Putting larger motor on craftsman tablesaw

[Tom Esh]

I'd suggest trying a thin-kerf blade if you haven't already. It's the equivalent of adding ~25% hp.

[Ole Anderson]

I had a Craftsmen 6" belt/disk sander combo with a 1/2 hp motor on it. Never used the disk so I removed it. Did some serious production work on aluminum on the 6x48 belt though. I could hog it down too easily so I replaced it with a 1 hp TEFC from Grainger. Still going strong 20 years later.

[mike calabrese]

i have a Craftsman table saw from the early 70's what we did many years ago to soup it up was to add a slightly larger sheave (pulley) on the motor to kick up the RPM some.
I don't remember the exact up size but i would guess knowing me @ 20% speed increase to @ 4200 rpm = More cuts vs your usual feed speed.
Look beyond the blade

No 1 get a quality carbide rip or combination blade....life and limb will be so much happier with a quality, brand name blade, thin kerf blades are OK but will require greater attention to point no 2 .

No 2 the old Sears / Craftsman saws were not the best built and assembled. Make sure , starting with a quality blade or a good and true sanding disc that you have the rip fence honestly parallel to the blade especially wih a thin kerf blade.

No3 be sure your saw is solidly footed against the floor. A soft foot or a foot that is unevenly loaded with increase the vibrations in the machine that will ultimately show up in the wobble at the blade and in your work piece adding to the distress with long rips .

[Ron Kellison]

In addition to putting on a good thin-kerf ripping blade (Freud Industrial series, Systematic, Infinity are all affordable) I would suggest changing out your belt to a link belt. I did this on my old Craftsman 1-HP and it made a noticeable difference in power transmission. It also reduced the vibration significantly.

Ron

[steven c newman]

I also have an 80s 113 EMERSON Craftsman tablesaw. Bought it new, in box, no less, at Sears. After a lot of hard use, trunion cracked, Sears wanted $80 to ship a new one from Texas. Checked with the Construction Company I was working for at the time, they were scrapping out a similar saw, as they were going to Deltas ( which turned out to be POS) Took the "scrap" saw home after paying $25 for it. Swapped bad and broken parts out, for good parts, and kept all for wings. SDC12991.jpgSDC12990.jpgSDC12989.jpgIt has a bigger motor, with dual pulleys. I THINK it's a 2hp, and it still is a 120v motor. Whenit does start to bog down, I change blades. Need to buy some new ones this spring. Been running decently the whole time. And, I can even crank it over ( takes awhile) to make 45 degree cuts. Fence is a replacement, Sears sent someone out to replace the first one, due to a warp in the middle. "New" one is flat, and straight. Nice wide top, too. original saw=$400.00+ replacement parts=$25= a decent saw, i think. I can even set a nickel on the top while the saw is on. And, it stays put.

[John Piwaron]

I had one of those saws - a Craftsman contractor's saw with a cast iron top and the cast iron lattice extension wings.

It worked fine for me. After I replaced the fence. The original fence is junk. With no offense to actual junk. I got a Biesemeyer homeshop fence for it. It turned a so-so saw into a reliable accurate friend.

A thin kerf blade helped a lot. As did a link belt. But through it all, the motor remained the same. I cut a lot of hardwood with it including 3" thick hard maple. Yes, it want slow. And if not properly aligned it would bind and burn.

The motor hangs off the back and tensioned itself by it's weight. That could cause it to slip during hard cutting. But mostly it worked o.k. Were I to have replaced it my plan was no more than 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hp. Remember, the saws that use high horsepower motors also use 2 belts.

It's gone now. I know it's on it's 2nd home. I sold it to a friend and got a hybrid to replace it. I recently sold the hybrid to the same friend who in turn sold the Craftsman to someone else. It's still working fine.

[scott spencer]

Ditto on getting a good 24T thin kerf ripping blade....that, and good alignment/set up should make a big difference.

A 2hp motor should be fine if it'll fit physically, has the correct RPM, duty rating, similar weight, etc. I wouldn't go any larger than 2hp though. If you've got 220v, I'd switch it. It's not a matter of there being more power, or even more efficient, but your 110v circuit is more likely to suffer from voltage loss due to being undersized, shared, etc. 220v splits the amperage between two hot legs, and is almost always dedicated to one appliance. If you don't have 220v, it's probably not worth rewiring unless lights are dimming and/or the saw comes up to speed slowly.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Jerry Cole uses a Craftsman saw to demonstrate the Dubby at the Woodworking Shows. Most never notice that he is using a Sears saw.