electricmonk
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 281
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Post by electricmonk on Nov 21, 2011 21:53:05 GMT -5
Anyone have any experience or opinions regarding the Grizzly motors, they have TEFC versions as well as open versions, prices seem a bit more reasonable for new vs the dayton and baldur motors I have seen in lapidary catalogs. Shipping is also pretty decent via Amazon at 16.95 www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_n_1?rh=n%3A3960611%2Cn%3A4063641%2Cn%3A4068481&bbn=4063641&ie=UTF8&qid=1321927195The reason is that I smoked my 1/2 HP craftsman motor that came with the saw Lee rebuilt for me....think the rough bound up the blade and I walked out into a garage full of smoke and a sputtering, almost electrical fire. Damn motor was so hot that you could have cooked a steak on it, had to douse it with water after unplugging. Its a total loss. Glad to say my 303 blade is still dead straight. I was certain I really tightened that stone down but there is a bit of a wedge to the cut (gets gradually bigger) and I noticed that there was a bit of a wedge in the few slabs I cut prior (looked after the fact)...anyone have opinions that run contrary to the material coming loose in the vise? I can't see where the crossfeed would work its way over mid cut, the crossfeed clamp bolt was still snug though I can't overtighten it until I get it brazed with brass (don't want to gouge the steel of the crossfeed guide). Bah...guess I will have to keep looking on Craigslist for a new motor also
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 21, 2011 22:11:12 GMT -5
Check warranty on any motor. Baldor (last American made motor as far as I know) has one year warranty. Some motors only 90 days. Compare specs also. Most lapidary manufacturers are buying wholesale and marking up so it would pay to shop around.
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Post by deb193redux on Nov 21, 2011 22:24:57 GMT -5
i have one. they work ok.
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LarryS
freely admits to licking rocks
SoCal desert rats
Member since August 2010
Posts: 781
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Post by LarryS on Nov 22, 2011 0:03:33 GMT -5
I have the 3/4hp TEFC Grizzly for my home made unit and run the heck out of it. No problems. Kind of a over kill but the price was so close to 1/2hp, bought it instead. Better to have too much than not enough, I guess. I'm thinking of buying the 1/3hp motor for a bull wheel project. I bought mine direct from Grizzly. I'm an x-industrial mechanic and I've dealt with thousands of motors, fractional to 40hp. The Grizzly looks to be high quality, equal to the name brand ones at a fraction of the price. LarryS
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electricmonk
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 281
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Post by electricmonk on Nov 22, 2011 2:50:32 GMT -5
Thanks for the input Larry...is that Corian under your arbor? Looks spiffy Just realized I have a 1/2 HP motor on my 20" saw which is way under-powered for it. Going to transfer it over to the 14" and look for a 1 HP for the 20". Can't really do much with the 20" at the moment, it needs a rebuild or at least extensive tweaking. All is not lost! At least nothing a bit of blood, sweat, tears and cash can't fix ;D
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rocpup
spending too much on rocks
Pink Limb Iris
Member since March 2011
Posts: 465
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Post by rocpup on Nov 22, 2011 7:40:07 GMT -5
What ever motor you buy make sure that is has a reset button. When you leave a rocksaw unatended there is all kind of problems that can happen with the cut. The blade could get jammed with a broken shard or the rock could slip and turn in the vice. You need overload protection. Don
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Post by tandl on Nov 22, 2011 10:35:09 GMT -5
your wedge cuts could be from your feed rails are not square with the blade , if your cut is wedge from start to finish of cut . mine has adjustment bolts for that.
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electricmonk
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 281
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Post by electricmonk on Nov 22, 2011 11:22:22 GMT -5
What ever motor you buy make sure that is has a reset button. When you leave a rocksaw unatended there is all kind of problems that can happen with the cut. The blade could get jammed with a broken shard or the rock could slip and turn in the vice. You need overload protection. Don Do you know a source for motors with overload protection as standard fare by chance? I remember such things on commercial garbage disposal motors, etc but don't recall seeing one on any of the general duty motors I have around my shop. Thanks for the thought though, it would have saved my motor for sure...will have to explore that option.
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electricmonk
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 281
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Post by electricmonk on Nov 22, 2011 11:25:17 GMT -5
your wedge cuts could be from your feed rails are not square with the blade , if your cut is wedge from start to finish of cut . mine has adjustment bolts for that. I was looking at the slabs I cut prior to the problem. The previous rock (African Zebra Jasper) is pretty uniform in thickness, no obvious change other than a couple saw marks. The Flower Jasper I cut along one end is all equal in thickness but the few slabs of the material I cut prior to the saw binding all show that wedge and it gets more pronounced with the final cut where the blade bound up in the rock. Bummer is that if it had only made it about another 1/4" or so it probably would have just broken the rest of the material out rather than getting stuck...ahh well
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rocpup
spending too much on rocks
Pink Limb Iris
Member since March 2011
Posts: 465
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Post by rocpup on Nov 22, 2011 19:44:45 GMT -5
If or when you find a motor that does not have a reset button on it there are starter switches just made for this. A couple of my saw motors have them and the other two do not. When the the saw has jammed in the past when I was not around the drive belts burnt off. Belts are cheaper than motors. Don
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Post by Rockoonz on Nov 22, 2011 23:04:01 GMT -5
I would have expected the belt to slip. I buy new motors from Advance Elecrtic Motors in SE portland. Grizzly is Harbor Freight painted green, they might work just fine but I don't use them personally. If you find a likely one on Craigs list make sure the frame size is no bigger than a 48 or a 56 it might not fit otherwise.
Lee
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 23, 2011 0:10:16 GMT -5
Baldor still makes motors with the manual reset but you pay more. Most all current motors in the smaller sizes have auto rest overload protection. Most motors draw about 3 times normal running amps starting, same when they get "stuck". You could set up an external overload or inline breaker. If the motor draws 6 amps a 15 amp breaker should work providing motor starts normally. You would have to check your running amps to determine what you need. Harbor Freight has amp meters that are about $10 and would work well enough for what you need. They are handy when setting up pulleys to avoid overloading.
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electricmonk
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 281
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Post by electricmonk on Nov 23, 2011 2:23:15 GMT -5
I would have expected the belt to slip. I buy new motors from Advance Elecrtic Motors in SE portland. Grizzly is Harbor Freight painted green, they might work just fine but I don't use them personally. If you find a likely one on Craigs list make sure the frame size is no bigger than a 48 or a 56 it might not fit otherwise. Lee Yep, I would have thought the belt would slip too considering we set the tension pretty loose. Didn't find any melted or overly worn spots on the belt. Just walked out into the garage with a cloud of smoke, tripped breaker and sputtering sounds like hot plastic hitting even hotter metal (maybe winding insulated coating?)...that sort of wicked electrical burning smell. Thanks for the input RE Grizzly, will have to keep my eyes out on Craigslist. Going to use the 1/2 HP motor that is currently on my 20" since I am not using it currently. Will be in the market for a 3/4 to 1 HP motor for it in the coming months. Also, appreciate the input on motor size, was wondering about that. Cheers!
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darstcreek77
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2011
Posts: 673
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Post by darstcreek77 on Dec 4, 2011 17:08:11 GMT -5
iron horse motors seem to be good i bought a 1/2 hp for 120.00 shipped , it started making noise called there service line they shipped another one FREE had it in 2 days , they told me to scrape the other one !they are in GA
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