A little help with my Husky A1S mill

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larry2c

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Hi all - I joined this forum a couple years ago but didn't have much time to be a "home machinist" while I was working. I retired recently and now I'm getting more time to work with my mill and maybe add a lathe one of these days. For the record, I was a machinist/NC programmer/manufacturing automation specialist for about 40 years so I'm really looking forward to just playing instead of working!

My current help request has to do mostly with the motor for my mill. It is a 240/120 motor wired for 120 and it has worked fine for the times I've used it over the past couple years. Last week I started a project making some game boards for Christmas presents and today I noticed that the dedicated 20 amp outlet the mill is plugged into is tripping the breaker if I also run my shop vac at the same time (just a little guy, not industrial). I also noticed that the case of the motor is getting really hot and I guess I can smell it a little bit (not sure if its an electrical smell or hot grease).

I really don't know much about electrical so I'm a bit hesitant to tear into the motor. Also, I need to make a half dozen or so of these game boards over the next couple weeks so I can get them mailed out in time for Christmas. Can anyone give me some tips on what to look at? Or maybe where I could get a replacement motor - FWIW, I could live with a straight 120V motor which I assume would be cheaper than the 240/120 motor I have.

I also noticed there are several Husky owners out there when I did a search on my problem. If any of you guys have other info on this mill I'd be greatly appreciative. I saw pictures from MikeInOr of his mill and it had what looked like cast metal handwheels for the table. Mine are plastic and all have had the "handle" break out of the wheel - I'd love to know where to get a metallic version. I also saw where Radials was doing a complete rebuild on his mill. He mentioned maybe starting a thread on the rebuild but I haven't found it so far - anyone know if it got created?

That's enough for this post. Thanks in advance for the help!
 
First thing I would do is check the connections where the power cable hooks up. If there’s corrosion it could cause problems and it easy and free to do.

If you do end up swapping the motor consider 3phase with a vfd provided you have 220v available.

cheers,

john
 
120 volt motors pull a fair amount of amperage- as much as 5 to 6 times the steady rating when they start up. Does it start quickly or does it struggle to start?
What is the HP rating? Is this a dual voltage motor? Wiring the motor for 240 volts and running a 240 volt line to it is recommended if the motor is 3/4 HP or higher.
Have you checked that the vents are clear and the motor isn't packed with dust?
mark
 
You might want to post the data plate from the motor so we know more about what you have.
You can take the belt off and try spinning the motor by hand to check for bearings that might be seizing up.
 
Thanks all - regarding the motor plate, I haven't been able to find it yet but I need to get access around behind the machine for a last check. According to literature I've found on this mill, it should be a 1hp motor.

Yes, it is a dual voltage motor and I am running it as 120V (reference my original post). I do have 240 in the garage but since it was originally wired for 120, I just used it that way and it has been working fine for the last 4 years or so (admittedly, intermittent use)

I did some Googling on motors like this and it sounds like it should use a centrifugal switch to go from the start up windings to the running windings (might not be the proper terms, I'm not an electrician - it's just what I remember from the article). What I notice is that until yesterday, it always had sort of a rattling sound for the first few seconds then it would get quite with just belt & spindle noise. I assume that rattling was the centrifugal switch. Now it starts up slow but without the rattling.

I'm debating on whether I should open up the motor and see if it is just that centrifuge being hung up or something more. There is an electric motor repair place about 10 miles from me so I may call them to see what a rebuild would cost.

Regarding the suggestions to go to 240V and/or get a 3 phase motor. I'm really not sure why that would be "better" for my specific use. I know all the machines I ran in the shop were 240V 3 phase machines but I'm not running this machine on heavy cuts or extended periods of time. As I said, it has been fine for my use as a 120V machine. I can't see going to the expense of getting a 3 phase inverter or even trying to rewire it for 220V since I'm really not an electrical whiz. Just trying to learn, not start a heated debate :)
 
Here's the tag on the motor. My apologies for the crooked photo but I didn't want to pull the mill away from the wall so this was my best attempt. I was wrong on the HP - I thought it was 1HP but looks like I got the high power 1.5HP motor! One interesting thing I noticed is that in pictures of other people's 8X30 mill motor the capacitor is mounted on the side of the motor case. My motor does not have that - so where would the capacitor be?

mill motor.JPG
 
If the capacitor isn't on the side it's probably under the cover on the bottom.

As for the 3 phase suggestion it's really only if your motor is shot which is unlikely given the symptoms you describe. Small 3 phase motors are often available used pretty cheap and the price for VFD's has come down dramatically. This setup would give you adjustable speed with a knob rather than changing the belt, it's the kind of thing you don't realize you needed until you have it.

Cheers,

1ohn
 
If I read that right the tag says its pulling 19A at 115V so you are living on the edge for a 20A breaker.
The amperage will go down by 1/2 of that on 220, so you could run on 15A 220 setup.
Most motors are much happier at 220.
 
OK, I may have figured this thing out! I pulled the end cap off so I could have a look at the shaft size. To get a real measurement, I pulled the plastic fan off the shaft and the centrifugal switch just fell off! Apparently, the set screw that holds it on the shaft had fallen out at some point. I found some info on the Grizzly site that seems to match up to this motor and using that I reinstalled the centrifugal switch and put a screw in to hold it in place. It seemed to start up like it used to and after letting it run under no load for 5 minutes the motor was still cool.

Next I will remove the switch, clean the points a bit, and then reassemble it all so I can do some load testing. Fingers crossed! I'll update once I have finished the test.
switch.JPG
 
Well, my excitement was premature - after running it for 15 minutes or so the motor is getting hot and I can smell the "maybe" electrical smell again. Dang!

I called the local motor repair place and they said for motors that size it's cheaper to replace them than repair them - they get $115 and hour for the work. I may give Grizzly a call and see what they sell their motors for...
 
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