You know, I’ve seen some articles on this in the past in FWW – may have been in one of the “Shops” issues. Also, I’ve noticed ads for 3ph to 1ph converters in the back of some of the regular issuesl. One of the long time Knots members will chime in with more info – you can count on it.
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Replies
A rotary converter is your best option in my opinion but they aren't cheap. Probably looking at 300+ for a decent unit.
Tom
Douglasville, GA
On the cheap you have three choices. One look for a used phase converter or have a person knowledgeable with electric motors bild you one . A friend of mine made his own for 60 bucks and a used $30 motor. Last but not least look for a used single phase motor that fits your saw, If you live in a big city try the motor rebuild shops, they may have a C-frame that fits your saw. I have one that I picked up as a spare, I would sell it however the shipping to you plus what I paid for it would not be cheap either.
Static converter by http://www.phase-a-matic.com purchased from http://www.use-enco.com is cheapest way. Some power loss but 5 hp is more than you need. Static heady duty runs around $200 while rotary runs around $745. Phase-a-matic will tell you how to set up a slave motor to act as a rotary to give full power. If you think you can learn all about phase converters in a few posts you are sadly mistaken. Talk to phase-a-matic for the particulars. I've used them many times over 20 years.
search the finewoodworking archives for an old article on building your own out of a spare, used 3ph motor that is bigger than the one in your machine- some say twice as big, so you'd need a 10hp- (which are apparently quite commonly available- and cheap-thru used equipment dealers, industrial auctions, etc). you're looking for an article titled "Converting to 3-Phase Power" by Mac Campbell. I don't know the exact issue because i have it as a reprint in Fine Woodworking on Woodworking Machines- which is probably what you really need since it also includes follow-up info, letters, etc. the original article is pre-1984, but should be on the taunton site. otherwise, search here at knots- i'm pretty sure this has been kicked around before.
m
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