# Retrofitting Craftsman Table Saw w/ New Motor



## mina86

Hello all:

I have a late 70s belt drive Craftsman/Emerson table saw (113.299040). 

I bought the saw used. It was in bad shape. However, I restored it and it has been working fine for the past year or so. 

I ran into this motor at Harbor Freight tonight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-horsepower-compressor-duty-motor-68302.html

It has the same RPM rating, as well as the same shaft diameter of the original Sears 1hp motor. 

I'm just curious if anyone has done this, or something similar. 

Many of you have probably seen this video where someone retrofits a Baldor 1.5hp on a similar saw: 





I know the saw wasn't designed for such a powerful motor...however seeing the 3hp motor tonight got me thinking, and I thought I might as well ask if anyone has tried this before. 

Thanks.


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## woodnthings

*I put a 2HP Baldor on my saw*

That motor should work OK. It will really "rip" as did my Baldor.
My saw originally came with a 1 HP Craftsman motor, but it would bog down when ripping thicker material., so I had this 2 HP laying around and used it for a while. I eventually went back to a 1 HP also from HF, a farm duty motor, but then it was still under powered. 
I eventually scrapped out the old saw and saved all the motors.
A 3HP compressor motor will have gobs of starting torque, and then it will run the same as a regular motor. You will have to run it on 220 V of course.

I noticed a 1 1/2 HP motor on the site which I would recommend over the 3 HP. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-12-horsepower-compressor-duty-motor-67841.html

There is also a 2HP 1750 RPM for HD cutting, the 3 Hp is a bit much although it will fit and work. The 2HP will need a pulley about 4" or so to get the speed up the same as a 3540 RPM motor.


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## GeorgeC

It should be "a piece of cake" to change. If your Craftsman saw is like mine then the mounting bracket allows for a large variation in motor bracket holes.

George


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## dodgeboy77

Compressor duty motors like the 3 HP that you are looking at are not for continuous use. Now, possibly it could be said that a home-owner's table saw doesn't see continuous use but it might be a factor. A farm duty or continuous duty motor may be better for you.

Some table saws in the 3 HP and up range use triple belts to handle the power. That's maybe not necessary but something to consider. At least put a fresh, high quality belt on the saw. 

Another factor is that the motor you are looking at doesn't have a sealed enclosure. Table saws make a lot of dust and a sealed motor is less likely to clog with sawdust.

Things to think about. Another advantage to a bigger motor is that you could run full-kerf blades.

Incidentally, Grizzly has a nice selection of motors that are reasonably priced.

Bill


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## Boss O' The Shop

Please post a follow-up to this to let us know how it worked out. I'm considering a similar upgrade and would like to know if you are pleased with the results. Thanks!


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## UPNORTFAN

Hello
New to the forum but as a former engineer might give my advice for what it is worth. I believe most TS motors are 1 HP and 3450 RPM. I don't know off hand what the pully size is on the motor and blade shaft but this would apply as an example. If both pully's are 2 inch dia then the blade should turn at 3450 RPM. If Motor dia is 2 inch and (example only--don't take this as gospel) 1 inch dia then blade will go 2X faster or 6900 RPM--HELLO I think that would exceed recommended RPM Speed of the blade. (See Recommendation on blades). Generally if you use a smaller pulley than on the motor the blade will go faster and conversely if reversed. Higher speed will all faster cutting but will bog down quickly as you lose torque (generally at higher speeds) which is what you are seeing with harder cutting. To me it is a change off from speed/torque/blade recommendations. Also I think changing pulley dias may void any warranties and most importantly SAFETY.


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## UPNORTFAN

*Motors*

Hello, Back again.
As another note all motors are not the same. A 1 HP motor may have ratings same as on another but there the difference. Usually motors are rated on HP and RPM. Not Torque (what you really want.) My take over the years is that the more Copper in the motor (you can tell by the weight) the better the motor usually. Secondly more copper in motor will allow for more heat adsorbtion and able to "Lug Down" before the shut down internal switch shuts motor down and needs to be reset. So older Craftsman motors I had were very good and lots of "Copper". Newer 1 HP motors that are "cheaper" (Not implying Crasfsman Motors) you can tell just by their weight. Lighter is less internal Copper and less able to adsorb the heat of hard sawing. My take is to use a "Heavy Motor" instead of a lighter motor.


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## MORRIS76

Old but interesting thread. I would like to know how the motor worked out if he tried it. 12amps on 230 volts would be a powerful motor and I suspect it would be very heavy. I have almost the identical 1.5hp Baldor in the video and it's HEAVY. I also have a 3hp Baldor that's smaller in diameter but just as heavy. I mounted the 3hp on my Cman 113 table saw and it worked fine at 90 deg. It was hard to tilt and I was afraid I'd damage the tilt mechanism so I took it off. I may try it again after I finish with the refurb of the saw. I may be able to reinforce the mount and the cabinet where the tilt screw attaches.
If anyone is using a larger motor on this saw please let us know how it's working. I won't need such a powerful motor but I'd enjoy making it work if I can. Thanks. Don


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## georgestools

*113 motor comparisons*

Hello all, new to this forum. But thank you to all, for the information I have found so far. I am in need to replacing the motor on my 113 series saw as well. I recently found one from a guy locally, but the unit lacks the capacitors on the outside of the motor shell. I am familiar with what capacitors offer functionally. Is there any reason to avoid a motor without those? I am assuming the one I am considering is just a different design?


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## tewitt1949

I have an older craftsman saw that came with about a 5/8-3/4hp motor. I put a 1 1/2 baldor motor 220 volt on it and it works great but I did put a counter weight on it to help angle the blade (lift the motor). I may not have need it but it does weigh much more and I just figured it is easier on the screws.


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## Rogerv

When I bought my Craftsman Contractor saw I made sure it had the motor that could be adapted to 220v. I had a radial arm that would stall if you cut anything over a 2x4 and was told by a electrical Eng. that by running at 220v would double the torque as the motor is being hit at two phase angles. I switched it and after that I could cut or mold a 2x12 and it would not even slow down. it was actually scary.


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## [email protected]

Rogerv said:


> When I bought my Craftsman Contractor saw I made sure it had the motor that could be adapted to 220v. I had a radial arm that would stall if you cut anything over a 2x4 and was told by a electrical Eng. that by running at 220v would double the torque as the motor is being hit at two phase angles. I switched it and after that I could cut or mold a 2x12 and it would not even slow down. it was actually scary.


If the 113.298.762 craftsman table saw had a 1-1/2 hp Emerson motor why does the front of the have a 3 hp sticker?


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## Mad

To get suckers to buy it.

You may have heard of the term "Searsucker"? Well, it means more than the material my grandmother used to dew dresses with.

Sears had a habit of advertising some theoretical momentary "peak" HP it imply to the unwitting eye that their saws were more powerful than the saws at Montgomery Wards at the other end of the mall. Ignore any HP sticker on the saw body, and only look at the nameplate on the motor itself for the real HP number.

In fact, I would ignore all HP numbers, and just compare amps. Be sure to make the amp comparison at an equivalent voltage. A 7 amp motor at 220v is more powerful than an 11 amp motor at 110v. The most versitile motors for small table saws are dual voltage, so that you can run at the more efficient 220v configuration where 220-240 single phase is available, and with a quick change in wiring run the same motor at 110v (albeit at near circuit breaking current levels) when and where 220v isn't available.


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## Toolman50

[email protected] said:


> If the 113.298.762 craftsman table saw had a 1-1/2 hp Emerson motor why does the front of the have a 3 hp sticker?



Sears has been notorious for over-rating their electric motors on power tools. I once bought a 6 1/2 h.p. Craftsman shop vac. Of course it ran on 110 voltage on a 16 gauge cord. >. It was an excellent shop vac.


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## tarheelbf

tewitt1949 said:


> I have an older craftsman saw that came with about a 5/8-3/4hp motor. I put a 1 1/2 baldor motor 220 volt on it and it works great but I did put a counter weight on it to help angle the blade (lift the motor). I may not have need it but it does weigh much more and I just figured it is easier on the screws.


I added a 1.5 hp grizzly motor to my 113, which was much bigger than oem motor, and am having the issue of my blade pulling a good 2mm because of the weight. I will have to try this trick here with the counter weight. Great idea tewitt. How much weight is the counter weight?


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