Motors for an Older Craftsman Table Saw.

I also have one of the older (also Gold) Craftsman saws which I fixed up when I bought it about 25 years ago. One thing I noticed
on mine was the cast (Zamak?) pulleys were seriously warped and introduced a bunch of wobble and vibration. I replaced
them with machined steel pulleys and a link belt and the vibration went away. You might want to check your pulleys for
runout.
 
if your in no hurry try some garage sales. i have salvaged motors from worn out or broken things for years. tried to sell some at yard sale 4 or 5 . with power to show that they ran. no one wanted them . i have a 3450 speed motor from a black and decker lawn mower. used the mower for 20 years til i could not find belts for it.my drill press motor made smoke and growled so i replaced it with a 1/2 horse marathon that hadent seen the light of day for at least 20 years. double the power.
 
I'd go with something like this.
Aaron

Or higher HP
 
you could search out a 1, on up to 3 hp motor in the 56 frame.
3hp is the largest hp offered on normal 56 frame motors (although i have serviced 5hp special use motors in the 56frame in air compressor duty)
the 56frame will usually have a 5/8" shaft, with the exception of the 56HZ frame- it will have a 7/8" shaft
 
since i bought the drill press probably 30 yrs ago at auction for $20 i decided to stop trying to fix oooold junk and go for new . besides 1/2 hp motor turns the wrong way and is not reverse able.
 

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I should have updated this a long time ago.
I pulled the motor and found it packed with sawdust.
A simple cleaning (brushing out followed by taking it out to the garage and blowing it out with my air compressor and it was happy again.
That was last year early 2020.
Since then I upgrade the whole thing to to a Power Matic 1000, and gave the old Craftsman to a friend who was looking for a saw
 
I replaced the 2hp open frame motor on my Powermatic 65 cabinet saw with a 5hp TEFC motor because I was tired of always having to blow out the 3hp to rid it of saw dust. The 5hp motor lasted about 10 minutes before I took it out and put the 2hp back in. The TEFC 5hp was SO HEAVY I could barely tilt the blade back to an upright perpendicular position (left tilt saw). I figured putting that much weight on the 10" saw was just asking for trouble and asking for something to break. That was 20 years or so ago. I still have to blow out the 2hp a couple times a year. The guy I bought my Powermatic 65 from actually told me he was selling it because he was tired of blowing the packed saw dust out of the open frame motor. He replaced it with a Powermatic 1000. I was very pleased with the deal I got on the 65 so I guess blowing the motor out isn't that bad.

... just something to consider when looking for a new motor for your Craftsman table saw.

My Powermatic 71 12" cabinet saw on the other hand easily handles the 5hp 3ph TEFC motor it came with but the innards are MUCH more heavy duty than the Powermatic 65.

One thing I have noticed about under powered table saws is that they seem the be more prone to have a gnarly piece of hardwood pinch the blade causing a kickback. The more powerful saws seem to power through the twisted grain better cutting the wood instead of letting it pinch, slow the blade then kick it back.
 
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