Shopsmith Forums

FWIW, I have had the howling noise as long as I've had the bandsaw, in fact I had another SS bandsaw that I sold and it was the same. I always just assumed that it came with the territory. This is the only bandsaw I've ever seen that used a bearing to keep the blade alignment and that was where the noise was coming from so I just accepted it.

Last week I received some new Diamond Sterling blades from here and was more than pleased to find that not only are they very good blades for the price, but the noise went away. My read on this is that these are HD blades, thick at .032" and maybe that is the reason. They are noticeably thicker and stiffer than the SS and Olsen blades I have used before. I also bought a couple of their .025 blades but haven't tried one yet. It will be interesting to see (hear) the results. I've often thought that the blade was the source (caused by the bearing) of the noise, not the bearing.

Paul M

I have had noisy bearings on my bandsaw for over twenty years. I saw the special one day for the upgrade to quiter bearings and ordered some. After changing them, no difference. Decided to do some more looking. Pulled off the upper wheel nd saw the roller bearings. Got out manual to check on lubricating the roller bearings. They are supposed to be greased periodically. This I never did. Greased up the roller bearing and the noise went away. The noise came back after a while, so I used a heavier grease and again no noise. All of this was with a 1/4" blade. One day I changed to a 1/2" and got some noise, but not as bad as it was before. Went back to the 1/4" blade and no noise. So the problem could be lack of lubrication of the roller bearing and the tension on the the blade since the 1/2" blade requires more than a 1/4" blade.

I hope this helps.

Hi, JP! You gotta "pack" those needle bearings! Using wheel bearing grease, make sure you push the grease in from both sides. I'm kinda lucky as my little finger will stick part way into the bearing opening. Push from both sides and listen for the squeezing (slushing) (oozing) noise as the grease goes through between the needles.

Remember to put the fiber washer back on. My washer got a little thin over the years, so I added a thick paper washer on the bearing side.

charlese wrote:I'm stumped too, Dusty! A short while back I was going over my bandsaw to see if I could fine anything out of order. I had purchased a new set of bearings from Shopsmith. When the re-assembled bandsaw was put into service, there was noise coming from the new bearings. I replaced the new bearings I had used in the "auto track backup" location with the old ones and the noise stopped. This is the two bearings - Part number 514011 or # 56 in the exploded illustration.

To the best of my knowledge there is nothing wrong with either set of bearings. One set up a howling the other ran quietly.

By the way - When first getting the new bandsaw, it ran just fine but did howl some. Mine never did make a noise like a squeal.

Hi charlese,
yours is about the closest to my experience so far. And there's more. I may have mentioned my findings earlier, but no matter; what I want to add is maybe not much at all. If I hadn't spent so much time on it (yeah, join the club) I wouldn't bother, but I've given up because it seems best I can figure there's some kinda harmonic binness going on. Everything together seems to be creating the noise. I tried new bearings, old, a mix, WD40, my best cognac (not for the machine) and everythin else I could think of, then late one tired day I leaned over while it was still opened up and running- and noising- and I grabbed the frame for support (ah, me, alas and alack, that sorta thing) and the noise s t o p p e d.
I looked. I let go. Noise (seemingly still from the bearings, maybe).
I grabbed. It stopped. I stared. I growled. (I'd been at it for 2 hours, this time.)
I repeated. It repeated.
I hit Stop.
I grabbed a beer and left the room.
I have not tried again to find the source of the "noise".