Well it’s not really surfboard related, but I know there are knowledgeable tool guys here.
Using my bench grinder the other day and it went POP! and smoked a bit. Now won’t start, just hums.
There’s the motor, and a sort of relay in the base. The relay is not burnt, and the sliding contact inside the coil seems okay. I cleaned off some black around the contacts, but that really wasn’t the problem.
Okay, the BG is tombstoning. At this point I have nothing to loose by taking it apart, but doubt I’ll find anything inside that’s either visually obvious, or cheaper to fix than it may be to replace.
The BG is a simple Skil 3.2 amp 3600 motor and I run a wire wheel on one side, coarse grinding stone on the other. Might be worth fifty clams, I haven’t looked lately.
I have a multimeter but AC electrics is a little beyond me. The tool is a few years old and has not seen heavy use. I could think the brushes were worn out, but shouldn’t cause a violent internal short when they no longer can touch the commutator.
Any words of wisdom/troubleshooting beyond the obvious “it’s shot, toss it”?
Howzit Honolulu, I had an old Craftsman router do the same thing awhile back and when I took it apart the brush guide ( plastic) had broken and the brush and spring was partially wrapped around the commentator, next stop trash can.Aloha,Kokua
You could find a buried thermal protection switch that went bad & thought a little bit of heat was a lot. Those will shut a motor down, but not always quick & easy. Sometimes they seem to make the motors suffer I had an old table saw with a Skil motor where you had to take off part of the housing to get to the switch. I guess their thinking was that anyone who took it off to reset it, had also (in the process) given it enough of a break to let it cool. Some thermally-protected motors don’t even need a reset - the switching is automatic - including back on - unless the switch goes bad. Grainger will probably have the parts.
You could also find something got into the windings. A blob of water-based glue or caulk, a bird poop, an aluminum shaving from your drill press, your kid’s lollipop stick…use a small brass wire brush (not steel) to clean the windings and give them a little blast of WD-40 to help restore continuity (but not enough to drip off) and you’ll be back in business…
Even if you find its a lost cause, its worth 10 minutes to crack it open.
Well, it’s closeout time and this li’l BG got caught inside.
Took it apart, for salvage and curiosity. All the way, in, and lo, a good portion of the wires on the field were black and fried. I may shop a bit online just for curiosity, but aside from the wheels, bearings and fasteners, it’s already in the can.
I had an old table saw with a Skil motor where you had to take off part of the housing to get to the switch. I guess their thinking was that anyone who took it off to reset it, had also (in the process) given it enough of a break to let it cool. Some thermally-protected motors don’t even need a reset - the switching is automatic - including back on - unless the switch goes bad. Grainger will probably have the parts.