I’m cleaning and setting up an old Craftsman (King-Seeley) jointer. The original manual calls out for a 1/2HP 3450rpm motor. Mine has a period correct Craftsman 1/2HP 1750 mounted to it. I’m going to wake this thing up with a faster motor. My only question is the HP aspect. It seems like it is more common to find 1 to 1.5 HP in a 3450 motor. Will it be ok to go with high HP? I see no harm as it will still be spinning at 3450 as recommended. I do have the correct pulley size already. It’s just that my machine is spinning at half-speed. Thanks.
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The higher HP will be fine. The machine's vibration will change so keep an eye out for things working loose, especially right after the transplant.
I've never worked on a jointer that feeds from the left... it's kooky looking.
I appreciate the tip. And this thing doesn't feed from the left. I fed a board through it myself. Now I'll have to go back out and look. Maybe the phone camera makes it look backwards?
I just zoomed in... I was reading the outside left corner of the pork chop as the pivot. Now I see the setscrew on the right side corner.
Given that it is not a direct drive machine, you don't need to buy a new high speed motor. Just buy a bigger motor pulley (and maybe a longer belt). Twice as big a pulley doubles the cutter head speed. Pulleys are much cheaper, and you already have the mounting of the motor correct.
I will add to this is a previous owner may have already sized the pulleys to adjust for the different motor speed. Before making any changes verify the original pulley sizes versus what is installed.
Correct! I looked again and the previous owner paired this motor with a 4" pulley. Makes sense. Thanks.