I'm looking to upgrade a motor on an older lathe and some other tools. I'm afraid I don't understand what the frame-types, numbers, compressor-rated, and other intricacies of electric motors are. And, what is a good brand, and where to buy? I don't want to spend a lot of money (who does), but I don't want to buy crap either. I'm looking for stuff in the 1-3 HP area, with standard belt drive and horizontal mounts.
tt
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L
Lewis Dodd
WW.Grainger
B
Bruce Rowen
Harbor Fright sells 1-3hp motors that are cheap and of "reasonable" quality.
Check their website.
E
Edwin Pawlowski
Look at
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for some information.
Frame size is an industry standard for mounting bolt and shaft size. A 48 frame has 1/2" shaft, 56 frame has a 5/8" shaft. C frame is a front mount. You can find much of this information on their web page.
Check with a local motor re-builder also. Some can get good prices or have used motors around that may suite your needs. Ed
T
todd
T
Test Tickle
Thanks alot. This solves the mystery of the frame numbers.
tt
A
Andy Dingley
If it's going in a woodworking shop, look for a TEFC (totally-enclosed fan-cooled) motor. Worth paying the extra.
Frame sizes are pretty standard. If it's mounted on a normal-looking foot or a flange, then chances are that it's standard. A catalogue from any toolshop should list the dimensions. Apart from some obscure machine-specific motors, mounting problems are unusual.
Ratings are generally as a percentage duty cycle. Most motors (that you want to use) are rated for 100% duty, but they will have a lower power at this rating than at 60% duty. Work this out for yourself, depending on what you're going to drive with it. 100% rating isn't a bad idea on woodworking machines, but then you rarely need to run the machine under full load. OTOH, a compressor always runs "flat out", but most don't need to run continuously.
While you're working on the motor, look at the switchgear too. European practice is a NVR (no-volt release) switch as a minimum (a contactor and two pushbuttons) and E-stops, overload relays and lockable isolators may all be appropriate in some environments.
Don't forget S/H, especially if you have 3 phase to hand. Big 3-phase motors are often bargains.
A
AL
T
Test Tickle
Thanks for the great info.
tt
B
BurlaT3
F
Fred McClellan
That's what we do at work.
At one time we used a commercial rewind shop, but that proved to be slower and considerably more expensive than simply getting a new motor from any of a dozen or so vendors.
The only time we use the rewind shop these days is when we cannot get a new motor anywhere.
As for WWG, we found them to be a good bit more expensive than some of the other commercial suppliers.
Maybe try Johnstone Supply; they're national now, albeit wholesale only. Cheers, Fred McClellan the dash plumber at mindspring dot com
G
Gfretwell
The problem with buying from Grainger is they have a secret price list for big customers and make it up on the walk in's
P
Phil
Grainger has published catalog prices. They do have discount schedules that apply to their larger volume customers also. Buy enough and you'll be able to negotiate a discount. Otherwise just order at catalog price...it's not a mystery and I've never seen any "make it up" pricing.
Phil
Gfretwell wrote:
N
nowhere
I just put a replacement motor on an old Craftsman 10" table saw. I got the motor from Harbor Freight, and it's working just fine so far... Things to consider when buying a motor are:
input voltage (this one is 110/220)
direction of rotation (this one is reversible, Clockwise or counterclockwise)
Speed of rotation (this one is 3450 RPM, some are 1750)
Frame type (this is a 56, more or less the "standard" for woodworking tools if there is such a thing!
Power (this is a 1 hp, not the biggest you could use on a table saw, but no problems yet!
price (.99, plus a .95 "handling fee", but free shipping on orders over . BTW, that price is down from the price *I* paid!
To see this item, go to
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and enter 40132 into the item number search.
I have no connections to Harbor Freight other than as a satisfied customer, hope this info helps!
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