Have a 10 inch Craftsman radial arm saw since 1975 and suddenly it has developed a dead short somewhere, disassembled the motor and everything looks good, it has a capacitor about the size of a C flash light battery is there a way to check to see if it's any good? Thanks
Lindy asks:
Get the numbers off the capacitor and check an electrical supply house for another. Replace. Probable cost under 10 bucks.
Charlie Self
"The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf." Will Rogers
Hopefully it's just a start capacitor. Should be readily available at any electric motor shop. I buy such things at my local air conditioner warehouse where the local installers buy from.
Almost a decade ago, I bought a 1980 era Craftsman RAS used for $25. The motor was dead, but the rest was in good shape. Packed full of sawdust, the coils eventually cooked. I took it to several shops to get it rewound. They said they won't touch a universal type motor. I paid $255 for a replacement motor from Sears. My bargain saw wasn't a bargain anymore. Still, I now have a old era saw with the better guides with a new motor for about half of what a new one costs. To make the deal sweeter, Emerson Electric had a recall on this model. They sent me a new blade guard and a new wooden tabletop for free. Now my saw looks and performs like new.
Maybe you'll get lucky.
Robert
Would the bad capacitor cause the circuits breaker to kick out?
If it's shorted, yes.
-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA
I had the same problem with my circa 1978 Craftsman RAS. It turned out the problem was with the overload protector. If you were tripping the automatic overload prior to the motor going dead, you might want to check that out.
tt
Also, in case you can't (or don't want) to fix this, you can use Emerson's RAS recall. This saw is too old to be fitted with the replacement guard, but I think they'll pay you $100 for the old motor. At least, you could use the $100 toward a new motor, if necessary.
tt
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