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Mystery: why is my table saw working perfectly again?

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nickbatz

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'm asking this silly question to figure out what went wrong before to avoid doing it again.

My Craftsman table saw 315.228310 struggled on things it cuts through easily last time I used it. Now it's working perfectly.

The blade and fence are aligned, so it's not that. I can't see anything funny going on with the belt, i.e. it doesn't appear to need replacing.

Is it possible that something was stuck somewhere? I didn't see anything obvious before, but who knows.

And I don't think failing motors are intermittent this way, right?

I'm in Los Angeles, so I doubt it has anything to do with the temperature or humidity.

TIA
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
MrUnix said:
Cut any really wet wood lately?!? ;)
Brad
Click to expand...
That would make sense, and it's quite possible, although it struggled on multiple pieces of wood.

For example, just cutting rabbets out of 2-1/2" x 3/4" poplar for a picture frame - i.e. not even all the way through - is (yuk yuk) water under the bridge for this saw. Yeah it's easy to feed narrow pieces through at a slight angle, but I was careful not to.

But I think your guess is the most likely. Thanks.

Weird!
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
WoodenDreams said:
Density of the wood can make a difference. Example; poplar verses hickory. Thickness and or, Dry verses wet wood. If your cutting wood, like the density of hickory, The blades won't stay sharp as long, verses cutting pine and mahogany.
Click to expand...
Yeah, and in fact I ordered a new blade because of that. But the current one is working fine again, so I haven't put the new blade in.

As a matter of fact, I cut a very dense 4/4 piece of red oak, and I was surprised at how easily it went through it after the last misadventure.

I do think something was jammed somewhere, and I can't figure out where it could have been.
 
#6 ·
I'm not an electrician, but I wonder if it is possible to have a bad connect somewhere that has, since the problem occurred, gotten bumped or moved in such a way as to remake a good (better) connection. Could something like that temporarily reduce the voltage and cause the motor to struggle? If so, you should check all of your wiring and connections before something worse happens.
 
#7 ·
What about an arbor bearing? My Unisaw made a lot of noise one day, and I found the arbor was warm. I had to use the saw a few more times before I had new bearings to put in, and I did not hear the noise, or have the warm arbor. I think that in my case the one bearing that ran rough when I took it out must have made the noise but only did it that one time.
 
#8 ·
nickbatz said:
I'm asking this silly question to figure out what went wrong before to avoid doing it again.

My Craftsman table saw 315.228310 struggled on things it cuts through easily last time I used it. Now it's working perfectly.

The blade and fence are aligned, so it's not that. I can't see anything funny going on with the belt, i.e. it doesn't appear to need replacing.

Is it possible that something was stuck somewhere? I didn't see anything obvious before, but who knows.

And I don't think failing motors are intermittent this way, right?

I'm in Los Angeles, so I doubt it has anything to do with the temperature or humidity.

TIA
Click to expand...
Was the motor humming loudly when struggling or just giving up quietly?

If loud, I'd start by looking for something mechanical: blade, bearings, trash, etc..

If quiet, I'd start by looking for something electrical: socket, plug, cord, switch, motor connections, brushes, ...

Good luck! (y)
 
#9 ·
bilyo said:
I'm not an electrician, but I wonder if it is possible to have a bad connect somewhere that has, since the problem occurred, gotten bumped or moved in such a way as to remake a good (better) connection. Could something like that temporarily reduce the voltage and cause the motor to struggle? If so, you should check all of your wiring and connections before something worse happens.
Click to expand...
Every used a circular saw at the end of a couple hundred feet of 16 gauge extension cords? Yep, they get pretty weak and pretty quiet. I think you're on the right track. (y)

I've worked in places where the voltage might vary between 83-135vac measured over a 24 hr period. Would have been curious to know if other motors were struggling: refrigerator, HVAC, etc..
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Thanks for the replies.

ManySplinters said:
Was the motor humming loudly when struggling or just giving up quietly?
Click to expand...
Quiet. Could well be the electricity, interesting thought.

I mean, we don't have any issues with power in our house, but the panel is very old and we did have a 220V circuit put in for our EV, so it's possible that the car was charging and I didn't think about that.

Hm...
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Nick424 said:
What about an arbor bearing? My Unisaw made a lot of noise one day, and I found the arbor was warm. I had to use the saw a few more times before I had new bearings to put in, and I did not hear the noise, or have the warm arbor. I think that in my case the one bearing that ran rough when I took it out must have made the noise but only did it that one time.
Click to expand...
Someone suggested that when I posted about it a couple of months ago (when the saw was acting up).

It seems unlikely, but not impossible.

Right now I think the most interesting suspect is that I was charging the car. It draws 35 amps, and because it's 220V, that comes from both AC legs (is that what each half of the biphase power is called?). In other words it doesn't matter that the saw is on a different circuit, given that each individual circuit is 18A... mm hm.
 
#12 ·
Someone with more knowledge on this please correct me. I think typical residential service these days is around 200 amps. You say your house is old. If you have only about 100 amp service, I wonder if you would be wise to have larger cable installed with a new 200 amp or more capacity panel.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
bilyo said:
Someone with more knowledge on this please correct me. I think typical residential service these days is around 200 amps. You say your house is old. If you have only about 100 amp service, I wonder if you would be wise to have larger cable installed with a new 200 amp or more capacity panel.
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It would definitely be wise, but it's expensive to put in a new panel! Given that everything works (except the table saw that day), that's not a high priority - for example we've been in the house for 32 years, the roof wasn't new when we bought it, and roofs last about years. :)

Actually, I think we have more than 100 amps. "Old" means the house was built in 1942, and the panel has to be much newer than that.
 
#14 ·
We used to live in a house constructed in the 50s that only had, I think, 60 amp service. We increased the service to 200 amp and, again I think, the power company put in the new wire from the pole to the house. We were then responsible for everything from there down. I don't know if it works that way everywhere, but you might ask your power company how that works if you haven't already.
 
#15 ·
nickbatz said:
Someone suggested that when I posted about it a couple of months ago (when the saw was acting up).

It seems unlikely, but not impossible.

Right now I think the most interesting suspect is that I was charging the car. It draws 35 amps, and because it's 220V, that comes from both AC legs (is that what each half of the biphase power is called?). In other words it doesn't matter that the saw is on a different circuit, given that each individual circuit is 18A... mm hm.
Click to expand...
If I hooked up my 1700 watt espresso machine onto one of your 110 circuits would it create so much current draw that the final 220 circuit is unbalanced?
 
#16 ·
bilyo said:
Someone with more knowledge on this please correct me. I think typical residential service these days is around 200 amps. You say your house is old. If you have only about 100 amp service, I wonder if you would be wise to have larger cable installed with a new 200 amp or more capacity panel.
Click to expand...
My building code called for single aug for the main panel feed so I used double aug because I don't like building to minimum specs. I figured that double aug wire would run cooler and be less susceptible to current loss.
 
#17 ·
My power company PG&E has 2 different types of connecters for the pole service feed. The old type is a standard 2-bolt clamp and there is a new type called a marine connector for high humidity and marine settings. PG&E hired subcontracters from the midwest to replace all the drop feeds in my neighborhood and they randomly used standard and marine connectors throughout the neighborhood. I am 100 feet from ocean water and in 20 years all the standard connectors at the pole will be arcing, sparking and burning out small tranformers that convert power for small appliances. A bad pole connector can be heard sizzling and popping when there is heavy fog or mist.
 
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nickbatz
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