The band saw project was almost as much electrical work as wood work. I replaced the power cord & switch for the saw and added lighting .
New power cord for saw
The power cord for the band saw looks like it’s more repairs than original wiring. I bought a replacement power cord to clean things up a bit.
It was worse than I thought when I got the motor open – all three wires had broken insulation and exposed conductors.
New switch for saw
The original switch for the saw is on top of the motor housing. Like the drill press, it’s a terrible spot if things go all pear shaped and you need to turn off the saw quickly. Also, given that the motor is going inside the cabinet, I won’t be able to access this switch under any circumstances.
Cue our friend the paddle switch. This time I’m even hanging it the right way.
Adding a work light
This is purely me being extra. As I normally use the saw outside in the driveway, a work light is pretty superfluous.
Anyway, Amazon sells this as a sewing machine light, but is seems a bit oversized for anything less than an industrial sewing machine. I’d prefer a shade that was horizontal to the bulb, but couldn’t find one. If I ever decide to repaint the bandsaw, you can be sure the lampshade will be painted to match.
In order to get the light up to a reasonable height, I built a riser out of some pipe fittings.
The bottom of the light is 3/8” hollow threaded rod, and it shipped with two nuts, two steel washers, and two rubber washers. Once I drilled through the center of the pipe cap, I passed the cord and threaded rod through the cap and bolted the lamp to the cap. I used a deep well socket held in a pair of vice grips to hold the inner nut while I used an open wrench to tighten the outer one.
The cord goes through the nipple & floor flange into the electrical compartment. I secured the extra cord to keep it away from the moving parts.
Tying everything together
Conceivably, I could have just wire nutted the saw motor, light and power cord together and called it a day, but I’d rather not do things half-fast (intentional misspelling, say it out loud).
So, another replacement cord comes into the handy box and powers a duplex.
The saw and light plug into the duplex.
Maybe I have to fix this some day.
Professionally, I fix gas fired appliances. I spend a small part of every day cursing the engineers who don’t think about maintenance & repairs when they design things.
I know at some point in the future, I’m going to need to repair or replace this motor, so I need to leave access to the electrical cabinet. I’ve used Tee nuts and machine screws to secure the cover over this access hatch. I’m sure future me will be cursing me out for this tight access.
*Standard disclaimer applies – I’m not responsible for anything that you do, or any injuries or damages you suffer. I’m just some nut job with a website. You probably should hire a professional. So should I.
Modern Anachronist 