Last week I picked up a Jet model JCS10 2 HP cabinet table saw. It is about 10 years old, and in very good condition. It came with an 8 foot Biesemeyer fence. (All this for $300 on Craigslist! Eat your hearts out!) There are a few things I need to do to it, and I need some advice. Here is the list:
- Electrical The motor is set up for 110 volts. I want to run it on 220 (pulls fewer amps; better/cooler for the motor). How do I make the conversion on the motor, and what type of switch would this require? (The machine currently has a 20-amp wall switch mounted on it. (!)) <!—-><!—-> <!—->
- Fence (1) I have the Biesemeyer fence itself, and its 8 foot rectangular ‘tube’ with the ruler on it. The saw however is without the fence rails (the steel angle pieces that are there to support the fence and extension table). I was going to find some steel angle of an appropriate length, and drill and tap it to make rails. Any suggestions on doing this? Is there any type of material I should use over another? Can I maybe find the actual rails somewhere? <!—-><!—->
- Fence (2) The aforementioned tube part of the fence is 8 feet long; far more than I have room to leave permanently set up in my basement. Is there a shorter version made? If so, where could I find it? Of course, I could cut it, but I’d rather keep it in one piece for possible future use.
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Thank you for your help and support.
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Alex
Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
-Groucho Marx
Replies
Alex,
For the fence, just oogle it, you'll get all kinds of hits. Go to the Biesemeyer page and you should be able to find that parts that you need. Then either Amazon, eBay or CraigsList should have them somewhere.
Sorry I can't help you w/the electrical but search in here for perhaps 220 or 110 to 220, etc. there have been numerous discussion regards the conversion. Also you might want to find a manual for your saw as it might have the wiring diagram in it. Again, Google the saw number and you should find what you're looking for.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Thanks for the advice. Googling the saw's number doesn't bring up much, however Jet does have a tech support phone number. They can probably get me a manual.
AlexOutside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
It should be possible to rewire the motor (although I seem to remember once seeing a 2 HP motor that was hardwired for 120V). There will be a junction box on the body of the motor itself, and a wiring diagram should be printed on the cover of the box (you may have to open it to look inside).
Are you sure that the switch that's currently installed is a wall switch? You can get motor switches that look a lot like wall switches from the outside.
For a 2 HP motor, you can get by with a simple motor switch (about $40), rather than a motor starter (about $200). Starters include overload protection, which you don't get with a switch. The motor probably already has some form of overload protection built in. You can get both switches and starters from places like McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/) or W. W. Grainger (http://www.grainger.com/).
-Steve
Thanks. I will browse those sites.
Yes, it is a wall switch. I shudder trying to think of someone reaching down and struggling to find it while a board is binding and threatening to kick!
AlexOutside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
This may help.
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It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Thanks a lot for the manual. Jet doesn't seem to post these readily available on their website. (Or did I miss something?)
Thanks again,
MusashiOutside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
I have better luck going to their parent companys site, WMH Toolgroup.
Did you notice the 120-220 wiring change a couple pages in?------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Yes, I saw the instructions. Looks like a piece of cake.
MusashiOutside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
I called Jet's tech support number, and they were able to e-mail me a parts list, but they didn't have the full manual. It is actually a different saw from the one whose manual you posted.
I was puzzled by the lack of either a wiring diagram on the motor, or any mention of voltage conversion on the schematic that came with the parts list. The motor's name plate said simply 230 volts, although it was definitely set up for 110 when I bought it.
So today I brought it to an electric motor repair shop to ask. He said that it was a 230 motor, and then showed me how it would work on either voltage, as is. Definitely not as powerful on 110, but it did turn fast.
So the upshot is, no conversion necessary (beyond changing the plug, that is).
MusashiOutside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
"He said that it was a 230 motor, and then showed me how it would work on either voltage, as is. Definitely not as powerful on 110, but it did turn fast."
The no-load speed of an induction motor depends on the line frequency (e.g., 60 Hz) and the number of windings, and is independent of voltage. So yes, any induction motor will run on lower voltage than it's rated for, but the power will be significantly reduced (by about a factor of four in this particular case).
-Steve
Very interesting. I never knew any of this stuff. (This is why I love getting in over my head on a project - you always learn so much.)
Was running it on 110 causing excessive wear and tear on the motor? (Other than lacking the power to get through tough wood, that is.) I mean, is it inherently bad for a 230 motor to do that?
Musashi
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx
"I mean, is it inherently bad for a 230 motor to do that?"
No. The worst-case scenario would be that the motor would stall, or wouldn't even start at all. If it did that and you left it on, it would eventually overheat.
It is bad to run an induction motor on a lower frequency than it's designed for (e.g., a 60 Hz motor on 50 Hz). The iron "saturates" (basically, it gets as magnetized as it can, and can't be magnetized any further, yet the current keeps trying), which in turn causes the current in the windings to increase dramatically, which then causes the motor to overheat.
-Steve
Check out the tag on the motor. If the Voltage section says 120/240 you can swap it over to 240V. Wiring info should be inside of the 3"X3" work box on the motor.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
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