Laguna Bandsaw won't start

[John Myers]

I have an LT-18, about 1-year old.

I was using it today to cut some very small stock - nothing heavy. It was working fine. Then when I went to turn it on again, it wouldn't start up.

I opened it up, cleaned everything out, including taking the guides out, cleaning, and putting them back in. None of the safty switches seems to be ingaged because I have tension on the switch when I move it to the start position. I lose that tension if any of the 3 safety switches is engaged (door, off button, foot brake). I also checked the breaker. I turned the breaker off and the on/off switch loses it's tension. Flip the breaker back to the power position and the on/off switch has tension on it again. It just won't start.

The wheels turn freely, the V-belt is clear - no obstacles or jams.

Any suggestions what to do next?

John

[Jamie Buxton]

Feeling the tension in the on/off switch is significant. That rules out the usual problem -- a safety switch. I'm guessing that the power contactor relay has failed open. Can you get a voltmeter on the terminals where the motor leads connect to the relay?

[John Myers]

I don't have a voltmeter, but I think my brother-in-law may have one. I'll check with him after he gets home.

I assume that I unplug the power, then check the leads with the voltmeter?

[Ben Rafael]

As long as you have the voltmeter check the outlet too.
I bought one about 2 years ago, they come in handy. You can get a cheap analog one that'll do the job for under $10 at radio shack, they are good to have.

[Jamie Buxton]

I don't have a voltmeter, but I think my brother-in-law may have one. I'll check with him after he gets home.

I assume that I unplug the power, then check the leads with the voltmeter?

Well, what I'd do is to unplug the saw from the house, then take the saw apart far enough that I can get the voltmeter on those output terminals. Then I'd plug the saw back into the wall, attempt to turn on the saw, and see if I have power on those terminals. That sounds easy, but it may be a little challenging. As you know, the safety interlock switches won't let power come out of those terminals if the doors are open or the like. So you need to get the saw cobbled back together enough that the safety switches aren't defeating your attempts.

Clip cords are a good thing. While you have the saw unpowered, you clip the test leads on to the terminals. Then you plug the saw into the wall, and make your tests without holding on to the test prods or anything else in the guts of the machine. Then you unplug from the wall, and the machine is dead safe again.

The usual cautions apply here. If you're messing around with live wires, you can hurt yourself. Maybe the BIL, who has a voltmeter, knows a little more than you?

What you want to test is whether the power contactor relay is closing when you hit the start button. If you don't have the saw connected to the wall, the contactor relay cannot close; there's no power to pull it closed. That is, there's pretty much no way to learn whether the relay is working except to test it with power applied to the saw.

[Carroll Courtney]

First thing,I would make sure that I have 220volt.Plug in another machine that is 220v and see if it will run.If you have a starter on the saw,check the OL's.

[Bernhard Lampert]

I had and still have the same problem with my bandsaw. I have a Felder bandsaw which -if memory serves me right- is pretty much identical to the Laguna and MM. Here, the problem is the switch. Even though the switch/contactor etc. is enclosed in a dust-tight box and even though there is absolutely no dust to be seen in side the box, removal of the switch cover and a blast of compressed air will solve the problem every time.

Cheers,
Bernhard

[Dennis Lopeman]

yup - I actually had to do that to a router (bosch) of mine. I've passively thinking about engineering some sort of shroud for it... once I think of a working solution I will do it!

[John Myers]

Thank you all for your comments.

Bernhard - was it the powerr switch, or the relay box, that you used the compress air on? I'll give that a try, and hope that does the trick.

Boy, when you want to use a tool/machine, and it doesn't work, it's extremely annoying!

[Bernhard Lampert]

Thank you all for your comments.

Bernhard - was it the powerr switch, or the relay box, that you used the compress air on? I'll give that a try, and hope that does the trick.

Boy, when you want to use a tool/machine, and it doesn't work, it's extremely annoying!

John,

In my case (3 phase), it has been the relay to 'power-on' most times, I only had it happened once on the the 'stop' switch. All those lines are low voltage.
Hope it works for you,
Bernhard

[Jeff Duncan]

Not sure if you got it running yet but here are 2 things that have caused me problems in the past. On my Bandsaw (3 phase) it took me hours of fiddling with the switch and relays before I started to re-check the connections for the third time. Turned out there was a loose wire inside the machine from the factory. I guess with the machine running it caused the nut to loosen a bit and one day no power. I tightened it up and it ran like a top.
The other problem was on a single phase planer. Often newer machines have a separate overload circuit somewhere inside, at least on the bigger stationary equipment. Sometimes it's on the back of the switch, in this case it was completely buried under the machine. Took me awhile to find it as it wasn't mentioned in the manual, but once I did hit the reset button and went back to work.
good luck,
JeffD

[John Myers]

OK - I checked the voltage on the outlet - 220v. fine.

I also checked the voltage on the 'on' switch - fine, normal voltage present. The switch does not appear to be a problem.

I checked the capacitors in the Baldor motor housing, these appeared clean and in brand new condition. I was careful not to touch anything, and bolted this back into place.

Now I need to check the wiring for continuity. Can anyone explain how I do this with the multimeter? Do I test the lead wires going to the motor box against the other end coming from the relay box? Power pulled from the wall outlet FIRST! :0)

John

[John Myers]

I got my bandsaw back up and running. It turned out to be a bad switch. Laguna sent me a new one. Works like a charm again.