Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Anyone replaced bearings in Contractor Saw?
Barry Irby
I have a Rockwell/Delta 10" contractors table saw and it has started making an odd sound. I am suspicious it needs new bearings. Anyone done that job? How do you get at them to replace them? Is disassembly required? The saw is almost fifty years old and I am not sure I ever replaced them before.
Re: Anyone replaced bearings in Contractor Saw?
Ralph Lipeles
I'v done it on other saws. The replacement was quite straight forward. I first unbolted the saw from the base and then flipped it upside down. I then gave it a good vacuuming so I could better see the parts. While you will not be able to see the bearings you should be able to see the housings they they are in. You will probably have to unbolt the assembly from the top surface and both sides. Take pictures and notes. When I do something like that I make a note of each thing that I have done and identify the removed parts with the notes. After getting the new bearings just reassemble by going back through the notes. When reattaching to the underside of the table do not tighten the bolts too much. Put a blade on and rig up a dial indicator to the miter gauge. The tip of the indicator should be touching the blade. Spin the blade to make sure it is not bent or warped. Then move it back and forth to make sure that the blade is parallel to the miter guage slot. Tighten the assembly and recheck with the indicator.
Re: Anyone replaced bearings in Contractor Saw?
Pete in Holland MI
The bearings are probably shielded bearings, which are a lower grad of a seal verses a "sealed" bearing. Do better at keeping the grease inside, and dust out.
Beyond that, it should be pretty straight forward replacement. Be cautious that the arbor may have a nut on it that during tightening, puts a small amount of pre-load on the bearings.
Prior to disassembly, drop the belt and spin the arbor, and check for vibration & noise. If you have either or both......it's time for bearings.
If you're reasonably mechanical, its not that tough. Just takes some time.
Re: Anyone replaced bearings in Contractor Saw?
Keith Newton
Yes but it has been a long time ago. As Pete said below, make sure it’s arbor and not motor.
Flip it over on its top, and you can see how to remove the top from the reunion. Once it’s out, it’s pretty easy to deal with the rest. If you can’t pull the arbor yourself, it’s easy enough to just take the reunion to a machine shop, and let them do it.
Shielding not a lower grade....
John in NM
Shielded bearings can generally run at a higher rpm than sealed. Similarly, open bearings usually have an edge over shielded on speed. For a table saw I think sealed are good though, I don't the the rpm will exceed the limits of the seal.
Re: Auto-Obfuscator Strikes Again
William Duffield
I think you might have been trying to write "trunnion" instead of "reunion". I only bother to bring it up because trunnion is an unusual word, and some people here may not have encountered it.
Re: Auto-Obfuscator Strikes Again
Barry Irby
Thanks, I was struggling to un-auto-obfuscate.
Yes, spellcheck scores again.
Keith Newton
I should have proofread it before posting. Thanks