Thread: Noise from a bad bearing

Albert, welcome to the world of "fix your own machines". Over the last 15 years or so of procuring "old machines" I have had to do a little surgery on a few of them. My mechanical knowledge is scant but the thought of finding someone interested for a start in doing any repairs was daunting. So I found myself staring at a machine with an eye that was a mechanics not of a woodworking. I have had to change bearings in motors as well as cutter blocks too. One 3Hp 3Ph motor needed bearings. It was a straight forward procedure but the bearings needed a lot of force to get them free of the holders. The method I used was barbaric and that led me to making a 20 ton Hydraulic press to make things better.

To be able to rectify problems yourself, especially if you are out of your comfort zone is rewarding. Even just freeing up a hand wheel is good too. I am not saying I will delve into a machine's bowels' but I would give it a lot of consideration. I have picked up a German Hommel Metal Lathe which was stored out side with no rain coat. It is at a mate's place undergoing a strip down and big clean/de rust procedure. The mate is a mechanic so he pulls things off and lets me clean those bits (isn't he generous).

Another thing about the exercise is that while you are operating a machine you can tell if something is not working right and you can keep ahead of a breakdown.

When I was Foreman at a white board cabinet shop if a machine broke down getting someone to fix it was a major pain in the____our closest agent was in Sydney so just a visit was $1000 (30years ago) and then you had to hope they could fix the problem. It was a real night mare. Another cabinet maker in the town had a Beam Saw. It stopped working and took 7 months "to repair". In the mean time they had to buy a temporary replacement while a lot of head scratching was done. In the end a Technician was flown out from Italy. He was picked up at the airport and taken straight to the ailing Beam saw. He sat down and plugged in his lap top and within 10 minutes the saw was operational. By being away from a metropolis you are on your own

Another thing I meant to mention was that a lot of machines we have in our workshop have basically just very simple set ups. There are bearings in the motor and bearings on a shaft holding the cutting tools. So when buying a machine keep that simplicity in mind because you may be able to pick up a slightly suspect machine with a small problem that can be rectified quickly and hopefully cheaply

Good work Albert. Did you reinstall a shielded bearing? I hate greasing bearings and am considering RS (rubber sealed) on my next rebuild project. At least for spindles that turn under 8000 rpm.

Originally Posted by Greg Q

Good work Albert. Did you reinstall a shielded bearing? I hate greasing bearings and am considering RS (rubber sealed) on my next rebuild project. At least for spindles that turn under 8000 rpm.

Thanks Greg. Yes they are shielded bearing, I cant believe the previous owner didnt do anything about it and just sold it cheap. it was a simple task, it would be a much faster if I had a helper.

love the old jointer, everything is cast iron, solid and simple.

Thanks Chambezio. before I took on the task I was a little uncertain. cos I have never done this myself. now I am very confident to tackle next job.

I have some electronic machinery, I know if I have issue with them it will involve reboot... luckily major machinery repairer are not too far from where I am.