20" Disc Sander

Leeson, Baldor, and AO Smith have always topped my list.

Being as it will be near a lot of dust you want a TEFC designation. Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled. These don’t allow outside debris, dust etc to enter the case. Of the TEFC motors I have seen probably the most affordable are also labeled as for Farm use, or Farm Duty.

Motor size is the NEMA designation for it’s frame size, most woodworking tools in home shops will be a NEMA 56.

-- Think safe, be safe

+1 Leeson, Baldor, AO Smith. Plus Emerson, GE, Marathon, and Weg; are durable.

Both Baldor and Marathon mfg motors for Delta/Powermatic tools.

Is motor missing the name plate?

My guess is you have 2HP Total Enclosed Fan Cooled (TEFC) 1725 RPM motor?

Typical 2HP motors come in both NEMA 56 and 143/145 frame sizes. The key difference being the size of base and OD/Length of motor shaft. So need to measure your shaft size to know which one to get as the sanding disc mounts direct to shaft.

You will also need to know if you the sander uses face mounting (adds ‘C’ designation to frame size), or standard base mounting.

Some mfg add ‘T’ designation to the frame size to identify TEFC. So guess you are looking for 56T© or 143/145T© motor.

Beware Totally enclosed is not sealed. It just mean they made it hard for dust to get inside. If want proof TEFC is not sealed, look at these post with some photos of 3HP TS motor I rebuilt last year:
https://www.lumberjocks.com/replies/5207374
https://www.lumberjocks.com/replies/5207474
A ‘mostly’ sealed motor is usually labeled wash down, or for use in wet environment.

Once you have the right frame size, motors are easy find online. Have used surplus center site to help me find what frame/HP options are available when I am shopping. If live close enough, shipping is not too bad.
https://www.surpluscenter.com

Best Luck.

-- If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all, - Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign released 1967

Thank you, I sincerely appreciate the information.

Other than a Central Machinery label, there was no information on the sander and because the seller said that none of the motors lasted for more than a few times, I wouldn’t want to go with another one of those. The company he got it from was scrapping it for the same reason.

Maybe not as often as I should but I do periodically clean the sawdust out of the motor junction boxes and check the wire nuts for tightness.

-- Ron, Pennsylvania

Direct drive is by far the simplest to implement, but consider the diameter (20”) and the velocity of the disc when selecting for RPMs and spinup torque requirements. There is significant time spent with the motor running on the starting circuit so a motor with a reliable centrifugal switch and start capacitor is what will keep a motor alive. Cheap motors cut costs in these areas.

That being said, my DC with a heavy impeller uses a Leeson 2HP and goes through many start cycles during a typical day, nary a problem.

Just went back to check something I had thought of before. AO Smith is no longer a thing. They sold out for 875 Million to Regal Beloit, who also as we are talking about them, makes Leeson.

World keeps getting bigger, while at the same time smaller, and smaller.

-- Think safe, be safe

I keep thinking about this, and for the life of me I’m having trouble seeing HF kind of $$$$, making a 20” anything, that runs even partially true.

12” I would even be surprised with, 20” is just so much more to go wrong, with even a small bit out of square.

Is the back side of that disc sporting a lot of balancing marks?

The reason I am adding this, is coupled with what Splint mentioned about start up, running rough sure won’t endear a motor to a long life.

-- Think safe, be safe

+1 AO Smith, lol
A name is just a name.
GE Motors was sold to ABB, who also owns Baldor.

Motor mfg is expensive business, and consolidation is everywhere. Worked a stint for Emerson Motors in my career. They ALL still use the old brand names to sell the stuff, so you don’t know you are getting bamboozled that they all come from the same factories.

Additional FWIW:
There are other possible frame sizes for your motor. Ones I listed above are cheapest, and more common on inexpensive tools?

There are couple other larger frame sizes where you can find 2HP motor; specifically 182/182, and 213. The shaft OD are 1-1/8 and 1-3/8, which is complete overkill for a couple of HP.
Here is reference to compare to your motor size.
https://www.baldor.com/Shared/pdf/nema_chart_04.pdf

There are many more references online, Baldor data table is more complete than some. :-)

Best Luck finding an affordable motor.

-- If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all, - Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign released 1967