Repair and maintenance
My shop has been off-line for the last couple of days. My Delta AP400 dust collector decided that it didn’t want to turn on anymore. It kept trying, but the motor wouldn’t start spinning without a push. I spent an hour or so the other night pulling apart the motor. I couldn’t find any worn out parts or bad bearings. When I opened the box on the side of the motor, everything looked good in there as well. After discussing the problem with a friend, I decided to order a new capacitor. Ereplacementparts.com had the replacement capacitor available for $30. I got the new part yesterday so I pulled out the old one. I was surprised to find that the old one was blown out on the back side, where I couldn’t see it, when it was bolted in place.
Blown capacitor
I was also a little nervous about the fact that the recommended replacement capacitor was considerably shorter.
Replacement capacitor
New capacitor attached
I removed the old one and wired up the new capacitor. It fired up perfectly when I threw the switch.
Installed and ready for testing
The next problem that this unit had, was the upper filter bag had developed a hole. It was blowing fine dust everywhere. Since the filter bag is fabric, I decided to try an iron-on patch for a pair of jeans. So far, it is working surprisingly well. I also turned the bag 180 degrees around so that side was no longer rubbing against the vertical support that caused the first hole. I figured the first side lasted 10 years, the second side should too…
Patched holes in filter bag
While I was ordering parts for the dust collector, I went ahead and ordered some lubricants for general maintenance on the Carvewright carver.
Prepping for service
I brought my surface down to the shop and stepped through the maintenance videos on the Carvewright website.
Cleaning all the rails with WD-40
First step was to clean everything with WD-40
Cleaning the dust scrapers
The parts were not as dirty as I feared they would be, but with over 70 hours of cut time on it, I figured a little maintenance was due.
Cleaning the lead screws
Once everything was cleaned, I oiled the rails the cutter moves on, then applied the recommended grease to the lead screws and vertical posts.
Applying fresh grease to all the rails
I also cleaned the drive cable and lubricated it, but I forgot to take a picture.
Cleaned, lubed, and ready to go
Well, it only took a few hours, but the dust collector and the carver are both re-assembled and ready to go.
Midnight Woodworking 
Both delta and eReplacement Parts now show the capacitor as being unavailable.
You might find it difficult to get a 50UF, 250 V AC capacitor of the size needed to fit in the switch compartment. After a great deal of frustrated searching, I learned that the 50UF capacitance is a must, but any voltage capacity at or above 250V is ok. I found a 50UF, 440V AC capacitor that was too big for the switch compartment, but fit just fine inside a 2″ PVC pipe with end-caps. I drilled out a small hole for the wires in one end-cap and another hole in the top of the switch compartment (fit hole with a grommet). I then attached the assembly to the motor with two 24″ cable ties. It works great, and looks clean. Although it does look like a pipe bomb attached to my motor!
Chuck