Hi all:

I'm searching for a used Unisaw, and anticipating buying one that's a
little rough - possibly from a school auction. It will almost
certainly have a 3-phase motor (which I can deal with) and may be 460V
(which I can't deal with). I do have access to a number of suitable
motors, but none of them have the proprietary Delta mounting. I do not
want to pay hundreds of dollars for a new motor when I have a free one,
so I'm wondering if it's possible to modify a standard motor case to
fit. The Delta mounting appears to be two large tabs welded onto the
side of the motor. Anybody done this, or have plans or instructions?
My searches so far have yeilded very little.

Regards,
John.

the_tool_man wrote:

Hi all:

I'm searching for a used Unisaw, and anticipating buying one that's a
little rough - possibly from a school auction. It will almost
certainly have a 3-phase motor (which I can deal with) and may be 460V
(which I can't deal with). I do have access to a number of suitable
motors, but none of them have the proprietary Delta mounting. I do not
want to pay hundreds of dollars for a new motor when I have a free one,
so I'm wondering if it's possible to modify a standard motor case to
fit. The Delta mounting appears to be two large tabs welded onto the
side of the motor. Anybody done this, or have plans or instructions?
My searches so far have yeilded very little.

While perhaps possible, doesn't seem worth the effort to me as you need
a really rigid and precise mounting flange -- unless you can machine
something suitable yourself, I think the cost/pita aspect of buggering
up something that works well would be more than you'd save.

My recommendation is to factor the cost of the motor into what you pay
initially...if it isn't a good deal counting that, it isn't a good deal.

IMO, ymmv, $0.02, etc., ...

Afterthought...

W/ the numbers of Unisaws out there, one would think there would be
rebuilt motors available but I don't know a good source. Bob Vaughn in
Roanoke, VA, does a lot of rebuilding and trades used equipment but I
don't have a contact other than having been in that area years ago....he
has written some for FWW, however, and a search there might turn up a
reference.

A long time ago I bought a Unisaw for $100 with a burned out motor. I didn't
know how expensive the motors were. I tried to do it myself but couldn't. I
took a motor I had to a welder and her welded the tabs from the old motor to
the new motor. He did first check and made sure the internal wiring wasn't
in a spot where it could get damaged.
max

Hi all:

I'm searching for a used Unisaw, and anticipating buying one that's a
little rough - possibly from a school auction. It will almost
certainly have a 3-phase motor (which I can deal with) and may be 460V
(which I can't deal with). I do have access to a number of suitable
motors, but none of them have the proprietary Delta mounting. I do not
want to pay hundreds of dollars for a new motor when I have a free one,
so I'm wondering if it's possible to modify a standard motor case to
fit. The Delta mounting appears to be two large tabs welded onto the
side of the motor. Anybody done this, or have plans or instructions?
My searches so far have yeilded very little.

Regards,
John.

On 8 Nov 2005 05:58:24 -0800, "the_tool_man"
wrote:

Hi all:

I'm searching for a used Unisaw, and anticipating buying one that's a
little rough - possibly from a school auction. It will almost
certainly have a 3-phase motor (which I can deal with) and may be 460V
(which I can't deal with). I do have access to a number of suitable
motors, but none of them have the proprietary Delta mounting. I do not
want to pay hundreds of dollars for a new motor when I have a free one,
so I'm wondering if it's possible to modify a standard motor case to
fit. The Delta mounting appears to be two large tabs welded onto the
side of the motor. Anybody done this, or have plans or instructions?
My searches so far have yeilded very little.

Regards,
John.

the mount isnt the only problem that could come up. you will also need
a motor with a 3/4 inch shaft else you will be buying a new pully.
also most of the older 3 ph motors were 1725 rpm wihich means they use
the larger 5 1/2" pully. most of the new motors i have seen are 3450
rpm and you will need the smaller variety of pully. 3 1/4"? or there
abouts. it is a 3 belt drive pully and may be hard to locate if you
have a smaller or larger shaft size. you can take a standard mounting
plate and have ears mounted to it but i think you may be getting into
as much moey and trouble as getting a new motor. you may need to get
new pullys anyway. when i changed mine from 3 ph to single ph i found
all of the motors offered to be the higher rpm variety and of course
mine was not. check out t owwm site.

skeez

Why not save yourself all this grief and just buy a vintage Unisaw
that has a single-phase bullet motor? They will run fine on 110v or
220v and the torque those motors have is hard to match unless you go
over 3HP IMHO.

BTW, most older Unisaw builders/rebuilders/collectors would kill for a
burned out bullet motor because it can be rebuilt. Not cheap, but
"they just don't make them like that"... he says looking at his
beautiful 1948 Unisaw!

Bought mine for $450 (one-owner) and probably have $1000.00 in it
now... looks and runs like new.


On 8 Nov 2005 05:58:24 -0800, "the_tool_man"
wrote:

Hi all:

I'm searching for a used Unisaw, and anticipating buying one that's a
little rough - possibly from a school auction. It will almost
certainly have a 3-phase motor (which I can deal with) and may be 460V
(which I can't deal with). I do have access to a number of suitable
motors, but none of them have the proprietary Delta mounting. I do not
want to pay hundreds of dollars for a new motor when I have a free one,
so I'm wondering if it's possible to modify a standard motor case to
fit. The Delta mounting appears to be two large tabs welded onto the
side of the motor. Anybody done this, or have plans or instructions?
My searches so far have yeilded very little.

Regards,
John.

Ahh, well, that's plan A. However, I've been looking for months
(years, counting some casual trips to local auctions and such). All
the Unisaws in good shape with single-phase motors I've found are going
for $1000+ around here. Last auction I went to, even that Unisaw
brought $650 with a 3-phase motor, badly rusted table and no fence.
Plan B is to find a well-used one at a school auction for $400 - $500
and spend some time fixing it up. I have a VFD if it's 3-phase, but I
can only go 230V. If it's 460V, I'd need a 3-phase transformer, which
I don't have. I do have several 230V 3-phase motors (some TENV
washdown duty) but no mounting, which is why I asked my original
questions.

I know motors can be rewound for different voltages. Can a 3-phase
motor be rebuilt into a single phase? If I buy one that needs
rebuilding anyway...

Regards,
John.

Hi skeez:

All good points, for sure. Assuming I don't have to change pulley
diameter, I can re-bore or sleeve it to match the motor I use. I am
concerned about getting things lined up, but the photo's I've seen of
Delta style motors make it appear that the motor simply has two metal
flanges welded to it. This doesn't seem to be too difficult to
reproduce (which is why I asked).

Been to owwm.com - great site.

Regards,
John.

On 8 Nov 2005 11:03:17 -0800, "the_tool_man"
wrote:

Ahh, well, that's plan A. However, I've been looking for months
(years, counting some casual trips to local auctions and such). All
the Unisaws in good shape with single-phase motors I've found are going
for $1000+ around here. Last auction I went to, even that Unisaw
brought $650 with a 3-phase motor, badly rusted table and no fence.
Plan B is to find a well-used one at a school auction for $400 - $500
and spend some time fixing it up. I have a VFD if it's 3-phase, but I
can only go 230V. If it's 460V, I'd need a 3-phase transformer, which
I don't have. I do have several 230V 3-phase motors (some TENV
washdown duty) but no mounting, which is why I asked my original
questions.

I know motors can be rewound for different voltages. Can a 3-phase
motor be rebuilt into a single phase? If I buy one that needs
rebuilding anyway...

Regards,
John.

on another note.... i still have the 3 ph original motor from my saw.
it is 240 volt . if you were in or around central NC you could get it
cheap. i aint gonna try shipping this beasty! it ran fine when i
looked at the saw.

skeez

Thanks skeez:

I live in upstate SC :*) I'll let you know if I need it (gotta get the
saw first!).

Regards,
John.

On 8 Nov 2005 17:10:00 -0800, "the_tool_man"
wrote:

Thanks skeez:

I live in upstate SC :*) I'll let you know if I need it (gotta get the
saw first!).

Regards,
John.

k. just drop an email or a post. im here nearly everyday

skeez

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 19:06:14 GMT, skeezics wrote:

On 8 Nov 2005 17:10:00 -0800, "the_tool_man"
wrote:

Thanks skeez:

I live in upstate SC :*) I'll let you know if I need it (gotta get the
saw first!).

Regards,
John.

k. just drop an email or a post. im here nearly everyday

skeez

oops the email is fartntouchit at hotmail.com


skeez

Hi all:

Thanks to all who replied. It's all moot, now. Yesterday I bought a
Powermatic 66 at auction. It appears to use a standard C-face motor
mount.

Regards,
John.