Table saw Disconnect?

Is that why they don't allow beer in the office anymore?

Lol, well I didn't do the worst one anyway. Our group is in an isolated building to keep us from infecting the other people or something... We have what mostly amounts to a reasonably well stocked bar but the other people who do actual physical work are limited to after hours nowadays. Our boss knows we'd all have rage quit a long time ago without tempering substances. In the old days it was certainly crazier though.
 
In my last shop, I had two 240v outlets - one on the ceiling and one on a wall. In both cases, I ran a heavy extension cord with a dual outlet box at the end. That way I could have the table saw plugged in right under the saw, making it easy to disconnect manually. Although I never used both outlets in the dual boxes at the same time, they allowed me to keep my lathe and bandsaw plugged in at the same time. (I never ran both machines at the same time, though.)


How did you get a picture of backstage at one of my band's shows? :D

Off topic, but it's interesting how times have changed. Back in the early '80 when I was touring with a band, we used our own power distribution system. I'd tap into the 240v mains power at the venue's service panel (totally not to code), then run a long (200' or so) pigtail to our own 70 amp breaker box. One 120v side was for audio power and the other was for lighting. (We had around 10,000 watts of power amps and 20,000 watts of lighting.) These days we travel a lot lighter, and we can run the entire band off a single 15 amp 120v outlet. That feeds 4000 watts of powered PA speakers and four LED light cans, plus what little onstage amplification we use. Modern powered speakers are vastly more efficient power-wise than the old 9' tall stacks and power amp racks we used to use for PA. We can still put out the same decibel level, but it's much cleaner sound. (And these days, we usually run a lot lower volume level anyway.) And they're a big time-saver. Back in the '80s, it would take us half a day to set up the stage. These days, we're set up in a hour. :thumb: The stage lighting isn't nearly as impressive, but the few LEDs we use now are more appropriate for the venues we tend to play.
 
Ended up going with a plain ole dpdt switch to use for the disconnect and mounted it on the back of the existing switch.

It should work and add a bit of safety to the saw.

tablesaw disconnect.jpg
 
Many places I worked the only switch in the circuit was the breaker. They got switched every day for lights ect.
Never heard the limited duty cycle before and I worked with stuff for well over 30 years. However I have been taught several things in my later years. I know for years the Rural Electric would accept breakers because they claimed lighting could weld them closed. At the place we REA used them in Missouri not only were they all fuses but accepted only a smaller diameter fuse than normal so a penny couldn't be inserted however a dime would still fit and silver was a better conductor anyway. Not that I ever did that.
 
I should mention that I verfied that the circuit breaker works while I was installing the disconnect.

I unplugged the saw from the extension cord I had rigged up, and then went to cut the extension cord to length.

Guess I forgot to turn off the breaker and/or unplug the extension cord.

fortunately, the cable cutter was insulated. I saw a spark and that was it.

Let my mistake be a warning to you,...

zapped.jpg
 
I hate to get serious on this fun topic, but the National Electric Code requires a disconnect in the proximity of any electrical device that is wired directly. Best example, look at how your outside air conditioning compressor is connected... there is a disconnect box on the wall next to the unit, even if the unit is only 10 feet from the breaker box (as it is at my home). The idea is that if someone dumb (contract repairmen) is working on the unit, there can be no question about it being disconnected, or somebody remotely turning the breaker back on.

I am a power freak... my wood shop has 7 five horsepower motors. Fancy disconnects are around $100 each or more. However a plug qualifies as a disconnect, so each of my machines has an L6-30P locking single phase 230 volt plug. A repairman inside the machine can monitor the plug sitting on the top of the machine.
 
This disconnect is more for convenience than anything else. I do have an locking outlet with a plug on the ceiling, so that is another disconnect.
 
I'm late to the party but I thought I'd chime in. My tablesaw is only running on 120 but I added a service disconnect box on the side. That way, I can reach under the table on the left side and pull the disconnect handle and lay it on the table top when I'm changing blades so I have a good indication there's no power available. It hasn't been a need but I could also pull the disconnect handle and lock the box to prevent unauthorized use.
 
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