State B4 Oscillating Spindle Sander Acquisition

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438
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
So I recently got carried away at a local auction bringing home a whole bunch of tools. One of the machines that I have been wanting for ages is a State oscillating spindle sander, and I got one! I tried plugging it in, and all I heard was a hum, so I quickly unplugged it. I took it all apart, which was necessary to get the motor assemble off cuz everything is so dang heavy. (Bunny trail....Holy cow is the machining on the oscillating mechanism beautiful! I swear I had a spiritual moment when I opened that thing up.) Anywho, I had a really crappy original switch, and I am currently in the process of trying to get it to run without ruining it. I thought I had a multimeter, but can't find it, so I will be purchasing one. But just to start off, is it possible I simply got the hot and neutral wire reversed when I was doing the wiring? Even though it had an old plug for 115v, could it have been jury rigged to run on 230v? It's a capacitor start motor, and I am quite confident it is in working condition, I just need to figure out what is going on electrically. Once I get the multimeter I will start by making sure the poles aren't reversed. After that it will be a careful process forward seeing as the motor housing/design is proprietary to this machine. Don't want to screw it up! Any thoughts/suggestions?

- Hutch
 
First up congrats on the new tools. My first thought with this kind of thing is that given its old iron and you purchased it at auction, where is the evidence that gives you the belief that its a working unit?
Second is there a way to turn the motor shaft with no power connected and check that the spindle does turn freely and that there is nothing binding and preventing the motor from turning when power is applied.
What size motor is it? Is there a nameplate model number plate on the motor and the make of the motor. Those things in the old days on good machines usually indicated the wiring diagram for the terminals below.
How about some pictures?
I cant see that the unit would have a plug that is 115 meaning both flat pins and yet be wired for 220v. To start with if the motor was a 115v and 20amp it should have had a plug with one pin 90 degrees to the other. Then when you go up in voltage to 220v we talking completely different pin layout depending on what current consumption the device is going to draw.

This all comes back to what motor does it have and how much current is that motor likely to want to draw. Best i can say is pictures.
 
Yes the old motors have a wiring diagram on the name plate or under the wiring cover. Reversing the neutral and hot would not keep the motor from running. It will still run. Can you remove the belt from the motor and spin the shaft manuely ? Then while the shaft is still spinning apply power, if the motor starts that points to a bad capacitor.

The motor on my old belt sander, that I bought used, was wired for 220 but had a 120 volt plug on it. The ran but with very little power. Good luck with your new sander, would like to see some pictures.

Bill
 
Hey all, thanks for the input.

When I took it apart I was hoping to find a wiring diagram, but there wasn't one that I could see. I have rewired/installed new motors on numerous machines, 3 phase and single phase, and I am surprised that there wasn't the usual wiring plate given the machine's age. I will look again though. The motor is 1/2 HP, Standard Electric. I don't have first hand knowledge that it works, but it was advertised as such....hope I didn't get screwed. The motor spins freely and effortlessly by hand. As for the voltage, I realized it probably couldn't be wired for 230. Also, the existing cord may have corrosion on the wires inside the housing, because when I put the new plug end on the wires looked rather grungy. I am currently trying to get a friend to loan me his multimeter to help check this. I sort of implied in the original post there is a chance it could have a bad capacitor. The whole motor was covered in oil (the machine has a large oil well that "tosses" oil on the oscillating mechanism) and there is a leak somewhere. The capacitors or right on the bottom, too. Though they looked clean from what I can see using a flashlight (I know this doesn't sound like it makes any sense, but this is an oddly designed proprietary motor) the capacitors or clean and beautiful. I did see a wire coil in there, and it makes me wonder if there is some sort of fuse system inside the butt where the capacitors are.

Anywho, I know this is all difficult to explain without photos, so sorry about that. I am super busy at the moment, and I hope to post photos of it soon. I may not be able to work on it this week like I thought I would, but in the end, if I have trouble figuring out the root of the problem, there is an awesome motor shop in town that could figure it out lickity split.

- Hutch
 
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