I had the same deal with the dust which was basically like a casting, which would have made a good photo.
Can't remember if I took the end bells off to check, but have done so on other motors and found no sawdust.
Might certainly be worth giving the bearings a whirl, should the motor be out of the machine.
Now what VFD to buy, should you be on a shoestring or go by Hitachi manual specs for things, is up to you.
I have a few cheapies, and destroyed one by bogging my bandsaw down.
Just some food for thought should heavy work be foreseen
The Hitachi way of thinking, probably the same as others who build fancy VFD's
is rating the drive to cope with double the amperage, or something along those lines.
Worth noting if heavy work is foreseen, should the motor might be on the small side
and the capacity of the machine decent.
Hopefully you find Bob's induction motor document, beneath his signature.... if you can find out
where the hell "the other place" is, as I don't believe were allowed mention
Good luck
Tom
