Wilmac bandsaw restoration MKII

[robert the violinist]

Hi ,
Ive managed to get it free by smoothing each side of the bar a bit as it seems to be nickel plated and i think this corroding slightly has caused the problem. I tapped gently with a small pin hammer without a wood block and just kept at it and it slowly began to move .Put a bit of 3 in 1 on and eventually got it right out with the help of a 10mm bit of drill rod on the final bit through the frame. There wasnt much rust or anything at all inside the hole or where the bar was inside so a bit of a puzzle. Ive polished the bar a bit and it now runs up and down smoothly.
So didnt need any fancy pullers or clamps.
The top wheel came off no bother following your directions,thanks.
Bob
p.s any idea why theres such a variation in the main body casting ?

[Retired]

Hi,

I'm pleased you finally got the guide bar out Bob; many such items tend to "freeze" through lack of use/lubrication but once they move the slightest amount the seal is broken and as you say once free it makes you wonder why they were stuck in the first place?

I always have plenty of off-cuts of metal such as angle iron and channel iron; I also have lengths of threaded rod in stock (cheaply available from Screwfix in metre lengths) so it's not a problem for me to rig up pullers etc; rigging up a suitable puller takes time but better than ending up with a broken casting. It's incredibly simple to cause damage whilst taking one of these old machines to pieces so a bit of patience goes a long way.

It's easy to miss the ring nut which secures the top band wheel especially if it is covered with old grease and dirt once the dust cap is removed. The easiest things to miss are grub screws and roll pins.

Good question regarding the variation in main frame castings Bob and one I don't know the answer to but it's possible Wilmac being a small company experimented a bit because its easy to modify a casting plug; many years ago I made a wooden casting plug when I intended to experiment making my own lathe head-stock for a woodturning lathe; the subsequent castings were substantial to say the least because I added plenty of depth to allow for two back to back front taper roller bearings at the nose end and a plain bearing the other end. On a lathe adding taper bearings at each end of the mandrel is a problem because once the mandrel/bearings warm up accuracy can be lost? At that time I owned a big Colchester lathe and was going to experiment with line boring. I no longer have the two castings but making the plug and getting the castings poured was an interesting project in itself. I remember both castings cost £80 about 14 years ago. In America there are lots of back-yard foundries and lots of discussions on forums.

You should now be able to make rapid progress with your Wilmac restoration Rob; have you decided on the paint and colour yet?

Kind regards, Col.

[robert the violinist]

Hi Col,
I did make a bearing puller out of scrap and threaded bar for my chester mini lathe when i upgraded it to taper roller bearings. Interested in your comment though about not having them in either end of the main spindle.Something i didnt really think about but it did seem to improve the lathe a little ,I just followed instructions on the arc eurotrade website .
Ive never thought about making my own castings sounds a bit beyond me but must have been fun to do. I have thought about making a homemade forge occasionally because i make my own knives for violinmaking and other tools out of O1 steel.
Is the motor 440v star i got with this Wilmac only good for the crap heap?? Someone has done some rewiring or something on it but the details are all worn off the piece of paper thats stuck to the motor.
Thanks Bob
I tried stripping one of the wheel covers with caustic soda yesterday but didnt touch the paint. I may paint it Reseda green like the Pultra i did as i have a bit of paint left ,i also have a bit of epoxy primer (Penguard HB) left from another project last year and some green polyurethane two part boat paint (Jotun Hardtop XP) which may be a bit too bright for my liking .

[robert the violinist]

Bob,

Is that the wreck that was on ebay recently?
If so you've taken on an 'interesting' job. However, Col has one as you know so he'll be able to tell you what's what.

Nice little Lathe. Of course you'll need several more for best results

Violins and Lathes sounds like a fascinating combination. I don't know anything about Violins except that they make dreadful noises in the wrong hands. Mind you, a mate of mine plays the Bagpipes and his lad is a Drummer. Fortunately the neighbours are pretty tollerant.

Alan

Alan, i think Violins and Bagpipes have a lot in common they both sound terrible in the wrong hands.

[Retired]

Hi,

Your question about the motor is a good one Bob and not easily answered. If as you say the motor doesn't have a nameplate or any identification it will be most difficult to identify it for a guy in a home workshop.

You say it is connected "star" at 440V? This then answers one question; its obviously a 3 phase motor but this doesn't reveal what speed or amps it is unless connected up then readings can be taken. If there are six wires from the windings then it can be connected in Delta and run through a VFD? Alternatively connected Delta a start and run capacitor could be connected and the motor run from a 13A socket but on reduced power. I've been running my big Startrite combination woodworking machine with it's three 3hp 3 phase 415v motors from our 240V supply for the last 14 years without difficulty all motors connected Delta and because only one function is used at a time only a single start and run capacitor was needed. The difficulty in doing this is establishing the correct run capacitor; the start capacitor isn't critical as long as it is big enough to start the motor because once the motor is up to speed then the start capacitor drops off-line.

It's interesting playing around with motors but I would never encourage novices to jump in because mains powered motors can be lethal and if a mistake is made it might be last mistake ever made. I've not received any electrical training regarding motors being self taught so please do not consider me an expert on the subject. My 24 years working at Brook Motors was spent in despatch/distribution/packing and timber departments only but obviously I've kept my eyes and ears open. For a novice is the circuit dead you are working on; are you positive because if the circuit is live and you make contact you might end up being the one dead?

Electric motors can be bought at reasonable prices through eBay or Gumtree but in order to buy a motor the specification will need to be known such as power and speed. One important thing which can so easily be overlooked is shaft diameter; if the motor is being installed into an old British made machine then the shaft diameter is likely to be imperial?

I sold my soda/hard media blaster through eBay yesterday and have just got it ready for collection this morning; I'll be sorry to see it go but in reality I can't see a use for it in the near future and it occupies quite a bit of space. I've spent a few months setting up the garage as my workshop trying to find homes for everything; my old workshop was one of the extension rooms to the bungalow (third bedroom) which is now being emptied and all the kit being transferred into the garage. I'll shortly be using the old workshop to store new sealed double glazing units which I'm currently researching before handing over the money. Yesterday afternoon I cut the grass to the rear garden then trimmed hedges to the front garden; there is always something to do to occupy my retirement (what retirement?).

Kind regards, Col.

[robert the violinist]

Hi Col, im very careful when messing with electrics . Pictures of the motor plate and whats under the access cover are attached. There are 6 wires there i think but not certain.
I tried putting the door in very strong caustic bath but the paint wasnt affected so i assume its some sort of baked enamel . So i guess not having access to any sort of soda blaster i`ll have to make up my own paint stripper from the array of solvents i have in the cupboard.
What do you think about the motor? There a piece of paper attached to it but dont know what to make of that either as some bits are worn off.
Thanks Bob

[AlanBeckett]

Bob,

The implication of the paper label is that it's been rewired Delta so as to run it from a simple 240v Inverter.
You could run it without by connecting Live and Neutral to two Terminals with a big Electrolytic from Live to the third one. Something like 50uF would do. It has to be a Run Capacitor not a Start one.

Personally I wouldn't bother. It's only 0.5hp so getting and fitting a Single Phase Motor would be pretty straightforward.

As far as stripping bits of it are concerned you could take it to a local Stoving Firm to do it. We have one in Burton which is hardly a Metropolis.

Alan

[Retired]

Hi,

Yes it pays to be very careful where electric is concerned Bob. Regarding the motor though I think Big Al about sums it up. I agree with Alan the motor looks to be already wired in "Delta" so should run with a start and run cap (capacitor) connected. The run cap supplies the third phase with the start cap in parallel. The run cap is in circuit full time whilst the motor is under power but the start cap is the bigger capacity which is as the name implies only used very briefly to run the motor up to speed. The run cap will be smaller than the start cap and sorting a run cap out to match the motor can be a problem because I've had the odd cap expire with a bang whilst experimenting. The start cap isn't critical as long as it is big enough to run the motor up but it would become a problem if the motor was subjected to repeat start/stop cycles because it will heat up the windings; I found this out the hard way whilst gear cutting on the lathe start/stopping the lathe once a minute; after an hour of this the 1.5hp motor expired in a cloud of smoke.

If you have continuity through the three coils on the motor it is worth saving and is certainly big enough to power the Wilmac but for the hassle involved why not simply obtain an 1/2hp single phase 4 pole motor and install this? You could sell this original motor through eBay to offset the cost of the replacement motor?

Kind regards, Col.

[robert the violinist]

Bob,

The implication of the paper label is that it's been rewired Delta so as to run it from a simple 240v Inverter.
You could run it without by connecting Live and Neutral to two Terminals with a big Electrolytic from Live to the third one. Something like 50uF would do. It has to be a Run Capacitor not a Start one.

Personally I wouldn't bother. It's only 0.5hp so getting and fitting a Single Phase Motor would be pretty straightforward.

As far as stripping bits of it are concerned you could take it to a local Stoving Firm to do it. We have one in Burton which is hardly a Metropolis.

Alan

Hi Alan, thanks i think i will buy a single phase motor and make do with it, if you start taking capacitors etc.. i just get confused .I want to concentrate on getting the saw restored and worry about the power later. I dont think 1/2 hp is too small for a small bandsaw despite what many think. I have a large 18" bandsaw for resawing wood etc.. so the small bandsaw is just for small pieces of wood and particularly scrolling cuts. My main concern is a solid saw that doesnt flex about and jump across the floor in use and vibrate like crazy such as many of these tin plate efforts of today seem to do.
I`ll have another go at paint stripping and see before i start thinking about the expense of getting someone else to do it.
Bob

[robert the violinist]

Hi Col, yes i think i`ll just buy a 1ph motor and take the simpler option.
I plan on making it pulley drive like you did and so need to make a shaft and install flange bearings like you did.
I`ll try and get the casting stripped before i do this , i bought another small saw the other day (received it today) which is built like a tank and a fantastic piece of engineering, an American saw of which i dont think ive ever seen one over here .Just needs stripped as someone has did a bad paint job using gloss house paint of a colour i dont like.
After today im going to stop looking at band saws on ebay.
Bob