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A mistake and recovery

 

A few days ago I was cutting a small length of 1" square stock with my bandsaw.? I supported the piece on a sacrificial strip of aluminum to make sure it wouldn't tip down while being sawn.? The sacrificial piece was a bit narrower than the stock so I could grip it with the vise.? The mistake I made was to turn the saw on and then I left for a "quick" errand.? But that turned into a much longer interval -- so the saw was unattended.? Well, when I finally came back the saw had stopped, but that's because the cutoff piece had jammed the saw.? Probably because the sacrificial piece prevented the saw from immediately turning off.? The scrap got sucked into the bearing guides and jammed.

I didn't smell a burnt odor coming from the motor and the breaker for that outlet had tripped so I was hopeful that the saw was OK, but that turned out to not be the case.? With power restored and the jam cleared, the motor clearly was dead.? My ohmmeter showed an open connection.? It wasn't the switch which only left the motor as the location of the open circuit.

I found that Harbor Freight claims to have replacement bandsaw motors but they're about $150 so I thought it was worth my time to see if I could fix the motor.? I found an online forum where someone had repaired theirs by replacing a thermal cutout located inside the motor housing so......maybe I might get lucky.

I removed the motor and took off the end nearest the power cord connection but unfortunately my model had no thermal cutout.? Still no bad burnt odor and the windings looked OK so I used my ohmmeter some more to see if I could locate the open connection.? I had to remove the heat-shrink tubing from the power cord-to-windings connections and noticed that the hot and ground return wires were stuck together.? More examination revealed that they were melted.? ?They had been tied very tightly by some kind of string so when the motor got hot enough to soften the insulation the wires came in contact, blew out and tripped the breaker.

Long story short, I replaced the power cord connections, re-assembled the motor and tested it.? It ran with no noises, tripped breakers or any obvious complaint.

I got lucky and learned a lesson.? Don't walk away from a running bandsaw.
 

Hi, a very good selution for your problem with a satifying end.

On Fri, Sep 1, 2023 at 7:20?PM Mark Kimball <markkimball51@...> wrote:
A few days ago I was cutting a small length of 1" square stock with my bandsaw.? I supported the piece on a sacrificial strip of aluminum to make sure it wouldn't tip down while being sawn.? The sacrificial piece was a bit narrower than the stock so I could grip it with the vise.? The mistake I made was to turn the saw on and then I left for a "quick" errand.? But that turned into a much longer interval -- so the saw was unattended.? Well, when I finally came back the saw had stopped, but that's because the cutoff piece had jammed the saw.? Probably because the sacrificial piece prevented the saw from immediately turning off.? The scrap got sucked into the bearing guides and jammed.

I didn't smell a burnt odor coming from the motor and the breaker for that outlet had tripped so I was hopeful that the saw was OK, but that turned out to not be the case.? With power restored and the jam cleared, the motor clearly was dead.? My ohmmeter showed an open connection.? It wasn't the switch which only left the motor as the location of the open circuit.

I found that Harbor Freight claims to have replacement bandsaw motors but they're about $150 so I thought it was worth my time to see if I could fix the motor.? I found an online forum where someone had repaired theirs by replacing a thermal cutout located inside the motor housing so......maybe I might get lucky.

I removed the motor and took off the end nearest the power cord connection but unfortunately my model had no thermal cutout.? Still no bad burnt odor and the windings looked OK so I used my ohmmeter some more to see if I could locate the open connection.? I had to remove the heat-shrink tubing from the power cord-to-windings connections and noticed that the hot and ground return wires were stuck together.? More examination revealed that they were melted.? ?They had been tied very tightly by some kind of string so when the motor got hot enough to soften the insulation the wires came in contact, blew out and tripped the breaker.

Long story short, I replaced the power cord connections, re-assembled the motor and tested it.? It ran with no noises, tripped breakers or any obvious complaint.

I got lucky and learned a lesson.? Don't walk away from a running bandsaw.

 

In this case luck prevailed, assisted by determination and patience. Well done!
Sometimes I will walk away from my bandsaw when cutting LARGE material, but never very far. I always remain within earshot so I can hear it running.
I NEVER walk away from a machine that has no automatic stop or shutoff, like my Craftsman lathe. To do so is an invitation for disaster.

?- Raymond
 

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You got lucky. The inexpensive motors on many of these saws don’t usually have thermal motor protections so you need to be particularly careful. I don’t use sacrificial stock. I just make sure that the shutoff switch is adjusted properly to shut the saw off at the end of the cut. I am careful to manually hold the blade up off the workpiece until it is up to speed to make sure that it doesn’t get snagged on something and stalls before starting to cut. This is a particularly good idea when cutting rebar or other rough finished stock. And, I don’t let the saw run unattended; keeping within hearing distance is a good practice in case something goes wrong.

?

I’m glad it worked out for yoou.

?

Sent from for Windows

?
 

I did have the thought of adding a thermal cutoff (they are pretty cheap) but it occurred _after_ I put the motor back together.? It was such a pain to re-install the motor I will have to wait awhile until the pain is a distant memory before I do that.

Omissions like that are pretty irksome.? Some time back the motherboard on one of our computers blew up because the manufacturer saved $1 by using a cheap fan instead of a good one.? Same deal here, a thermal cutoff costs less than $1.
 

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Mark,

I suggest you file a patent on a using an insulating material that will melt and short shortly before a motor is damaged from overheating.? By utilizing the circuit's over current protection, this invention can provide reliable motor overheating protection for about a cent's worth of insulation.

Once your patent is granted, you can file infringement claims on all motor manufacturers with shoddy construction, thereby forcing them to improve their build quality.? That will make you a hero!


(sarcasm aside, congrats on finding an easy fix!)


On 9/2/2023 3:10 AM, Hettie Chom wrote:

Hi, a very good selution for your problem with a satifying end.

On Fri, Sep 1, 2023 at 7:20?PM Mark Kimball <markkimball51@...> wrote:
A few days ago I was cutting a small length of 1" square stock with my bandsaw.? I supported the piece on a sacrificial strip of aluminum to make sure it wouldn't tip down while being sawn.? The sacrificial piece was a bit narrower than the stock so I could grip it with the vise.? The mistake I made was to turn the saw on and then I left for a "quick" errand.? But that turned into a much longer interval -- so the saw was unattended.? Well, when I finally came back the saw had stopped, but that's because the cutoff piece had jammed the saw.? Probably because the sacrificial piece prevented the saw from immediately turning off.? The scrap got sucked into the bearing guides and jammed.

I didn't smell a burnt odor coming from the motor and the breaker for that outlet had tripped so I was hopeful that the saw was OK, but that turned out to not be the case.? With power restored and the jam cleared, the motor clearly was dead.? My ohmmeter showed an open connection.? It wasn't the switch which only left the motor as the location of the open circuit.

I found that Harbor Freight claims to have replacement bandsaw motors but they're about $150 so I thought it was worth my time to see if I could fix the motor.? I found an online forum where someone had repaired theirs by replacing a thermal cutout located inside the motor housing so......maybe I might get lucky.

I removed the motor and took off the end nearest the power cord connection but unfortunately my model had no thermal cutout.? Still no bad burnt odor and the windings looked OK so I used my ohmmeter some more to see if I could locate the open connection.? I had to remove the heat-shrink tubing from the power cord-to-windings connections and noticed that the hot and ground return wires were stuck together.? More examination revealed that they were melted.? ?They had been tied very tightly by some kind of string so when the motor got hot enough to soften the insulation the wires came in contact, blew out and tripped the breaker.

Long story short, I replaced the power cord connections, re-assembled the motor and tested it.? It ran with no noises, tripped breakers or any obvious complaint.

I got lucky and learned a lesson.? Don't walk away from a running bandsaw.

 

I have mine on wheels so move around the shop .
This keep a eye on saw as drilling or turning in sometime as welding too.

Dave?
 

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Some MSHA & OSHA rules make sense, like the one about not leaving running machinery or equipment unattended, a rule like many, born out of disaster.

You are lucky indeed! I can tell you stories of unattended machines left running, where the outcomes were very expensive, and some could have proved fatal.

Other Bill

On 9/1/2023 10:20 AM, Mark Kimball wrote:
A few days ago I was cutting a small length of 1" square stock with my bandsaw.? I supported the piece on a sacrificial strip of aluminum to make sure it wouldn't tip down while being sawn.? The sacrificial piece was a bit narrower than the stock so I could grip it with the vise.? The mistake I made was to turn the saw on and then I left for a "quick" errand.? But that turned into a much longer interval -- so the saw was unattended.? Well, when I finally came back the saw had stopped, but that's because the cutoff piece had jammed the saw.? Probably because the sacrificial piece prevented the saw from immediately turning off.? The scrap got sucked into the bearing guides and jammed.

I didn't smell a burnt odor coming from the motor and the breaker for that outlet had tripped so I was hopeful that the saw was OK, but that turned out to not be the case.? With power restored and the jam cleared, the motor clearly was dead.? My ohmmeter showed an open connection.? It wasn't the switch which only left the motor as the location of the open circuit.

I found that Harbor Freight claims to have replacement bandsaw motors but they're about $150 so I thought it was worth my time to see if I could fix the motor.? I found an online forum where someone had repaired theirs by replacing a thermal cutout located inside the motor housing so......maybe I might get lucky.

I removed the motor and took off the end nearest the power cord connection but unfortunately my model had no thermal cutout.? Still no bad burnt odor and the windings looked OK so I used my ohmmeter some more to see if I could locate the open connection.? I had to remove the heat-shrink tubing from the power cord-to-windings connections and noticed that the hot and ground return wires were stuck together.? More examination revealed that they were melted.? ?They had been tied very tightly by some kind of string so when the motor got hot enough to soften the insulation the wires came in contact, blew out and tripped the breaker.

Long story short, I replaced the power cord connections, re-assembled the motor and tested it.? It ran with no noises, tripped breakers or any obvious complaint.

I got lucky and learned a lesson.? Don't walk away from a running bandsaw.


Virus-free.
 

Thank you.




On Sunday, September 3, 2023, 8:14 AM, Bill Armstrong <bill_1955@...> wrote:

Some MSHA & OSHA rules make sense, like the one about not leaving running machinery or equipment unattended, a rule like many, born out of disaster.

You are lucky indeed! I can tell you stories of unattended machines left running, where the outcomes were very expensive, and some could have proved fatal.

Other Bill

On 9/1/2023 10:20 AM, Mark Kimball wrote:
A few days ago I was cutting a small length of 1" square stock with my bandsaw.? I supported the piece on a sacrificial strip of aluminum to make sure it wouldn't tip down while being sawn.? The sacrificial piece was a bit narrower than the stock so I could grip it with the vise.? The mistake I made was to turn the saw on and then I left for a "quick" errand.? But that turned into a much longer interval -- so the saw was unattended.? Well, when I finally came back the saw had stopped, but that's because the cutoff piece had jammed the saw.? Probably because the sacrificial piece prevented the saw from immediately turning off.? The scrap got sucked into the bearing guides and jammed.

I didn't smell a burnt odor coming from the motor and the breaker for that outlet had tripped so I was hopeful that the saw was OK, but that turned out to not be the case.? With power restored and the jam cleared, the motor clearly was dead.? My ohmmeter showed an open connection.? It wasn't the switch which only left the motor as the location of the open circuit.

I found that Harbor Freight claims to have replacement bandsaw motors but they're about $150 so I thought it was worth my time to see if I could fix the motor.? I found an online forum where someone had repaired theirs by replacing a thermal cutout located inside the motor housing so......maybe I might get lucky.

I removed the motor and took off the end nearest the power cord connection but unfortunately my model had no thermal cutout.? Still no bad burnt odor and the windings looked OK so I used my ohmmeter some more to see if I could locate the open connection.? I had to remove the heat-shrink tubing from the power cord-to-windings connections and noticed that the hot and ground return wires were stuck together.? More examination revealed that they were melted.? ?They had been tied very tightly by some kind of string so when the motor got hot enough to soften the insulation the wires came in contact, blew out and tripped the breaker.

Long story short, I replaced the power cord connections, re-assembled the motor and tested it.? It ran with no noises, tripped breakers or any obvious complaint.

I got lucky and learned a lesson.? Don't walk away from a running bandsaw.


Virus-free.
 

Thank you. That’s what I do, too!




On Saturday, September 2, 2023, 3:04 PM, rfmarchi1 <rfmarchi@...> wrote:

You got lucky. The inexpensive motors on many of these saws don’t usually have thermal motor protections so you need to be particularly careful. I don’t use sacrificial stock. I just make sure that the shutoff switch is adjusted properly to shut the saw off at the end of the cut. I am careful to manually hold the blade up off the workpiece until it is up to speed to make sure that it doesn’t get snagged on something and stalls before starting to cut. This is a particularly good idea when cutting rebar or other rough finished stock. And, I don’t let the saw run unattended; keeping within hearing distance is a good practice in case something goes wrong.

?

I’m glad it worked out for yoou.

?

Sent from for Windows

?
 

When had shop I had larger bandsaws I had a drill press and a grinder. I used the? 4x6 to move to larger tools.?

I never let saw run by it self.?

Dave?
 

On Frank Hoose's original mini-lathe.com site he related his experience with the exact same situation.? He left the saw running when he went into the house and got distracted by something on TV.

Kurt Laughlin.
 

In my shop, almost everything is on wheels due to minimal space.

My saw is on Harbor Freights' second cheapest rolling metal cart (three shelves); the top shelf is inverted, and the saw sits on two sections of 2" square tubing.? I also moved the casters as close to the sides as possible to make it more stable.? Works great!

-Dave

On Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 07:01:20 PM PDT, davesmith1800 <davesmith1@...> wrote:


I have mine on wheels so move around the shop .
This keep a eye on saw as drilling or turning in sometime as welding too.

Dave?
 

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??? ??? I bet its a hell of a lot better for yer back too !! I have my saw mounted on a old stand from a Craftsman router , its at a pretty darn comfortable height for me . Part of the work smarter not harder plan .

animal

On 9/3/23 4:32 PM, Dave Seiter wrote:



My saw is on Harbor Freights' second cheapest rolling metal cart (three shelves); the top shelf is inverted, and the saw sits on two sections of 2" square tubing.?? Works great!

-Dave

On Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 07:01:20 PM PDT, davesmith1800 <davesmith1@...> wrote:


I have mine on wheels so move around the shop .
This keep a eye on saw as drilling or turning in sometime as welding too.

Dave?
 

YES!? I've always been a "just do it" type, but now I actually think about those sorts of things.? This week I need to buy 56 8' 1x4", and lately, I've been buying 3/4" plywood and cutting it down to save $, but this time I'm going to buy the sticks instead.? The customer will just have to eat the difference. It's a LOT easier to deal with the sticks instead of thick 4x8s!

-Dave

On Sunday, September 3, 2023 at 05:46:04 PM PDT, mike allen <animal@...> wrote:


??? ??? I bet its a hell of a lot better for yer back too !! I have my saw mounted on a old stand from a Craftsman router , its at a pretty darn comfortable height for me . Part of the work smarter not harder plan .

animal

On 9/3/23 4:32 PM, Dave Seiter wrote:


My saw is on Harbor Freights' second cheapest rolling metal cart (three shelves); the top shelf is inverted, and the saw sits on two sections of 2" square tubing.?? Works great!

-Dave

On Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 07:01:20 PM PDT, davesmith1800 <davesmith1@...> wrote:


I have mine on wheels so move around the shop .
This keep a eye on saw as drilling or turning in sometime as welding too.

Dave?
David Pidwerbecki
 

I added a motor heater to my saw. ? I have pictures in the photo section. ?It cost more than a dollar, but was less than $25. ? I feel that I can leave my saw unattended, if necessary.

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