Startrite Bandsaw - not performing:

[Scrums]

Hi all,

I managed to buy via Ebay a 3 ph Startrite 352 at a very good price a short time ago. The blade was a bit iffy so I got a new 4 skip from Axminster and thought....here we go....workshop heaven!

But no, despite trying all sorts of combinations of tension/speed/feed rate etc I'm still having problems - ripping just a 2.4m length of pine 2" deep, the machine will cut out at least 3 or 4 times during the cut! Can't imagine what it would do resawing Oak - the purpose for which it was bought.

I thought these were the 'Bees Knees' of bandsaws ? - what part of the equation am I missing here ?

....a frustrated Chris,

 

[Scrit]

I managed to buy via Ebay a 3 ph Startrite 352 at a very good price a short time ago. The blade was a bit iffy so I got a new 4 skip from Axminster and thought....here we go....workshop heaven!

First off the APTC blades are a bit iffy in quality terms, but then again. For resawing I'd suggest a hook tooth if you can get one - they cut faster than skip tooth and put less strain on the motor. But a minor point, really.....

But no, despite trying all sorts of combinations of tension/speed/feed rate etc I'm still having problems - ripping just a 2.4m length of pine 2" deep, the machine will cut out at least 3 or 4 times during the cut! Can't imagine what it would do resawing Oak - the purpose for which it was bought!

Well mine is a single phase and will happily rip 6in oak on Starrett 3/4in 3tpi skip, so the problem has to be elsewhere. If the machine is cutting out my suspicious mind make me think "electrics", but the first place I'd look is the safety isolators. Does your machine have safety interlocks on the doors? If these are badly adjusted the plunger might not be getting depressed sufficiently to keep the contacts closed. I had to adjust mine when it first arrived - with this same fault. If it's not that is the motor getting hot? Have you had a look at the overload protection on the contactor set, and is it set to too low a value? Are you getting 210/230 volts phase to neutral for all three phases, or is one showing a much low voltage? Are all the electrical connectors in good order, no sign of blackening or arcing? Finally it might be worth isolating the door safeties, it could be that there is a fault in one or both of them. Work through those and if it's not any of those I'll see if I can work out from my 352 what your problem is.

If things get really bad/frustrating PM me and we may be able to sort it out over the phone.

Regards

Scrit

 

[mudman]

I have the 352S and the safety catches are a right pain at times. I really must do something about adjusting them.

When you say cutting out. Is the motor actually stopping and you have to push the start button again or is it stalling in the cut?

I found at first that my bad technique could easily stall the motor. If you are cutting against the fence and you have some drift that is trying to pull the blade towards it, then the blade can jam. After adjusting everything and making sure the fence was correctly positioned, I found things much improved and non-jamming.

I've since made a single-point fence and this eliminates the problem completely.

 

[ProShop]

...

 

[Scrums]

Thanks for the replies,

I don't think that it's the safety switches on the doors - the motor just seems to give up and say '...enough' and then the machine won't won't restart immediately, that sounds electrical to me. It's identical whether I cut against the fence, or freehand to a pinged chalk line.

I'll take a look at things again when I go back to the workshop tomorrow, quite fancied the faulty intelocks though, that would have been an easy one to fix.....

Chris.

 

[Taffy Turner]

Chris,

This may sound like a stupid question, but you are running on a three phase supply with all phases present are you?

We got caught out in work a few years back when we installed our first 3 phase machine, only to find that the electricity board has disconnected two of our phases due to a shortage of power at the local substation.

If the motor makes a strange growling sound while running, you have a phase down.

Regards

Gary

 

[Scrit]

- the motor just seems to give up and say '...enough' and then the machine won't won't restart immediately, that sounds electrical to me.

Hmmm Sounds like it's more likely to be in the contactor box area. A few things, then.

1. Does the contactor set have a motor overload protection device on it? If so there will be a lever, slider or some other indicator set to the cut-out load (in Amps). If someone has fiddled with this and set it too low, then that could be it.

2. The contactor set itself might well have a defective coil (or coil supply cable), in which case it will not hold the contacts on and you'll get a cut-out.

3. What condition are the contacts in? If they are showing signs of arcing, pitting or blackening then they need attention

Scrit

 

[Scrums]

I'm pretty sure that the sparkies did the business when they refurbed the 3 phase recently.....the Wadkin lathe is working more than happily.

Scrit.....

Think I'll try poking around in the motor area - that's got to be it ( ? )

.......should I turn off the isolator first ?.......(joking !)

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

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[MIGNAL]

I really can't see it being the Axminster blade unless it's totally duff and if that's the case it should be visibly obvious. I've bought many blades from Axminster, had a few bad welds but none that struggled with 2 inch pine and I'm using an el cheapo Perform CCBB. I'd be looking at the motor and it's cut-out device.

 

[Scrums]

OK, First many thanks to those who chipped in with their thoughts/advice/opinions.....

I've given the machine a good going over and found several things not right:

1) The Cam lever to lift the motor for a pulley change wasn't working properly, not putting enough tension on the belt and not tightening up enough to stop the motor 'flapping' around.

2) The starter contacts were a bit blackened and have been cleaned off. The power cut out thingy in the starter mechanism was set in the middle, I've set it now at maximum.

I'm now getting much better results, though still not as good as I'd expected - though with some more tweaking and fine tuning + a better blade, I think it will be OK.

Cheers,

Chris.

 

[Scrit]

Hi Chris

Glad to see that you're starting to get there! If your belt is still slipping a bit you can either spray on some belt dressing (Rocol Belt Dressing, available from engineering merchants) or apply rosin to the belt (for which you'll probably need to have a violinist in the family! They use rosin on their bows, I believe)

If your guides are a bit marked, get them faced-off by a local engineering shop. They are mehanite, so very hard cast-iron, but this does make the serviceable. Much cheaper to face mill or grind than get Startrite to supply new. Do it once and it will last for a very long time, but do make your own Tufnol or hardwood guide blocks if you want to run very narrow blades - the hardened teeth can mark the mehanite.

Scrit