Thread: Wadkin DN Bandsaw Restore - Early 1900s

Originally Posted by Charlie_6ft

...I then went to see Rob Johnson from Older Timer Engines up on the North side of Brisbane who sold me a couple of nuts for a couple of dollars also which are also BSW 1" 8tpi...

Did these nuts not fit either?

Cheers, Vann.

Nope ... Very odd I know, I am near giving up on this whole nut business. I may just resort to using what I have, it'll take a bit of brut force but at least it'll hold on well!

I have been trying to remove the shaft and bearing on this machine for over 6 months. I keep coming back to it, try a few things, scratch my head, get frustrated then leave it for another month. What I did this time which seems to perhaps have worked a tiny bit is to 'hone' the cast cylinder the bearing sits in with wet and dry sandpaper: 400,600 then 1200 grit. I then tried polishing it with a round wire brush connected to my hand drill. This made it smoother. Anyway, I have at the very least seated the bearing back into the cylinder housing but still has a loooooong way to go and is only just in there. It took a sledge hammer to flog the shaft to get it this far but am hesitant to continue with this method in fear of cracking or breaking the casting.

At the end of the video I have one last suggestion. I am at absolute whits-end!

Instead of hitting the blocks across the grain, turn them around and use the end grain, will dig in but deliver more oomph.

Thanks Riverbuilder I did this with success + another magical ingredient!...

I posted my problem on the Facebook Wadkin Appreciation Group. The guys their recommended spraying the bearing with freeze spray. I bought some Loctite LB 8040 Freeze & Release before work. After applying this stuff I went to tap the shaft and it slid through with minimal effort. Man am I relieved and well chuffed to have gained more knowledge in tackling these sort of things.

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This might be useful for anyone restoring a machine that want to resurface things like saw tabletops for table saws and band saws etc. When I bought my DN it had really bad rust. The pitting on one area in particular is hideous (see pic).

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I spoke to a friend who restored a classic Woodfast combo machine and was looking at surface grinding he's saw tabletop, he got on to a guy over in Brendale in Brisbane who has a huge surface grinding machine which from memory can do really big stuff. Anyway he's details are below:

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These are planed rather than ground. You can see the stripes from the planing process. I wish I had a shed as I had the opportunity to buy a big shaper that would have done things as big as that. My Thornley Break down saw needs a resurface as well.... Not that its a big issue for a saw like that.
Gaza

If space, time and money was no object ...

I spoke with a friend yesterday. We talked about options for a motor on this saw. I am not that keen on 3-phase motor (3hp) with a VFD as it adds complexity, an ugly VFD plastic box and will cost around $500 in total. I am favouring a 3hp single phase motor which I'm told is OK to use on a normal 240v 10amp plug outlet (yes I know these motors pull almost 14amps at startup but have been advised this should be fine, worse case scenario I install a 15amp). Anyway my mate mentioned a 3hp motor may be on the small size.

What are peoples opinions would a 3hp single phase motor be too small? I would cut anything from thin stock right up to milling small logs around 300mm. I figured as long as I am not trying to break any speed records I should be able to take it slow and stead to cut thicker stuff.

Of the 4 large bandsaws I have the motors that came with them range from 4hp right up to 7.5hp (all being 3-phase and none that look to be compatible with a VFD unfortunately).

Ecogoo 1ph 220v to 3ph 400v inverter - experiences

This thread on the metal work forums should be of large interest to you. Vfd's that produce 450v 3 phase from 240v single. So no messing with star/delta conversions.

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Originally Posted by Charlie_6ft

...What are peoples opinions would a 3hp single phase motor be too small?...

I can only speak of my limited experience. My 30" Preston bandsaw has a 3hp motor, and I have not found it lacking in power (so far). I don't do resawing - though I recently 'ripped' a 200 long piece of old jarrah railway sleeper and it did that without problems.

Originally Posted by Charlie_6ft

...an ugly VFD plastic box...

I bought a VFD with the intention of using it with my Wadkin LP (recessor/overhead router). If that happens it will go into a small wooden box (styled on the railway telephone boxes seen at intervals lineside, back in the days before radios were used extensively). I may then have to experiment with the door on the box, experimenting with solid (least intrusive but also least accessible) or maybe perspex window, or completely open...

Cheers, Vann.

Thanks guys!

Toomnus, I am not sure I understand the difference between one of these and a VFD? Anyway looking at the specs of the couple of motors from the saws I have are as below.

Motor	HP	Phase	Volts	AMPS	RPM	Cycles (Hz)	RATING
Crompton	2.75	3	400/440	5	940	50	CONT
K. L. Electric Co.	3	3	415	4.3	1425	50	CONT

The guys at Conon Motors (Melbourne, Vic) advised me sometime go you basically lose about 35% torque going to an equivalent horse power in a single phase motor. I think I'll buy a single phase 3HP motor and see how it goes once it's all up and running. I'll do some test cuts with sleepers & some logs and see how it performs. This will inform me of how I proceed with the rest of the saws.

Originally Posted by Charlie_6ft

The guys at Conon Motors (Melbourne, Vic) advised me sometime go you basically lose about 35% torque going to an equivalent horse power in a single phase motor.

Not possible.

Since horsepower equals torque x revs.

For two motors with the same HP at the same speed they must have the same torque.

Originally Posted by Charlie_6ft

Toomnus, I am not sure I understand the difference between one of these and a VFD?
.

They put out 400v 3 phase, so these motors you say won't work with VFD's (as most ones put out 240v 3 phase); would work with one of these VFD's. Hence you could VFD the old motors that came with the saws, and not buy new single phase ones.

Gotcha - I wonder if it would cause any long term damage to the motor? I've been told by a sparky over the weekend VFDs may damage older 3 phase motors over a period of time.