Jet Bandsaw Motor Not Spinning Freely

[CaptainBarnacles]

Hi all,

I took delivery of my new (to me) Jet bandsaw yesterday and had to strip off some of the heavier lumps in order to be able to lug it into the workshop.

When I took off the motor I noticed that the motor spindle doesn’t spin freely. As far as I can remember all my previous machinery’s motors have spun easily when not engaged with belts etc. I am reluctant to plug it in and try it without knowing why it isn’t free spinning. Is it possible that there’s mechanical braking on the motor? If so, I presume that brake should be released when power is connected? And if that’s the case how does that work when setting up the saw - as we all know the saw should be disconnected from the mains when changing blades etc but to track the blade I’d need to be able to spin the wheels? :?

 

[Myfordman]

Such are the joys of second order repercussions from safety devices!

 

[CHJ]

Does the drive belt have a tensioner, if so I presume you would be able to slacken off the drive belt to allow the lower wheel to spin.

 

[CaptainBarnacles]

Such are the joys of second order repercussions from safety devices!

 

[CaptainBarnacles]

Does the drive belt have a tensioner, if so I presume you would be able to slacken off the drive belt to allow the lower wheel to
spin.

I like your thinking, thank you Yes, the motor has a pivot to remove tension from the belt. It has a pivot bolt at one side and a clamp lever at the other to allow relatively quick tension changes. The manual makes no mention of doing this for tracking etc but it does seem logical.