Replacing the bearings on a Durden Pacemaker

**SpinningAround** · 21st May 2011, 06:07 PM

I've recently acquired a Durden Pacemaker (one of the 1950's SP10/600s). I've stripped it down and have started a clean-up and restoration. Someone's painted all of the cast iron surfaces at some point in it's life but beyond that it is a seriously hefty little machine in good condition. Plus that must be the biggest '1hp' motor I have seen.

Given that the arbour bearings (which are, I believe, the original unsealed, grease-packed components) are now a good 50-odd years old at least, I want to replace them with new sealed ones.

The only issue is the arbour on a Pacemaker is a complex bit of kit - probably the most complicated thing about the machine. It's threaded at both ends to support the various add-on accessories, has a hefty cutter-block for the integral jointer, and has two big bearings in cast iron pillow blocks as well as a keyed pulled for drive and support for the saw blade.

Anyone replace bearings on one of these things? I am not keen to start cranking a bearing puller down on it and risk damaging the arbour.

In the alternative, can anyone recommend a good engineering / machine shop in Sydney (inner-west would be handy) that would do this sort of fairly small job?

As an aside, with the honking great big cutter block, this thing has some serious rotational intertia... Takes rather a while for it to spin down. Bet it doesn't bog down very easily...

**Avery** · 26th May 2011, 10:11 PM

I have just today finished doing this very job (with some help from a couple of friends. The machine belongs to the Hills Mens Shed - a donation.

As we don't get a lot of time at the shed to do these things it was done over several weeks, and I have kind of forgotten where we started. We took everything off and derusted and cleaned everything. New motor bearings and new switchgear . The bearings on the shaft were a little bit of a challenge. To be honest , it was so long ago that we started , I don't completely remember the routine. I would need the thing sitting in front of me as a memory aid.

I know we needed a C-spanner to get at the bearing on one end, I think that bearing was also retained with a circlip. Both bearings were pulled off with a fairly small puller without too much hassle. We bought new bearings at a supplier in Seven Hills with no trouble - I think less than $30.00 for the two of them.

Overall, the job was done without anything fancy. The C spanner was the most unusual tool. Everything else was just standard hand tools.

I printed out the manual from here

UP10600.

I have attached a picture of the page with the shaft drawing on it

It is not all that clear , but you can make out the order in which all the parts go onto the shaft.

The hardest part I think was getting the cutter blades back in position and lined up.

Good luck with it. They are a good little machine.

If you have any specific questions I'll be glad to help if I can.

**pommyphil** · 3rd June 2011, 03:28 PM

Hi Avery I've got one with a stuffed on/off switch, they'd been using the forward/reverse to stop/start. What switch did you put on ? and from where ?

Thanks. Phil.

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