Just a cautionary note - let's say you did rewind the motor as you
describe. You still wouldn't be finished. The machine's switch is
likely only sized for the (much smaller) current that would be
drawn with a 660V motor. By rewinding to 220V you are now going to
need 3 times as much current. So if you had (e.g.) a switch that
could pass 10A max. it would now need to be sized to 30A max. And
replacing the switching electrics can be quite expensive. So be
sure to think through and completely price out your project before
you start.

By the way, it is very possible to use a different motor on a BP
head. You just have to make an adapter. I have a spare head with
a 3hp Dayton motor on it which has an adapter which was machined
from aluminum plate. I'm going to replace that motor (wrong RPM)
with a new one I got on ebay. Real Soon Now. I'll probably write
that project up when I do it.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

"Brian" wrote:


I'm in Canada, where commerical power is just about always 550/600 volt
three phase. My shop, of course, is 220 single phase. I'm looking at a
Bridgeport type mill, and all of the used ones have this type of motor.
I've asked the vendors if these types of motors are typically able to be
re-wired to 220 volt three phase, so that I can use a normal phase
converter, but I don't get answers.

So, can a 550 volt three phase motor found on a Bridgeport J head typically,
or in some cases, be wired as a 220 volt motor? (actually, I suspect that I
would get 200 volt three phase out of a phase converter, but I have little
grasp of the detail of this ). Any ideas?

Brian