zimmerstutzen Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Picked up an RBI model 214 at a yard sale for under a hundred. Can it be converted to variable speed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWSUDEKUM Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Nice. Always good to have a 2nd saw available. DW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneMahler Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Should be a good back up saw. You would have to write the company to see if the motor can do variable speed and the necessary parts to convert it. A guy close to me did it and fried the motor running it slower then designed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredfret Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Contact Bushton Mfr (hawkwoodworking) Nilus, Nichole or Scott will be able to answer the Question for you. Fredfret Wichita, Ks Not affiliated with Hawkwoodworking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrolling Steve Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Sounds like a good get......There are times I wish that I had a backup saw . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Picked up an RBI model 214 at a yard sale for under a hundred. Can it be converted to variable speed? I googled it and could not find the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky2 Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I doubt that it can, you can't do a lot of upgrades to these old saws. Len Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharleyL Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 It's not good to run any small variable speed motor as less than 20-30% of it's rated speed because the cooling fan in them is attached to the motor shaft and it also slows down. Very large industrial DC motors of 1 hp+ that need to run slow have a separately powered fan attached to them to cool them, so the cooling is the same for them at any speed. Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC Scroller Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 Picked up an RBI model 214 at a yard sale for under a hundred. Can it be converted to variable speed? The motors used for fixed speed and variable speed applications are very different. To convert to variable speed you will need to replace the motor and switch. You will probably add $400 or more to the price of the saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 I believe that the RBI has an AC motor. . I worked for a motor company for 27 years and if someone hooked up a restate to one of our motors the warren was void. most machines with AC motors used a venerable spreed pulley. We did make venerable speed DC motors..IKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimmerstutzen Posted July 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 According to the Web site, an alternative variable motor is available for some models, but the cost is $350. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.