Shopsmith Forums

It took me almost 2 hrs adjusting the knives using the straight edge. I tried it the next time with a dial indicator, using the .001 - .003 heighth mentioned in the manual. It took me less than 30 minutes.

pinkie:

I recently cleaned up and rebuilt an older jointer. The feather guard is a very wise and useful upgrade.

However, the most important task of a jointer re-furb is to sharpen the knives - really sharp. I use the conical sanding disk and the sharpening jig, followed by a final hone on an 8000 grid waterstone. The blades easily slice paper, and shave the hair on the back of my hand.

Can someone tell me how hard is it to replace the bearings in the jointer. The last time I used mine I thought I heard a growl coming from the bearing. I put a few drops of ultra thin oil on the bearings and the noise seemed to lessen.

I'm thinking bearings may be in my future.

Anyone swap them out? Where did you get new bearings? SS or outside supplier?
Ed

Ed in Tampa wrote:Can someone tell me how hard is it to replace the bearings in the jointer. The last time I used mine I thought I heard a growl coming from the bearing. I put a few drops of ultra thin oil on the bearings and the noise seemed to lessen.

I'm thinking bearings may be in my future.

Anyone swap them out? Where did you get new bearings? SS or outside supplier?
Ed

The bearings (502898, Ball Bearings - $9.48) are detailed in the parts list; therefore, I assume you can purchase them. Status on the ownersite: Quantity is low.

I expected that these would be roller bearings but the description indicates ball bearings. They must be sealed. I am surprised that oiling did any good at all.

Dusty
I have seen marked improvements in more "sealed" bearings after I oil them than I can count. In my opinion sealed means nothing bigger than a grain of salt will enter them however thin liquids like turbine or clock oil will migrate in. My theory is the grease used to lube bearings in manufacture tends to sluff off the bearings themselves and hardens with time/temp. When you lube them with a thin oil the oil gets in and mixes with the hardened grease, which then begins to soften and it starts to flow again onto the bearing surfaces.

The secret to oiling a bearing is you must use a very thin oil one that both penetrates but also lubes. My personal favorite is Marvel Mystery Oil which recently has been renamed Marvel Lubricating oil. I guess mystery was not technical enough. That oil migrates everywhere. I'm almost convinced if you put a drop on the ground in a few years the whole earth would be oiled.

Dusty have you ever changed the bearings? How hard of a job is it?
Ed

Ed in Tampa wrote:Dusty
I have seen marked improvements in more "sealed" bearings after I oil them than I can count. In my opinion sealed means nothing bigger than a grain of salt will enter them however thin liquids like turbine or clock oil will migrate in. My theory is the grease used to lube bearings in manufacture tends to sluff off the bearings themselves and hardens with time/temp. When you lube them with a thin oil the oil gets in and mixes with the hardened grease, which then begins to soften and it starts to flow again onto the bearing surfaces.

The secret to oiling a bearing is you must use a very thin oil one that both penetrates but also lubes. My personal favorite is Marvel Mystery Oil which recently has been renamed Marvel Lubricating oil. I guess mystery was not technical enough. That oil migrates everywhere. I'm almost convinced if you put a drop on the ground in a few years the whole earth would be oiled.

Dusty have you ever changed the bearings? How hard of a job is it?
Ed

I have not changed these bearings so I can not say. However, looking at the parts breakdown, it can't be very difficult. Pulling and pressing the bearings might require some special tools or a press but that is the only potential problem I see.

Actually, it looks like a DIY project. If I was going to attempt it - I think the FIRST thing I would do is REMOVE the cutter blades. Sharp objects and I seem to have regular conflicts where I am generally the loser.

It seems to me that charlese has reported changing out the cutter head; if he has ...... your question will be answered soon. Then where is 8iowa who has recently rebuilt a jointer. You can relax; you are in good hands.

I changed my bearings with just a vise, not the best way but it worked. They are a push fit and not an undersized press fit so it's not to difficult. I don't know of any bearing on the Shopsmith that is an undersized press fit.

A bearing puller and a press for installing them would be the best way to go.

A thought about oil for bearings. Would the oil they sell for router bit bearings be good? I personally don't use WD-40 for much of anything, had several bad experiences with it and trying to clean up the varnish it causes is difficult. I think the varnish could be from kerosene.

ED. Give me a call as I can help you. Bring the joiner, we can sharpen the knives and I will show you how to set them. I have better quality bearings that I use for the joiner. I use a puller to help the bearings off and a special bearing install tool for installing them. Never put any pressure on the ball bearings when installing a bearing.

Why oiling helps some bearings. If the bearing has a metal face vs rubber, it most likely is a shielded bearing like the bearing in the end of the control sheave. I find the metal shielded bearings will accept oil and also lose oil over time. This is why you should used 4-6 drops of oil when oiling the control sheave and do it frequently. I find that the original 500 headstock bearings were metal shielded bearings. NOTE: When replacing a metal shield bearing with a rubber sealed bearing, the rubber sealed bearing will operate hotter (up to 140 deg.) than the original metal shield bearing.

Sometimes, I help oil these used bearings by putting the bearing on a piece of metal in the sum for a few hours. Then I put a little oil around the shield with the bearing flat or mostly I drop the bearing in a small container of oil (this really works well for the control sheave bearing and did on the farm too). I let it set overnight or for a period of time before reusing the bearing if it feels good now. If the bearing has a rubber seal, I doubt if the bearing will accept any oil. I find it is better to replace the bearing if there is any doubt as to it's condition.

My experience with the jointer bearings are about the same as Jim's. The hardest part I found is getting the bearing out of the bearing housings. What ever you do,don't damage the housing. For a simple little part they are expensive at over $40 each. My bearings slid off and on to the cutter head shafts by hand.

My original problem was caused by a frozen bearing (or so I think). The cutter head shaft on the headstock side was worn down beneath the bearing causing a wobble. I eventually replaced the cutter head.

Yes, I agree with Ed that light oil will soak into a sealed bearing. I should have oiled the jointer bearings but didn't. Therefore my problem.

Remember Nick saying (a couple of times) that sawdust had probably sucked the oil out of a sealed bearing? Well, I figure if oil can be sucked out, then it can also leak in.

Its back to the drawing board or rather, it is time to order some parts.
I'm going to replace the Depth Control Knob and the threaded stud that it turns on, maybe the washers that go on the other stud that holds the two units together as well.
I just can't get the movement out of the jointer that i feel I should. The knob catches half way up the stud.
That should take care of the problem as there really aren't that many pieces to the jointer. (One very nice thing about having the universal power unit, the headstock.)