Safety Concerns About Old Electric Motor.

pgmrdan

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The motor was still in use when I bought the Craftsman lathe a couple of weeks ago. It's a Delco Motor A3375, 1/4th hp, 40+ lbs. It's a heavy beast.

I can't see anything wrong with it. It does have the cloth insulated wires and the lathe is made to take a 1/3rd hp motor so this one might be a bit weak for it. The cloth isn't dry and crumbly.

The pluses are that it's heavy and the base on it is nice. The base is attached to the motor at an offset on pivot points and has a spring that pulls the motor back into position if the belt pulls it over a bit. I sort of like the idea.

Should I continue using it or should I consider it unsafe?
 
From your description it sounds safe. Maybe a bit under powered for your machine, but I would would use it.

Just make sure you have a proper ground on it.
 
if the motor runs well and doesn't smell during operation, i'd consider running it to it's final demise.
But i'm not like all the others ;)
Just because it's old , doesn't mean it's bad
you could (should) do a thorough inspection and testing, should you have a question

if you need help in testing procedures, i'd be glad to lend a hand and walk you through the process
 
Thanks guys!

I'll open up the case and vacuum out the swarf and what-not then reassemble and make sure the outside is cleaned up. I'm going to put a new cord on it with ground. :)

I also need to wire up a switch. Plugging and unplugging was the previous switch.

I just hope I don't release the magic smoke!
 
Since this is a 110/220 motor I know that there are two windings that run in series when running as 220 and in parallel when running as 110. Is there a phasing concern when wiring up the motor for 110 (or 220 for that matter)?
 
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if it has a start capacitor, the phase will determine rotation
 
Is there a phasing concern when wiring up the motor for 110 (or 220 for that matter)?
Yes, but if you keep each side of the AC line connected to one winding, the other end of each winding will come out right.
 
There should be a rubber coating under the cloth. If it is still soft then I would think it is safe.
 
No motor expert here, but I've put to service a few motors into service with fabric insulation. Never had an issue thus far, it worked back then :)

If you notice it's under powered, you could try a speed reduction countershaft for more torque.
 
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