Delta Contractor Saw

[Danny Batchelor]

The motor height of my saw is 18 1/2" above the floor. Because of a dust collection issue I want to raise it to 22". The distance from motor pulley to arbor pulley would change from 18" to 16 1/2". Would the performance of the the saw be impacted?

 

[Michael Mathews]

Is the motor on a gravity pivot to keep the belt tight? By raising it, do you change that pivot point? Also when you tilt the blade, the motor tilts also. With the motor raised, do you have any interference when tilting the blade? If all of these issues are not a problem, the changing the belt length shouldn't be a problem with performance either.

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Would you expand a bit on what you plan to do that would entail moving the motor closer to the arbor. Are you asking about raising the motor in relation to the arbor? Right off hand I think you might want to check how the motor and belt moves when you raise the blade all the way. Do you use a link belt or a regular v-belt on the saw. Speed will remain the same, obviously. Not sure if a shorter belt would increase slipping. Does the saw depend on the hanging weight of the motor to tension the belt?

 

[Mike Davis]

Only thing I can think of is the angle may not allow enough pressure on the belt to prevent slipping. Won't hurt anything to try.

 

[Danny Batchelor]

Due to my computer ineptness (Didn't know where the refresh button was located) I could not reply to the above and was forced to call Mr. Mathews and he put me on the straight and narrow with today's problem regarding raising "hang-out-the-back" tablesaw motors. He suggested lowering the 3-way DC fixture, to which I was attempting to connect another machine, rather than gaining clearance by raising the TS motor. I appreciated the input and questions from Mark and Mike.