RAS motor noises

[David Shapiro]

I have a Sears RAS (built around 1982), which has served me well for 5 or 6 years. Over the last couple of weeks (working in a cold Cleveland garage), the saw intermittently fails to start. The blade vibrates or spins very slowly, the lights dim and the motor buzzes, and then the breaker on the motor opens. Sometimes moving the blade by hand and restarting gets it going, sometimes not. Some days it works fine, others it won't go at all.

The blade has never run perfectly true since I got it (off by just under .03 in despite meticulous adjustment), and a piece of plastic in the back of the motor has always slightly rubbed the inside of the motor housing, but these have never kept the motor from starting. The blade spins freely by hand.

Sears says "no user serviceable parts" in the motor, and wants $379 for a new motor (obviously not in the cards. . . )

Is this an annoying problem that will continue? Can it be fixed? Should I be looking now for a new saw?

Thanks in advance. I've lurked on the NG for years, and appreciate all I've learned.

David

[PM6564]

The first thing I would do is blow out the motor. If you don't have a compressor, borrow one and blow all the sawdust and crud out of the motor. It may just be clogged.

[Leslie Gossett]

Had the same problem with my Dewalt RAS a while ago. All it was, was the starting relay. Got a new one from Dewalt. If your motor has screws and can be disassembled, then it is serviceable. Does Craftsman have no honor at all these days?

[David Shapiro]

Thanks for the help. I decided to take "no user serviceable parts" as a challenge rather than a warning and took out the screws. While compressed air didn't help with the case closed, it solved the problem when the guts were exposed.

Thanks again.

David

PM6564 wrote: