Pulled the Trigger

[lincmercguy]

Some progress.  I pretty much followed the included plans for sizes and added a base.  I still need to work on the top and wiring.  You can see how I did the motor mounting.  The bottom bolts are a bit tricky to get to, but not impossible.

   

   

   

   

   

[BloomingtonMike]

Some progress.  I pretty much followed the included plans for sizes and added a base.  I still need to work on the top and wiring.  You can see how I did the motor mounting.  The bottom bolts are a bit tricky to get to, but not impossible.

Motor spin the right direction?

[lincmercguy]

It's reversible. Technically I could feed from either direction, but I'll probably feed from the motor side

[lincmercguy]

It's alive!  I've only tried a few test pieces, but it works pretty well.  I still need to build a belt guard, that's an injury waiting to happen.

Here's some tips based on what I've learned.  Some of these I did and was glad I did.

-Add a base to their plans.
-Allow some adjustment for the roller.  My top was 1 1/4" thick instead of 1 1/8", so that gave me the extra adjustment.  Aluminum bar stock with drilled holes make excellent spacers.  Also get some thin aluminum or sheet metal for slight adjustments.
-Find a smaller motor than what I did.  The price was right for this one, but a 56 size motor is huge for this thing.  It's only 1/2 HP, so something smaller should be available.
-You'll need to route out relief for the pulley and bearing caps.  Plan for this when cutting the opening for the roller.  Unfortunately, I don't think the top of the pulley can be blocked off, it's too close to the same height as the roller.
-Add a belt cover, it would be way too easy to get a finger or clothing caught in it.  I thought about trying to buy one, but decided I'll just make one.  I wish I had a 3D printer, but I'll settle for making it from MDF.
-I think the dust port on the back will work well, but it remains to be seen.  My test had good dust collection.

   

   

   

   

[TDKPE]

-Find a smaller motor than what I did.  The price was right for this one, but a 56 size motor is huge for this thing.  It's only 1/2 HP, so something smaller should be available.

They're out there, but 56 frames are the most common in fractional hp designs (FHP).  A 48 frame is only 1" diameter smaller (3" mount surface to shaft center, vs 3-1/2" for the 56*), and it will have a 1/2" shaft with flat.  NEMA 42 is even smaller, with a 3/8" shaft, but they'll be very low hp, like maybe up to 1/4 hp.

You don't need capacitor-start, by the way, for a low-speed, unloaded start like that machine. A split-phase motor, which is similar to a capacitor-start design without the capacitor (centrifugal switch, but no cap, and weaker start), would be fine.

A DC motor from a treadmill might be long and skinny.  And variable speed.  But if what you have works, why mess with success?

Oh, and take a look at sheave alignment.  It may just be the photos, but it looks like they're a bit off-plane, with the motor sheave needing to move in and/or the drum sheave moving out.


*Divide FHP frame size by 16 for foot mounting surface to shaft center distance - diameter is roughly twice that, but doesn't have to be, as that's not actually specified in NEMA frame sizing  Divide first two digits of integral hp frame size by 4 to get same dimension, which is "D" in the NEMA motor frame charts.

[lincmercguy]

The biggest factor that led me to this motor was the price. It was the one recommended by Stockroom Supply. I think it was $110 delivered to my door. For TEFC, it was cheaper than Amazon or HF. There are some motor shops in town, but taking a day off of work to get to one is pointless.

I'll recheck the alignment. I checked it when I firat installed the pullies, but I've done a lot of stuff since then than make have thrown it off.

[retfr8flyr]

Glad to see you have it up and running. Dust collection is very good on these units because it just falls into the bottom. I found my 2 1/2 inch Dust Deputy, connected to my shop vac actually, worked a little better than my big DC unit with a 4 inch port, after I hooked it up. I guess the light dust and higher velocity of the shop vac setup is the reason. I stayed with my big DC, because I had already modified the unit for a 4 inch port and there wasn't that much difference.