Delta 36-725 Repair help and warning

[Darrell D.]

I am writing this post for two reasons.
1. I am looking for any last hope that I can repair this motor on this saw.
2. As a warning to others that are searching out reviews and trying to make a decision to purchase this saw.


First. I bought this saw used several months back and it had had worked well for me up till now. I have been away from woodworking for some time, and decided to downsize my tools from a unisaw to this 36-725. I was not doing much woodworking a needed the space in my garage.
It had done all that I needed. Then on Saturday in the middle of a project, it quit running. First the motor slowed, then quit running all together. The rear end of the motor was very hot. I let it cool and reset the breaker and still it would only hum.

The saw has been running on 220v since I have had it. After searching some threads I bought both the start and run capacitors. The saw tries to start (stronger than the hum), but wont turn.

I believe at this point that the bearing or something internal has it jammed. I can turn the arbor, but is maybe a bit tighter than I would expect.
As I see it I have two options, 1. try and make a DIY repair (saw new is $600 and replacement motors are $750-1000, or 2. throw it away and go buy a Ridgid or Grizzly.

As I have made upgrades and other add to the saw, throwing it a way is not the best choice.
So with that said, I am looking for thoughts on how to remove the motor and disassemble. I called Delta and they were absolutely no help. The tech basically said open the parts schematic and have at it. There has been a guy on the local craigslist that say they can repair tools like saws, I may give them a shot before I try myself.

So please share any thoughts if you have tried to repair one of these.

Finally, If you are considering this saw, I would highly caution you against it. Unless you buy new and it is under warranty. I think my saw is about 4 or 5 years old (but no receipt sense I bought used). It was in great condition and care.  But from reading, its seems that motor failure is a common failure with the saw.  I dont have data, but I see too many negative comments. So be warned. And consider another saw.

[fredhargis]

I would remove the motor and try to disassemble it myself. If that's not something I can do, I'd take it to a motor shop and ask to have it diagnosed. That will cost something (I think I paid $50 some time ago) but the diagnosis is usually waived if you have them repair it.

[Scott W]

Guy I know locally has/had same saw. His dies at 13 months old.

[Admiral]

Guy I know locally has/had same saw. His dies at 13 months old.

I have a Delta bandsaw, jointer, planer and unisaw, all about or close to 20 years old, all USA production.  Nowadays, I buy nothing branded Delta.  Or Porter Cable for that matter.  It's a shame.

[Darrell D.]

Guy I know locally has/had same saw. His dies at 13 months old.

Do you know if he found a fix?

[Scott W]

Do you know if he found a fix?

He echoed what you said. Motor was too expensive to replace. He was trying to part out the saw on CL but to no avail. I suggested for him to spend less money and buy a used contractor saw in CL. I forget what he bought....it was something new though.

[meackerman]

take the motor to a motor rebuild shop.  barring catastrophic failure, it should be significantly less to get repaired than buying a new motor or a new saw.

[shoottmx]

take the motor to a motor rebuild shop.  barring catastrophic failure, it should be significantly less to get repaired than buying a new motor or a new saw.

This is makes sense. The shop should be able to diagnose the issue and give you an estimate for repair. My local shop charges  $65 to inspect and quote the repair. You can then make an informed decision.

g

[EvilTwin]

I looked at that saw a year or two ago when I decided to downsize and sold the big saw.  I ended up with a Bosch portable, but liked the looks of this delta.  No comment on its reliability or the new delta stuff in general.

Looking around on the web I found a real long post over on lumberjocks about this saw.  Here is a pic of the motor assembly without the plastic cover on it.  Looks like the start cap is fairly accessible.



This is the link to the thread: https://www.lumberjocks.com/replies/on/2711572/page/2

If it were mine, I would go ahead and flip it over after removing the blade.  You may have to remove the side panels as well and remove the black plastic cover. Spin the armature by hand to see if there is any resistance.  Fire it up and see if the motor wants to spin.  If it hums, give it a turn by hand and if it starts up, its the capacitor.   

A couple more pics since this thread needs some:

[TDKPE]

 Fire it up and see if the motor wants to spin.  If it hums, give it a turn by hand and if it starts up, its the capacitor.   

Or the centrifugal switch (not closing), or start relay if it has one instead.  Very common on RAS's and A/C compressors, so not out of the realm of possibilities for this unit.
An electrical schematic would be really nice to have here.