Woodmizer LT50 Blade Guide Motor

JRHill · July 10, 2020, 08:26:42 PM

New vendor:

OFF SITE PHOTOS REMOVED BY ADMIN

And the holes in the end cap (wink)

Woohoo, ready rock-n-roll tomorrow!

JRHill · July 11, 2020, 01:09:09 AM

Quote from: JRHill on July 10, 2020, 08:26:42 PM
New vendor:

OFF SITE PHOTOS REMOVED BY ADMIN

And the holes in the end cap (wink)

Woohoo, ready rock-n-roll tomorrow!

I screwed up and copied/pasted the photos of the new gear motor directly into the thread. This is not allowed and I got whacked. I'll try not to make that mistake again. Anyway, WM has a new vendor for the gear motor. And, heh, here are holes in the endcap for holding the brushes out while assembling. I don't think much dust would get into the motor but God created RTV for stuff like those holes. A little blob and the problem is gone.
I'm so close to firing up again!

JRHill · August 01, 2020, 05:03:02 PM

So I have the Blade Guide motor and gear box unit lying here. All is in good order except for the permanent magnet problem where they lost the adhesive to the motor housing/case and fractured. Everything else is in good working order.

If someone has a changed out a unit that failed for a different problem I'll buy it and pay shipping so I have a spare, if reasonable. On the other hand, if you want my changed out unit with the fractured magnets, I'm offering it if you want to do likewise. Chances are there are folks who need a spare more than I do. My jobs aren't that time critical - I have other things I can get into trouble doing.

Send me a private message if interested. If not too expensive, I'll do it. Conversely, the first person that replies to me for more than my break even costs plus a little love gets it.

Gosh its hot and dry. But at least I think many of us can breathe through a mask for other reasons.

Best,
JRH

Larry · August 01, 2020, 09:36:07 PM

Quote from: JRHill on July 05, 2020, 03:19:02 PM
GOT IT! The permanent magnets in the motor fractured into pieces. They stuck to the armature and seized it.

TK uses a similar motor. My motor quit in 2015 so I pulled it apart and also found fractured magnets. I glued them back in place with JB Weld (best for hot environment) but its hard getting all the pieces back in place. After the glue hardened I couldn't get the armature back in. Put the housing in my metal lathe and turned the inside smooth. Lasted for another three years but I had a new one in stock when it failed so I just swapped it out and didn't investigate why it quit.

I suspect these things fail from water intrusion and overloads. I silicone any openings and make sure the guide arm is lubricated.

JRHill · August 01, 2020, 11:13:01 PM

Quote from: Larry on August 01, 2020, 09:36:07 PM
Quote from: JRHill on July 05, 2020, 03:19:02 PM
GOT IT! The permanent magnets in the motor fractured into pieces. They stuck to the armature and seized it.
TK uses a similar motor. My motor quit in 2015 so I pulled it apart and also found fractured magnets. I glued them back in place with JB Weld (best for hot environment) but its hard getting all the pieces back in place. After the glue hardened I couldn't get the armature back in. Put the housing in my metal lathe and turned the inside smooth. Lasted for another three years but I had a new one in stock when it failed so I just swapped it out and didn't investigate why it quit.

I suspect these things fail from water intrusion and overloads. I silicone any openings and make sure the guide arm is lubricated.

Wow, drool - a lathe. I wish you were my neighbor (wink).
The permanent magnets fractured into fairly small pieces. I'm pretty sure they broke when the adhesive let loose and they grabbed onto the commutator. In years and years of working on machines with 1.5 to 4 hp permanent magnet DC motors I only saw a few where the magnets came loose even when severely over heated. This is a design/QC problem I'm sure.

JRHill · August 07, 2020, 02:46:48 PM

Finished up the blade guide motor/gearbox yesterday. My gosh, wasn't that a project of dexterity and nimbleness when trying to line up the brackets then through the frame and into the tensioner and fighting the chain. Finally got it, all torqued and it worked great.

But then I went to adjust the log that has been on the deck all along. The dang hydraulics are dead. Breakers are active - at least from the button positions. Starting a new thread: "LT50 Hydraulics"