Bandsaw question

[Matt Dingeldein]

I just inherited an old Delta bandsaw from work, and I have a couple of questions. When it is turned on, it will sometimes not turn immediately. The person that used it says that she would have to make it turn first before she could use it. That is why it was replaced. I do know that the bottom guide bearing is frozen pretty much solid, and the plastic bushings on either side of the bearing are melted. I figure with a little TLC, I can have a functional bandsaw for little or next to nothing. I don't know the model number, and I hope that someone can help ID it. It has a 1/5 HP motor. The housing is cast aluminum, with a sheet metal door that covers up both wheels. It is a sickly green color, almost a putty color. I am not sure of the "size", but it says that it can use up to 3/8" blades. Any info would help.

Thanks,

Matt D.

[Pete Bradley]

Not much to go on on for an id. Got a picture? If not, does it have any tags? Does it have 2 or 3 wheels, and if 2, what diameter? I'm guessing it's a 10" machine or a 3-wheel machine from the fact that it has only one door.

The 1/5 hp motor is really small, but might fly for light blades. Start problems of the type you describe are frequently caused by a centrifugal switch inside the machine getting dirty, though depending on motor type the problem could be something else. Blowing air through it may fix it if you're not interested in taking the motor apart. That motor is worth very little so you're not risking much by opening it up.

Not sure what you mean by bushings, maybe you mean the seals on each side of the bearing? A decent hardware store or a bearing supplier should have replacement bearings unless it's one of the weird old guide bearings with a shaft built in. For guide bearings, quality is not important and the bearings should be very cheap.

Good luck!

Pete

[Matt Dingeldein]

The saw has 2 wheels, both are 7.87" outside diameter. The distance between centers (wheel shafts) is about 15.5". See the attached picture.

[Carroll Courtney]

Replace the capacitor and it will be fine.Its should be mounted on the outside of the motor housing.Or its the bushings on the motor.You can get a capacitor from Grainger or even Sears,about 20.00 bucks.Good Luck! Carroll

[Matt Dingeldein]

I will look into the cap. The bushings that I am talking about are to center the lower guide bearing on it's shaft, they are on both sides of the bearing. If i need to replace, I think that I would need the whole peice, as the lower guide housing is cast aluminum, andI would probably wreck it trying to push the shaft out. I might try it, though, as the bearing has a nasty groove in it, where it was facing the back side of the blade. I did get a fairly high pitched squeal/mechanical scraping when I had the blade installed. I took it off and turned the saw back on. Very little noise from the motor/lower bearing turning alone. I believe that everything needs to be adjusted to put the blade back into alignment. I will tackle that next after I get it running consistently.

Again, if anyone can ID the model # and/or have a operator's manual for it, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,

Matt Dingeldein
BSME '86 University of Mississippi
MSME '94 San Diego State University

[Richard Keller]

If the motor is only 1/5 HP and ???? in operation anyways, you might want a new 3/4 or 1 hp motor anyways. 1/5 hp isn't much power for a bandsaw. Many big box stores have 3/4 and 1 hp motors cheep (like 100-150 bucks) Also check out the local motor rewind shop and see if they have a used one to sell you....

[Pete Bradley]

A quick glance through Ace Tool Repair (http://www.acetoolrepair.com) suggests that this is a model 28-185. Ace is a pretty good source for parts and there are complete exploded views online.

This motor probably doesn't have a a cap and I certainly wouldn't be certain of the cap being the problem based on the information available. It also appears to be a C face motor shafted directly to the wheel, which is unlikely to be an off the shelf item at a big box store. Your local motor shop should be able to fix it cheap.

Pete

[Matt Dingeldein]

BINGO!!!

I would say that that is dead on!!!

I saved the link for Ace Tool Repair and the model #

Thanks,

Matt Dingeldein