Woodfast 14" Project

**Ben Wheeler** · 4th February 2019, 06:05 AM

G'day All,

Last year I bought a couple of old bandsaws - a Meber SR600 and a lovely old cast iron Woodfast 14". They both need an overhaul, or in any case are getting one whether they want it or not!

Here's a thread to document my adventures with the Woodfast. It's my first time doing this sort of thing, so be gentle! By the way, avert your eyes if you're offended by non-traditional colour schemes

D

I didn't take any great "before" pics, but here it is with the cover off. It was in reasonable shape, with the exceptions of knackered tyres, lower bearings rough, and an unwanted 3 phase motor. By the way, a 0.75hp 3 phase motor! Seems rather low.

Oh yes, and a homemade blade guard. And the thrust wheels are shot. All in all, I probably should've saved up and bought a new one, but then I guess i would've missed out on half the fun!

Anyway, I've pulled the thing to bits, stripped the tyres and residue off, cleaned and am starting by painting the castings. Fear not - this lurid yellow will mostly be hidden by sheet metal in black.

A few questions for the knowledgeable folks out there:

- The upper wheel has a spacer behind it, and is held in place with a small circlip in front. The wheel has approximately 1mm of play along the shaft. Is this an issue, or will the wheel be held in place by tension from the blade?

- The bearings for the lower wheel were no good, so I whacked everything apart with a hammer. Afterwards I found a couple of retaining clips in the casting. Would I be correct to assuming that these are to set the location of the bearings?

- The upper wheel bearings seem to be in very good nick. I'd prefer not to remove them without reason, as I don't have a puller. Is there a way to clean out and re-grease these? The lower bearing were jam-packed full of who knows what grease, so I'd prefer to start again if that's possible..

Cheers ladies & gents,

Ben

**Ben Wheeler** · 4th February 2019, 10:59 AM

Ooh, bonus question. The blade guides seem pretty decent, but the actual blocks are not in great shape. I think they're probably bearing bronze, and from memory they're 3/8" round stock with a flat on one side.

I'd appreciate any suggestions for where I might find a replacement for such a thing!

**orraloon** · 4th February 2019, 11:10 AM

If there is enough meat on the blocks just grind or file the block faces flat and square. You can even use hardwood blocks but they need to be refaced more often. I used jarrah on an old H&F 14''. Runs nice and quiet.
Regards
John

**Ben Wheeler** · 4th February 2019, 11:16 AM

Great, hadn't thought of just hand filing. I'll give that a shot!

**Treecycle** · 4th February 2019, 11:44 AM

Wouldn't be worried about the 1mm float on the top shaft. Most likely been like that since new and there is no great sideways load on the bearings to try to push them off.
The circlips in the bottom housing would have been locating the bearings in the correct position. Did you knock the circlips out with the bearings and shaft or are they still in their grooves? A photo inside the housing would clear everything up just to be sure.

**Ben Wheeler** · 4th February 2019, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Wouldn't be worried about the 1mm float on the top shaft. Most likely been like that since new and there is no great sideways load on the bearings to try to push them off.
The circlips in the bottom housing would have been locating the bearings in the correct position. Did you knock the circlips out with the bearings and shaft or are they still in their grooves? A photo inside the housing would clear everything up just to be sure.

One of the clips was dislodged, but I didn't notice either of them until I was cleaning out the housing. I think I tapped the bearings out from either side (with a punch) in such a way that the circlips could basically remain in place.

I'll take a photo tonight. Thanks!

**Ben Wheeler** · 4th February 2019, 09:31 PM

Here's the lower wheel bearing housing, where you can see the two grooves for circlips:

The new tyres arrived today! I went with custom ones from "Bandsaw Tire Warehouse" on eBay. Crowned urethane tyres. Dealing with them was very pleasant and easy. Hopefully the product works out! I was surprised to see that they say the tyres should be glued on. Didn't think that was the case for urethane tyres.

Here are pics of the upper and lower blade guides. The thrust wheels are on a 1/2" post, so I'm hopeful of finding a not-too-expensive part to replace them. I'll try to file the guide blocks flat and square as well - the assembly as a whole strikes me as being a decent enough arrangement, so long as I can get the individual parts up to scratch.

**Treecycle** · 5th February 2019, 12:32 PM

Yep, circlips would be there to locate the bearings.
The thrust roller has certainly had some work by those grooves in it. Looks like it might be only mild steel rather than hardened by the amount of wear. I would think that you could replace it with a bearing if you're not worried about keeping it original. Is the shaft for the roller removable? If it is you could have it machined down to 12mm or have a new one made which makes finding a suitable bearing a lot easier as imperial bearings a fairly scarce nowadays.

**Ben Wheeler** · 5th February 2019, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Yep, circlips would be there to locate the bearings.
The thrust roller has certainly had some work by those grooves in it. Looks like it might be only mild steel rather than hardened by the amount of wear. I would think that you could replace it with a bearing if you're not worried about keeping it original. Is the shaft for the roller removable? If it is you could have it machined down to 12mm or have a new one made which makes finding a suitable bearing a lot easier as imperial bearings a fairly scarce nowadays.

Thanks for the suggestions. The shaft is removable. I'm trying to find a thrust bearing with a hardened cover of a suitable size, and if there's not one available with a matching inner diameter, then having a shaft machined may be the go. The bearings I've found that look to be the right sort of dimensions for the machine include ones from Carter, Wadkin (or something made for Wadkin bandsaws) and, I've just discovered, the same bloke who sells the tyres I just got from the US

/

Funnily enough, when googling for hardened thrust bearings or wheels, most or all of what I've found have been imperial sizes, just not 1/2" which is what I need.

**warrick** · 5th February 2019, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by Ben Wheeler

Here are pics of the upper and lower blade guides. The thrust wheels are on a 1/2" post, so I'm hopeful of finding a not-too-expensive part to replace them. I'll try to file the guide blocks flat and square as well - the assembly as a whole strikes me as being a decent enough arrangement, so long as I can get the individual parts up to scratch.

This is what I did to my woodfast thrust bearing as mine was in worn condition. The post is in the Woodfast junior restoration thread

Woodfast Junior Restoration - Advice needed

Rick

**Ben Wheeler** · 5th February 2019, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by warrick

This is what I did to my woodfast thrust bearing as mine was in worn condition. The post is in the Woodfast junior restoration thread

Woodfast Junior Restoration - Advice needed

Rick

Nice one, thanks for that. Looks like a good solution if I go with normal bearings.

Did you get new material for the guide blocks, or has it just been cleaned up?

Cheers!

**Simplicity** · 5th February 2019, 07:31 PM

Just tagging along as I have the same Woodfast bandsaw patiently waiting my attention.

Cheers Matt.

**warrick** · 5th February 2019, 08:06 PM

Originally Posted by Ben Wheeler

Did you get new material for the guide blocks, or has it just been cleaned up?

Cheers!

Just cleaned them up, mine still needs to be pulled down and painted

Rick

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