Wadkin PK - Can I fit a Single Phase Motor to a wadkin pk table saw?

[Pommy Ker]

Can I fit a Single Phase Motor to a wadkin pk table saw and have it still run correctly? I,ve heard there is sometimes a power surge problem on start up that can trip the switch, i,m in the UK, so its 240v supply. I,m looking to get hold of a wadkin pk saw ..... yes I think you,ve got it. I,m going to try and restore it like an old steam engine would be, my workshop monument to great british engineering of yesterday, unless of course you own a fighter jet or some missiles , the great british engineering of today ! yeh GREAT ! anyway , any help would be great.

[L.S.Barker1970]

Hi pommy,
Have you put any thought into a VFD ?
Pretty sure a VFD will can change 3phase to single and you can keep the orignal motor with no modifications !!

Melbourne Matty

[Pommy Ker]

yes , thought about it, but its too expensive and the sheds 50 meters away from the inlet , so it could have problems , but really its about £600 to fit one plus 50 meters of armoured cable that insulated well enough , I need to get one and use it to finish a conservatory conversion , windows n door, in oak. Is there a cheap way of 3 to 1 phase?

The £600 could be added to find me a decent single phase saw. Hows the dust extraction on one of these? Is there any? Can you make it up?

What other makes of machine are similar to these, I,m a new drooler you see. I,ve got it all to come !


Hi pommy,
Have you put any thought into a VFD ?
Pretty sure a VFD will can change 3phase to single and you can keep the orignal motor with no modifications !!

Melbourne Matty

[L.S.Barker1970]

Pommy the problem with the PK is that the motor is a direct drive unit specificly designed for the PK.
It won't be easy to find something in single phase that will bolt up and wire straight in.
Dust extraction is easy, there is a port at the back of the lower guard.

Melbourne Matty.

[Pommy Ker]

ok thanks mate, thats exactly the type of info I was after. Thats a fact right? No direct aftermarket replacement for it? Even if there was it would be expensive if its bespoke. Thanks Ozzie man, lol

[Pommy Ker]

ok thanks mate, thats exactly the type of info I was after. Thats a fact right? No direct aftermarket replacement for it? Even if there was it would be expensive if its bespoke. Thanks Ozzie man, lol

[Pommy Ker]

The reason i wan tone is the sliding table and the size of it, i need a small one, what else could I get ? Theres startrite machines but I feel like I,m getting a more consistant precision with the wadkin, what do you recon? Thing is my heart is set, if I get one cheap enough, but then again , why skimp on something so important. For the sake of £200 more quid.

[L.S.Barker1970]

Pommy, have a good read of this post on the canadian woodwork forum, lots of good English machines to choose from here !

The Battle of the Sliders (https://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/showthread.php?54284-The-Battle-of-the-Sliders&highlight=Battle)

Melbourne Matty.

[Pommy Ker]

cheers man.

[Pommy Ker]

I,m thinking of going down the modern saw route, un sell them to me before I look at one in my workshop , thinking, why the hell didnt I just wait for a good one. What are the startrite machines really like? The 275 etc.

[Vann]

I,m thinking of going down the modern saw route...Dammit man, you need a SawStop, not a Wadkin http://d1r5wj36adg1sk.cloudfront.net/images/smilies/mf_wink.gif

Cheers, Vann.

[Pommy Ker]

No thanks, what happens when I,m not using a stop saw and i,m all relaxed about not having my hand chopped off? Its the bicycle helmet of saws isnt it?

[Pommy Ker]

you know what stop people cutting there hands off? Knowing if they put there hand in the blade, it will be cut off !! I,m gonna keep thinking that, same as when I,m riding my bike along the road with no helemet , stops me going in close to lorries.

[Pommy Ker]

no way will I be getting a new one, no way. pure impatience , let the job wait , sod it.

[Pommy Ker]

Im looking at wadkin BGS now, if i can get one.

[clear out]

A mate and I picked up a BGS 12 inch many years ago.
We resold it shortly after as I had a PK plus compi saw and the mate who is a guitar maker had an Frommia plus a compi for fretting.
The Wadkin Bursgreen BGS was sort of not one thing or the other.
A BGP might be worth thinking about.
The long bars the table slides on can be pushed out of the way for working on solid stock.
Ive worked at 2 places with these and they whilst neither a panel saw nor a dimension saw sort of work ok.
Out here you can't give them away.
Single phase is easy also.
H.

[Pommy Ker]

Thank you my friend, i,m a grapgic designer , done building work, done woodwork, hates london and now wants to make real things that exist, so i,m ll ears. My shop space would be 2.8m wide , with 9 meters of lenth. Would that be wide enough to fit a BGP ? They seem very cheap here, I looked but thought there would be no room, but hey, who needs room when you have a Wadkin to cuddle !!!

[Pommy Ker]

A mate and I picked up a BGS 12 inch many years ago.
We resold it shortly after as I had a PK plus compi saw and the mate who is a guitar maker had an Frommia plus a compi for fretting.
The Wadkin Bursgreen BGS was sort of not one thing or the other.
A BGP might be worth thinking about.
The long bars the table slides on can be pushed out of the way for working on solid stock.
Ive worked at 2 places with these and they whilst neither a panel saw nor a dimension saw sort of work ok.
Out here you can't give them away.
Single phase is easy also.
H.,


thanks for this, you,ve really helped me here.