What is involved with going from a 3/4 hp motor on a bandsaw to a 1 1/2 hp motor? I have a Delta 14″ that has worked great, but since I put the riser block on, allowing larger stock, it has shown me that 3/4 hp just won’t cut it (pun intended). Any ideas? Comments?
Jasen Morris
Replies
Jasen,
I have not done this, but in theory, if the RPMs are the same and the shaft diameter are the same, it should be simply a matter of removing the 3/4 HP motor and replacing it with the larger motor. Make sure that there is enough room for the larger motor and that the mounting bracket is compatible. This may vary depending on where the motor is situated on your bandsaw.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Hi Jasen
I did this on a Rigid. This simply involved replacing one motor with the other. AS Chris pointed out, make sure the RPM is the same. I had a slightly larger piece of machinery to fit, but these motors are adjustable to take up slack, so a ood fit is easy enough.
The riser block did not change the power on mine. Something amiss there.
The extra power was incredible. I could resaw 12" hardwood with relative ease.
I used it this way for about 18 months then had the opportunity to get a Hammer N4400, which is 4 HP.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Going down a little bit of a rabbit trail, I saw your posting in the other thread about bandsaws, and I had never heard of a "Hammer" brand bandsaw. Do you have a weblink for their tools? In regards to what you had said about something being amiss: Now that I can push bigger pieces of wood, and create a bigger load on the saw, it bogs down at best, and stops at worst. A 8" tall piece of Walnut, about 2 feet long took at least 15 minutes. I believe the blade guides (sides and back) on top and bottom are dialed in like they should be, and the blade is riding on the center of the wheel, and I don't push the 1/2" 3TPI blade too hard, so it must be the lack of power that is preventing me from making quick easy work of the boards. Any comments from anyone?
PS, about the motors themselves... does anyone know where to look for motor upgrades online for bandsaws? I have a Delta 28-276 open stand 3/4 hp bandsaw
Edited 11/10/2008 1:06 pm ET by JMorris
You might check with WW Grainger if you have one nearby.
I replaced the motor on the same model saw with a Grainger #6K740 TEFC, and the saw does NOT slow down when you load it.
J,Hammer is the "Consumer" end of the Felder equipment line of wood working machinery. The "lowest end" of the actual Felder line starts with a brand called "Format," then the Felder name appears on 3 classes of machines "higher" than that.Felder considers the Format machines and Felder machines as "industrial strength." But the Hammer line is much more machine than most well-known equipment brands in heavy use in industry in North America. All these machines are manufactured in Austria. They are in serious use in furniture manufacture world-wide.I have a Hammer sliding table saw/shaper and a Jointer/planer/slot mortising machine. I had considered getting the Hammer N4400 band saw, but decided to get a grizzly 17" machine for a number of reasons, not the least of which was price!Many European machines are "combo machines," although they also come as stand alone versions.Even the "lowly" Hammer line is quite a "high-end" collection of equipment. They cost a lot more than machines typically sold here, but they are worth every cent. In fact, for the features, capabilities, fit and finish, I think their price was very reasonable.There is a big difference between the European philosophy of design and safety compared with usual practices here.Here's the web site:http://www.felderusa.comRich
Rich has done a better job of providing info on Hammer than I could have.
Essentially, these are "baby" Felders in price but without a reduction in quality.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Edited 11/11/2008 8:17 am ET by derekcohen
Just to tag on here....I have a 14" Jet, 3/4 hp BS, and using a 1/2" Wood Slicer blade from Highlands, I have met with nothing but frustration when resawing.
I know the motor may be lacking, but what about new roller bearing guides? Does anyone suggest I replace my stock graphite ones before changing motors? Or, will new guides alone, not ultimately solve the problem.
Of course, a new BS would be nice, but it's hard to justify to the wife :)
Mo
Mo,
Tell us more. What is causing you grief?
Don
"Mo,
Tell us more. What is causing you grief?
Don"
Well, Doc, it all began when.... Hah. I couldn't resist :)
Seriously though, as hard as I try to find a consistent position and angle from which to feed the wood, the blade wanders all over. I'm not even certain about the tensioning on the blade -- the system is crude, at best, but I realize others have the same setup, so I should be able to deal with it. I usually crank the tension pretty high (above the 3/4" designation point). I've been resawing some Alder lately, the widest board being about 8". By the 3/4 point, there's a bit of smoke (don't laugh) and that telltale smell with bits of lava-like particles being thrown about. I honestly feel like I'm feeding the wood at a slow rate and I completely cleaned the blade before this latest project. I'm beginning to suspect the guides are just not up to the task.
I had a friend suggest that I really need a blade wider than 1/2", to do proper resawing, but I seem to recall somewhere that the prevailing wisdom discourages blades wider than 1/2" on 1 hp, or less, motors.
What do you think?
Mo
Btw, I will reread that FWW article on tuning the bandsaw
Edited 11/15/2008 7:28 pm ET by zehutiman
Hi Mo
Who am I to argue with Michael Fortune? Still, I cannot get along with the idea (not tried this deliberately in practice) that one must undertension a blade.
On the other hand, all sorts of nasties can occur when you overtension a blade. It can encourage blade drift if the extra tension pulls the wheels out of being coplanar. What occurs is that the top wheel does not hold the blade securely (generally the blade would be balancing on the front edge of the wheel).
Even high tension on coplanar wheels will not compensate for a blade that is blunt or has too much set (or welds) on one side.
The other obvious but-often-overlooked area is whether the table is horizontal and the blade is vertical - not that they are simply at right angles to each other.
As I reported before, moving from a 3/4 hp to a 1 1/2 hp motor on my Rigid made a significant difference. It was greater than just using a new, sharp blade (which is always wonderful). I now have a 4 hp Hammer N4400, which laughs at hardwood, but continue to use a 1/2" 3 tpi blade. It cuts straight and true.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek,Fortune doesn't recommend UNDER tensioning a blade. His recommendation is simply that tension significantly lower than that commonly (but wrongly) recommended is the correct tension.I began using Timberwolf blades some time before I read his advice. Their manufacturer, Suffolk, recommends and describes the process of correctly setting the tension to just above the point where the blade flutters (the "flutter test"). This is a much lower tension than "common wisdom" about band saw use dictates.Those of us who have used Timberwolf blades and who have echoed their "low tension" (that is correct tension) advice here, because it works so well, have often been met with disbelief.So when I read Fortune's article, his confirmation of this practice was just icing on the cake.Rich
If you haven't already done so, look at Michael Fortune's articles on how to set up your bandsaw for resawing. He dispels a lot of misinformation that's out there and takes a refreshingly clear look at how to make your machine work better. The adjustments are pretty easy to do and do make a big difference. I would read those before I bought anything.http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=24093http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/subscription/toolguide/toolguidearticle.aspx?id=31580
"What is involved with going from a 3/4 hp motor on a bandsaw to a 1 1/2 hp motor? "
Not much, provided there is room and the revs are the same , as others have noted. The shaft most likely would be of bigger diameter so you either bore existing pulley to fit or get a replacement with suitable bore. You may have to adjust or drill new holes for the mountings-depends if the bases are the same.The ideal situation would be if both motors are of same physical size then there would be difficulty with pulley alignment and mounting bolt holes.
The more powerful motor will be heavier- and that is a benefit on the smaller machines like yours.
Possibly you might have to check that the starter switch can cope with added start up amps depends on what switch you have, or you may have to adjust your existing starter-I refer to the overload range.
But, I forgot, this is America- lord knows what strange elektrickery they have there.Philip Marcou
Edited 11/10/2008 2:36 am by philip
"But, I forgot, this is America- lord knows what strange elektrickery they have there."If you put if we try to connect one of your motors from down under to US power the whole machine run backwards.Run a plank through a planer and it comes out thicker.Use a light bulb from down under and the room goes dark when you turn it on.
Don't forget that their lathes make square stock too.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
the first thing I did when I got my 14" Delta saw was to upgrade to an honest to goodness 11/2 hp Baldor motor. I have yet to ever have it stall or even slow down. the change was just a matter of bolting it in place and installing a plug (1750 rpm 110V).
Jasen,
Your current motor should have a name palate with all of the relevant specification. As long as your upgrade matches that specification, except for the HP, current draw, you should have no problems.
Keep in mind that as you increase HP, your current draw will increase so you want to be sure your circuit can accommodate the increase.
I am upgrading my 14" 1 HP, and going to 5HP is just as cost effective as 3HP.
Don
Hi Jasen
I did the same conversion last year. As Derek wrote, it is a simple matter of exchanging motors. It does make a satisfying difference when resawing.
While I was at it, I wired my new motor for 220v. I think that 1.5 hp is on the cusp of what you can get away with using 110v. I have yet to really bog this new motor down and have certainly never tripped a breaker when resawing (always happened with the old motor).
Second the advice to make sure you use the same specifications from the motor plate. Hard to go wrong. I got a used soft serve ice cream machine motor for mine. It happened to have the right spec and the price was right.
davidb
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