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From: "Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Subject: Re: rod-mill project - "mains" electric motor advice
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2025 10:02:51 -0400
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"Richard Smith"  wrote in message news:m1ldsc42kf.fsf@void.com...

Going single-phase,
thinking that one motor should be able to serve various projects...

4-pole single-phase motor?

If 2-pole 3000RPM motor were cheaper, maybe can get one with eg. a
10:1 gearbox giving 300RPM output giving maybe only a single-stage
speed reduction with flat-belts for quite a range of projects?

I am not overly hopeful of coming-by single-phase motors
second-hand...

Advice on brands and sources of motors - what is best value-for-money
if price alone is not what dictates that?

Category of motor?
There are various "capacitor-start" / "capacitor-run" specs.

What size of motor, given 1/2HP looks like about the minimum for this
particular project but not necessarily future projects?

This is very wide-open as a question, for sure...

I think of mounting the motor on a plate of some simple rectangular
dimension, which can be moved between projects and bolted into place.
Being free to drill new holes in the plate for unique features to that
project.

Thanks in advance,
Rich S

---------------------------------------
Capacitor-start motors are for loads like air compressors that require high 
starting torque, unless they have an unloader. You could probably use any 
available motor and adjust the required power to match it by changing the 
reduction ratio or drum loading.

My 1/2 HP air compressor won't start on a 3KW generator unless I manually 
unload it by opening the pressure relief, for which I made a cam lever to 
raise and hold the plunger. My sawmill needs the heavy wheels declutched for 
starting, then gradually engaged over several seconds. There are many 
work-arounds.

A simple multi-use motor mount is a plywood square with loose pin hinges on 
the edge and a tension adjusting screw or wedge, push or pull depending on 
which way the belt goes, or maybe both.

The hinge pin is gas welding rod. A loose pin fit is OK because the belt 
tension removes slack. The hinges need to straddle the pulley position to 
hold belt alignment. Tight pin hinges can be converted by grinding off one 
pin end and punching it out. I learned this trick in theatre scenery 
construction where they are a standard way to join flats (panels), with 
nails dropped in as pins.

If the motor can run but not start the load add an over-center cam or toggle 
detensioner to either the hinged motor plate or a belt idler pulley. The 
clutch on my sawmill is a long rod from the operator position bent into a 
crank that pulls or releases a spring-loaded idler pulley, with an 
over-center stop for the crank. The spring was a longer one with the right 
stretch rate, shortened and rebent to hook over the rod. I can do either 
expensive first or cheap third world engineering as needed for the salvaged 
gear I've found.

The best type of motor for a dusty job is Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled, TEFC. 
WEG (Brazil) is a decent lower priced brand, but I take what's available as 
long as the bearings aren't loose, which may indicate erosion from 
electrical leakage. My small lathe has an ex washing machine motor with its 
large cooling slots protected from flying metal chips by a beercan metal 
shield. My father's bench grinder was even worse, the motor had burned out 
its start winding and needed to be pull-started by hand.

I suspect that one driven and one free support roller won't drive the drum 
as well as two driven rollers widely spaced to increase the wedging force 
between them. The pulleys or bicycle chain sprockets between them can be any 
size as long as identical. If their bearings are nylon sleeves that drop 
into frame slots the chain or belt will be easy to install.

You could drive both roller shafts separately with belts that support the 
weight of the motor, and then be able to adjust the roller spacing as needed 
for sufficient drum friction. A drive tensioned by motor weight or springs 
may jump and relieve the load's torque when started. A clamp-on ammeter on 
one motor lead may help tuning for efficiency or avoiding overload but power 
factor is more useful.
jsw