Joe, that is such a brilliantly obvious question . . . I'll bet that's it. The slow start sounds like a depleted cap but, I usually see them just fail. If only one winding was getting juice, the symptoms would make a lot more sense.

[Duane Meadows]

Joe, that is such a brilliantly obvious question . . . I'll bet that's it. The slow start sounds like a depleted cap but, I usually see them just fail. If only one winding was getting juice, the symptoms would make a lot more sense.


If only one winding getting "juice"? Ahh, probably shouldn't even go there:( It's not about the "juice" comment. by the way.

[John McClanahan]

I would say the starting capacitor is on a down hill slide. If the motor was wired for 240 volts, I doubt the motor would ever get up to speed with a blade installed.

BTW, I have the 12" version of that saw. Nice saw for a Craftsman.


John

[Bill Neely]

The belt may be slipping, that's a two speed bandsaw, make sure the lever on the front is turned down to the 4 o'clock position (higher speed for wood) - you may need to do it while the saw is running.

[cody michael]

Thanks for your help, I got super busy with the wife yesterday and never got back out to the woodshop, I will check these things out. Hopefully can get it fixed.

[cody michael]

I pulled the blade off no difference, lower wheel seems to spin freely. I gave it a good push while starting and it seemed to spin up much quicker. I am assuming it is the capacitor. It is about 8$ on amazon.

It looks like it is wired for 110

[cody michael]

300566

is this what I need? is there a better source?
http://www.amazon.com/Polypropylene-Film-Motor-Capacitor-CBB60/dp/B00BG6L9E8

[Earl McLain]

First off--the saw itself is a pretty decent saw, even if you have to replace the motor (which i doubt). I have a belt/disk sander that starts with the 119 number, and an 11 amp motor. Similar symptoms until it finally didn't start, tried a capacitor with no success. Took the motor to a local motor shop, the old capacitor was indeed shot, and some of the internal wiring needed to be re-soldered. One day and $45 later i was out the door, and the thing runs like a top. The starter cap is a great starting point--but if that's not it, don't give up.
earl

[Art Mann]

I have the exact same saw and it is doing exactly the same thing. I would bet the problem is the start capacitor but I have been to lazy too fix it. Mine has gotten bad enough that it won't start at all if the motor is loaded even a little. What I do is remove all tension on the drive belt with the little crank handle and then power it up. It spins up almost instantly with zero load. Then I slowly tighten the drive belt to engage the blade. Once it is up to speed, it has as much power as it ever did. Just a couple of weeks ago, I used it to resaw some 8 inch wide red maple.

[cody michael]

I have the exact same saw and it is doing exactly the same thing. I would bet the problem is the start capacitor but I have been to lazy too fix it. Mine has gotten bad enough that it won't start at all if the motor is loaded even a little. What I do is remove all tension on the drive belt with the little crank handle and then power it up. It spins up almost instantly with zero load. Then I slowly tighten the drive belt to engage the blade. Once it is up to speed, it has as much power as it ever did. Just a couple of weeks ago, I used it to resaw some 8 inch wide red maple.

mine still starts with the blade on just takes much longer (20 times as longs my jet if not longer) to spin up, seems the same with the blade on or off, I gave it a good spin with a screw driver just as I hit the start button and it seemed to spin it much quicker.

can anyone confirm that capacitor will work?

[Duane Meadows]

Yep. It's the same rating... should work fine. Physical fit would be the only possible issue.

[cody michael]

I replaced the start capacitor, no change, exact same system's. The lower wheel spins freely, I can spin it with 1 finger and it will coast about 1 revolution after I let go, motor seems to spin right up if I remove the belt that turns lower wheel, what is the next step?

[David L Morse]

Have you checked for a loose pulley?

[Lee Schierer]

I replaced the start capacitor, no change, exact same system's. The lower wheel spins freely, I can spin it with 1 finger and it will coast about 1 revolution after I let go, motor seems to spin right up if I remove the belt that turns lower wheel, what is the next step?

It sounds to me like the belt is either not tensioned correctly or possibly it is the wrong sized belt. When I first had my band saw, it appeared to be under powered. It would come up to speed and bog down every time I tried making a cut. I finally tensioned the belt ad it will cut through almost anything now. If your saw has been sitting for a long while, it is likely the belt has dried out an/or taken a set. Take the belt off and take it to a power equipment belt dealer to buy a replacement. Automotive belts are a different cross-sectional design and not made to run on power equipment.

[Art Mann]

I replaced the start capacitor, no change, exact same system's. The lower wheel spins freely, I can spin it with 1 finger and it will coast about 1 revolution after I let go, motor seems to spin right up if I remove the belt that turns lower wheel, what is the next step?

The easy way to use your saw in its present condition is to just use the little belt tensioner crank to loosen the tension enough for the motor to spin up and then slowly crank the belt tensioner until the blade runs fine. You do not have to remove the belt from the pulleys in order to unload the motor. You don't even have to open up the doors. You can tell when the belt is loose by the feel of the crank. I have done this exact operation hundreds of times without incident. I have successfully used my saw for years in this same condition and the power of the motor at speed has not diminished any. I used to assist my motor coming up to speed by spinning the wheel with the motor engaged. I don't do it any more because it is more trouble and more dangerous than just using the little belt tensioner crank by itself.

A word of warning. If you keep letting the motor come up to speed very slowly, you are going to eventually burn up the windings and it won't spin up at all.

[cody michael]

It now seems to be running better, after I turned it on and off a few times it seems decent, takes maybe 10 seconds to spin up.

But at speed it runs ok, I resawed some 5-6 boards and it cut through them.

[Mark Woodmark]

I agree with Glenn, sounds like the capacitor. When they go bad the capacitor housing sometime bulges out on them. Bandsaws are hard on capacitors as it take more startup energy to get those big wheels turning, especially if they are cast iron

[Art Mann]

Mark, read post number 19.

[cody michael]

I replaced the capacitor, it seemed to start up a little better, before it would take forever, I would almost give up, now it starts up in a few seconds, not instant like my jet but decent.

The belt seems fine, it doesn't slip on start up. I did a resawed cut on a 5-6 inch board and it cut ok. Didn't seem underpowered.

Is this slow startup just normal on this saw? Or does something else have an issue? Should I try switching to 220?

I can't find post 19, some times my phone is weird and doesn't display posts right and I'm away from my computer today.

[John Donhowe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4qB6n1cm04 My guess is that he probably meant "read posts number 1-9" ;)

[Art Mann]

There is a solid horizontal bar above each post, at least on a real computer screen. On the left side of the bar is the date and time of the post and on the right side is the post number. That is what I was referring to. In post number 24, Mark suggested that Cody replace the start capacitor while in post number 19 he states that he had already done so. I think it is a good idea for anyone who posts to be sure he has read all of the previous posts first. Otherwise, he may sound kind of silly.