Startrite T/A 145? motor upgrade

[2121marty]

Hi, I recently purchased a t/a 145…I think it’s a 145 anyway. Although I love the machine, perfect compact size, plenty of weight, amazing fence…the motor is woeful. Even with a brand new (£70) narrow kerf ripping blade it will stall ripping 2 inch dry graded pine. My old makita table top would fly through 3” oak. Is there a readily available straight swap motor upgrade available?

S/N 135 30073

Thanks in advance
Martin

 

[Ttrees]

You might find that Myfordman or googling might give some motor frame size dimensions, should it be mounted on a plate the same as the 275.
I have a post about my machine which has the size of pulley should it be a different size.
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/startrite-275-tablesaw-motor-issues.103601/If buying both a motor and pulley, then I guess one might look into taper lock pulleys for shafts which might be slightly questionable for cheap.

 

[Alasdair]

Had a quick google and brook motors became brook crompton in the 1970's. It may be that the motor you have is worn out or some of the induction coils have failed. Another point would be if someone has changed the pulley ratio. If you have a local electric motor company they should be able to advise on replacement and perhaps more power. I replaced a three phase one on my saw with single phase. It used to cut out until I upgraded the mains supply and starter unit.

 

[ndbrown]

Hi Martin, I have the same model as you have. It was not in great condition and missing a fence. I rebuilt it, replaced motor and spindle bearings and belts, plus sourced alternative missing parts. Although I rarely saw softwood, I find it will rip and crosscut to capacity in Iroko and Hard maple without stalling. You have to feed it slower at full depth of cut but no issues. I will try and grab a photo of the blades I am using, purchased via Doug at Cutting Solutions UK who mainly I believe they mainly serve the trade but will also deal with hobby users. A good compact saw in my experience

Machine

Rip Blade

Rip and Blade packaging

Nigel

 

[2121marty]

Further to original post, I am very confident that I have the right blade spec however to stall at 2” on dry pine makes for a next to useless saw.

I have spoken to Greg at motors direct this morning who was more than helpful but it appears my motor has the wrong mounting points for a straight swap. I have 3 fixing points 2 of which are 68mm apart and one is 77mm, the shaft size is 22mm and sticks out around 55mm. Are there adapter plates made to suit a 4 point fixing?, seems that there is no point paying the best part of £400 for a rewind when the motor runs already?

many help or advice welcome…I am more than a little out of my depth.

 

[2121marty]

Hi Martin, I have the same model as you have. It was not in great condition and missing a fence. I rebuilt it, replaced motor and spindle bearings and belts, plus sourced alternative missing parts. Although I rarely saw softwood, I find it will rip and crosscut to capacity in Iroko and Hard maple without stalling. You have to feed it slower at full depth of cut but no issues. I will try and grab a photo of the blades I am using, purchased via Doug at Cutting Solutions UK who mainly I believe they mainly serve the trade but will also deal with hobby users. A good compact saw in my experience

Hi, do you have the spec of the replacement motor you used? Cheers

 

[Distinterior]

Your picture is an original motor for the TA 145 & 165 saw. The method of mounting is the same as the 165 model but different to the 175 and 275 models which had more powerful motors.
I have a fair bit of experience of these saws as I have refurbished quite a few.
From what you described, it does seem something is wrong as I would expect the saw to cut through that timber without any issues.

You say you have fitted a thinner kerf blade than the recommended width..? Have you reduced the thickness of the riving knife to allow for the thinner saw blade..?
If not, it could be jamming the blade as you feed the timber through.....

 

[deema]

I’m not familiar with the saw as I haven’t refurbished one. However, it could be that the motor has dual capacitors, one to start it up and one for running. The run capacitor could be faulty.

After checking dimensionally that a new motor will fit, I would simply drill the required new hole pattern into the ring, no adaptor required.

 

[Distinterior]

Only one capacitor on these motors...and a centrifugal switch.

 

[2121marty]

Your picture is an original motor for the TA 145 saw. The method of mounting is the same as the 165 model but different to the 175 and 275 models which had more powerful motors.
I have a fair bit of experience of these saws as I have refurbished quite a few.
From what you described, it does seem something is wrong as I would expect the saw to cut through that timber without any issues.

You say you have fitted a thinner kerf blade than the recommended width..? Have you reduced the thickness of the riving knife to allow for the thinner saw blade..?
If not, it could be jamming the blade as you feed the timber through.....

I pretty sure it’s not jamming it does feed through very slowly…this is the blade I purchased after looking up original spec…it’s the original riving knife I guess but I did trim the back edge off as it touched the body at a point.

 

[ndbrown]

Hi Martin, just to be clear, I have exactly the same motor as you, also in single phase. As I said, my motor bearings were shot and had an external grease nipple. I replaced them with the same size of bearing but sealed SKF, I seem to remember type, but "RS". Motor has been fine now for 8 years. I think it has a start capacitor only, some photos
Motor

Bearing

Nigel

 

[ndbrown]

And I forgot to say, capped off the motor grease tubes as they are no longer required. Spindle was also rebuilt with SKF Imperial bearings. Whole machine runs really smoothly. Motor and spindle are easy strip downs.

 

[Distinterior]

A picture of a motor and the upper and lower pulleys...

 

[2121marty]

Hi Martin, just to be clear, I have exactly the same motor as you, also in single phase. As I said, my motor bearings were shot and had an external grease nipple. I replaced them with the same size of bearing but sealed SKF, I seem to remember type, but "RS". Motor has been fine now for 8 years. I think it has a start capacitor only, some photos
Motor
View attachment 129959
Bearing
View attachment 129960

Nigel

Gosh, looks good, you exhibit far more technical skills than I do, I’m a gardener although fairly practical, not good on motors and engines I’m afraid. Thanks for your efforts in reply, but that looks scary as hell to me!

 

[2121marty]

And I forgot to say, capped off the motor grease tubes as they are no longer required. Spindle was also rebuilt with SKF Imperial bearings. Whole machine runs really smoothly. Motor and spindle are easy strip downs.
View attachment 129961

Like new

 

[Spectric]

If you need to use a new motor then could you not get an off the shelf flange mount motor and either re-drill the existing mount to suit the PCD of the new motor or make an adaptor plate where the plate is fixed to the motor using countersink fixings and then the assembly is just bolted to your machine.

 

[2121marty]

If you need to use a new motor then could you not get an off the shelf flange mount motor and either re-drill the existing mount to suit the PCD of the new motor or make an adaptor plate where the plate is fixed to the motor using countersink fixings and then the assembly is just bolted to your machine.

I think you are right, the original motor runs and is very quiet so I imagine there’s nothing wrong with the mechanics of it, I cant tell if it’s getting to speed though, but it is seriously down on grunt.

 

[ndbrown]

Hi Martin, check that the saw spindle and motor spin freely and dont feel rough when you turn them. If the motor feels fine, then maybe get it checked out by a local motor specialist. Startrite were a good company and would have specified everything in the original machine for the stated capacity. Something seems wrong, easy to say I know but appreciate not so easy to identify. Obviously check riving knive and blade are in complete alignment.
nigel

 

[Distinterior]

Looking at the picture you posted of your saw in post 10, .....it seems your saw is more like a TA 165 than a TA145.
Having said that, the riving knife, saw blade dimensions and pulleys are the same for both models.

I think you will struggle to find an "off the shelf" more powerful replacement motor to fit that saw due to the method of mounting.

As I said earlier, even though these motors are only rated at 900watts, it should have no problem cutting through softwood of the dimensions you mentioned.

If your blade and riving knife are compatible with each other, then check all the bearings on the motor and the spindle bearings for smooth rotation.

Edit. ndbrown beat me to it...

 

[2121marty]

Looking at the picture you posted of your saw in post 10, .....it seems your saw is more like a TA 165 than a TA145.
Having said that, the riving knife, saw blade dimensions and pulleys are the same for both models.

I think you will struggle to find an "off the shelf" more powerful replacement motor to fit that saw due to the method of mounting.

As I said earlier, even though these motors are only rated at 900watts, it should have no problem cutting through softwood of the dimensions you mentioned.

If your blade and riving knife are compatible with each other, then check all the bearings on the motor and the spindle bearings for smooth rotation.

Edit. ndbrown beat me to it...

Many thanks, forgive me, I’m not to good at this stuff, I’ve attached a couple of videos showing motor and blade moving, no noise or anything unusual. The riving knife is a touch out on one side so I’ll take it to be machined down.