Mine was also bought "new" without a motor, but it was a freaky way I got it. Based on an ad in the local paper, there was a "barrel stave" planer, a two cutter head machine with one head above and one below the table for sale down in the inner city of Detroit. So I called and got directions, but then there were additional directions as to how to get in behind the chain link fence. It was a "bad neighborhood" according to the seller, so I loaded my all black Suburban, brought my Browning .22 and my large black German Shepard and ventured down I-75 to the destination. Sure enough lots of run down houses, this was back in the late '70's or early '80's, so, no surprise. The barrel stave planer was in a one story wood framed warehouse and it was dark inside, but when I saw it it was a monster and way too heavy for my needs. BUT, over in the corner, in the dark, was the Foley Belsaw, no motor. "How much?" I asked. He said $300.00. I said "I'll take it." After getting it and myself out of the "hood", I got it safely home. I put a 3 HP Baldor motor on the triple sheave cutterhead pulley, only needing two belts, and it ran like a freight train making almost as much noise. The rollers are chain driven as is the height adjustment off the table, but it sure does a great job to this very day. I added a large rubber flap to contain the chips on the rear of the dust shield to improve the dust collection, but that was all I've ever done. It runs on a 3 wire rubber SJ conductor about 20 ft to a 20 AMP twist lock recepticle on a 20 AMP 240 volt breaker. I will disturb the neighbors if you use it outside of an enclosed shop or shed. The straight blades are noisier than the spiral or Helix head cutters and when they get dull, they "slap" the surface of the wood making a sharper noise than when they are sharp. In contrast, I have a Ryobi lunch box planer whose cutterhead spins at 3X the Foley Belsaws's and that makes a lot of noise also. So, there may not be a solution to the noise issue .... I donno?