Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to replace a broken switch on my 30+ year old Craftsman tablesaw. It had a combination switch on it, but when I plugged it in last, it would turn on, but not off. (Sorry grammar curmudgeons.) The combination switch has a plug receptacle for the motor and an on-off switch.

I went out and bought a new combination switch and attempted to wire it and plug it in. When I went to plug it in, there was a spark and one of the blades began to melt. (Being timid, I didn't get it all the way in.)

So, the question is this: How should I be wiring the new combination switch? I have one white wire and one black wire. The new combination switch has two positive (+) locations, 2 locations (neutral?) opposite, and a ground location.

The old one had the black and white wires going to the same side, and a green wire that was between the two screws on the opposite side. (Hence, my confusion.)

Electricity is not my friend. :-(

Thanks,
indieFan

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

this sounds dangerous! (standard disclaimer)

Pictures would be very very helpful. The more the better. With explanations of what they are.

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

I've taken pictures of both combination switches, but my desktop appears to be tired of working. Here's a link to the new switch I bought:

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com...19.html?ref=42

I can't find a picture of the older switch, but there was one screw on each side of the on/off switch and plug receptacle adding up to 4 screws in all.

If this doesn't help, I'll see if I can get the pics uploaded tomorrow.

Thanks,
indieFan

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

I've attached three photos. I'm hoping that the names of the images will explain what they are.

indieFan

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Indie,
The combo switch you are showing can have the ability to switch the outlet or to have it hot all the time. I am guessing that this switch lives in an electrical box on the side of the table saw and it has a long cord to plug into the wall. It is this plug that sparked and melted I am guessing?
You will notice in the middle photo that the two terminals have a jumper between them. This allows you to tie the black wire from the line cord to one one of the screws and feed power to both the switch and outlet at the same time. (making the outlet hot all the time.)
You will notice that the screws on the opposite side of the switch combo have a silver (nuetral), a brass (hot) and a green (ground) screw. If you wire the line cord black wire to brass and white wire to silver on this side of the switch, then the outlet will turn on/off with the switch. (NO wires attached to the side with the two terminals connected with the brass jumper.) The condition you describe (spark and melt) is an indication that the switch was wired in a way that produced a short across the power cord. If you do not have a three wire line cord, now would be the time to change that as well. Green in the cord to the green terminal on the switch. I would recommend that you spend a little additional $$$ and get a power cord with #12 wire, minimum to maximize the power delivered to the saw.
Let us know if this is the way the saw is powered. (wall to combo switch to outlet to saw)

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Read what Al wrote first.

The idea is to use the switch to interrupt (or not) the BLACK wire going to the thin 'blade' socket on the outlet. The white wire never sees the switch, only the Wide 'blade' socket on the outlet. The green wire (or bare copper) is connected to everything metal, it is a safety feature that MUST be used.

Does all that make sense?

Don

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Figure 1-25 here shows how to wire it either switched or always hot: http://www.free-ed.net/sweethaven/Bl....asp?iNum=0103

Better picture at the bottom of this page here (though their ground wire connection screw may be located different than yours - use the green screw)

http://www.do-it-yourself-help.com/wiring_switches.html

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Thanks for the help, everyone. I've gotten the new cable, stripped it to where it needs to be. Now I have to put the switch in the box which requires removing the wires from the switch. The question is: How do I go about wrapping the 12 AWG wire around the screw and have the majority of it stay under the screw? Should I just go and get a few insulated ring connectors?

Thanks again,
indieFan

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

No, so not use ring terminals. ALWAYS wrap the wire in a clockwise direction, so it tightens as you tighten the screw.

Take a pair of pliers, like needle nose, and bend the end of the wire into a U shape, with the inside of the U just big enough to fit around the screw shaft. If you have to open up the U to get it on, no problem, bend it back tighter after it's around the screw shaft. When you tighten the screw it will curl around just a little more than a U, and will stay under the screw head. Just remember: Clockwise.

The stripped part only needs to be about 1/2" long, often there is a little line on the switch or outlet that says "strip gage", indicating the correct length.

Look online for instructions on how to wire a switch or outlet, and focus on the part about putting the wires under the screw, it is important for safety that you get it right, it is not difficult, but if you use the wrong technique it can cause problems. Online should have some good images.

Don

.

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

See how the white wire is stripped, hooked and wrapped under the screw? In the case of this first picture, they stripped off a wee bit too much of the insulation. You just want enough bare copper to wrap around under the screw head and pinch it a bit.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/at...d=121714098 6

It should look more like the black wire in the second picture when you get done, but remember the wire wraps around clockwise so that the open end is to the right. Don't leave too much bare copper, and don't pinch any insulation under the screw head.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/at...d=121714131 4

The point of doing it clockwise is that screwing it down will tend to close the hook on the wire, thus making it more like a ring. You can pinch it with pliers a bit before you screw it down, but it has to go on such that the open end is pointing in a clockwise direction. Otherwise tightening will make it splay out and possibly make a bad connection.

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

One of our lead mentors, Mr. Swanson, would swear his life to Craftsman products, do to the lifetime warranty, and I'm sure he'd tell you to take it back to the store :P

As with any electrical situation, you can always use a multimeter to ohm out what each terminal actually does. Weather or not you want to keep the receptacle hot all the time or not, Al and Don's descriptions are wonderful.

And be sure that your wires are not only tight under the screws, but that you didn't nick them while stripping, so that they might break off. After you securely fasten the wires under each screw, give the wire a few good wiggles to ensure that it doesn't come undone, or break off.

-Jacob

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Craftsman's lifetime warranty only applies to hand tools, unfortunately.

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Indie,
(What is your real name I wonder?) Following Don's advice, you can just tin the very end of the wire which will keep the strands together while you wrap the wire around the terminal. Some electricians will follw the wiring job by using electrical tape and wrapping the assy parallel to the front surface. This protects the terminals on both sides from coming in contact with anything during assembly or operation for years to come.

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for the help. I finally just got the energy and courage to try and finish the wiring. I plugged it into the outlet with nothing on the plug plugged into the outlet portion of the switch, and no flash. Just a nice red light telling me there was power to it. :-)

Just one more example of how much I don't get along with electrical things, I was going to my woodworking class yesterday and as I got up to around 30mph, my car started to sound like it had a flat tire. No flat tire. To make a short story even shorter, the sound was the wheel well being hit by A WADDED PIECE OF ELECTRICAL TAPE which only had one end sticking to the tire. And, yes, I laugh at the absurdity of it.

Thanks again,
indieFan

P.S.- Al, I prefer not to use my real name on the CD forums since they are searchable through google. I've met some interesting characters on the 'net way back when, and I've got a little bit of paranoia that someday they (or someone in the future) might try to track me down for negative purposes. Thus, I just go by indieFan here. If you really want my name, PM me.

Re: Combination Switch for Old Craftsman Tablesaw
 

Ok, that's understandable. Indie it is then. Have you got the saw working then or just no flash and spark? BTW, we call that the smoke test. If you plug it in and get no smoke it might just work.