On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 19:34:17 -0600, Duane Bozarth
wrote:

Bill Waller wrote:
...
...Magnetic switches can be
a bear in the wood shop. I had an Allen-Bradley starter on my old
Delta-Rockwell table saw for many years. It was prone to start failure from
dampness, sawdust, and any other kind of foreign fuzz stuff that could find
it's way inside the box. Although I liked the safety of the magnetic starter, I
finally had to throw in the towel and swap it out for a toggle. ...

I've got original magnetic starters on saw, planer, jointer, ... all
that are 20+ years old and have never had a failure. It's been so
long since I've had one open I forget but I believe Rockwell was using
Square D at the time of these. The boxes are, however, sealed well
which keeps virtually all dust, etc., out. If there's an issue, I think
it may be the starter wasn't designed for the application...

The starters I had were salvaged from some plastics processing machinery. The
enclosures were NEMA 1 and provided not barrier against dust and damp. It was
the contacts on the holding relay that finally gave up. I was involved in a bit
of motor control in the seventies and had amassed a small collection of
starters, relays, control buttons & switches, and enclosures.

I did finally get rid of some of the stuff in a move, nine years ago, at least,
I think I did. :-)


Although this is an option on the Grizzly, I would do everything in my power to
hold on to the Mag switch.

Me, too, to the point of buying my own replacement if Grizzly can't come
up w/ a suitable one...
If the original poster cannot come to favorable terms with Grizzly, and can
afford to follow this avenue, I agree, wholeheartedly. My personal preference
was Allen-Bradley, but Square-D is just fine, and probably easier to pick up at
any decent electrical supply house. I would recommend a well sealed enclosure
in a wood shop environment. If one has the required drilling equipment, NEMA 12
would be a good choice.

For any of those interested in NEMA ratings for electrical enclosures, check
http://www.cdynamics.com/nema-4.html

Hey (zzzzt), don't touch (ZAP) that. :-)
Bill Waller
New Eagle, PA