Shopsmith Forums

So...

Given that the shopsmith bearings in their retrofit kit seem to works but may not works for very long, I have been looking on ebay and elsewhere for a very hiqh quality alternative to the shopsmith offering.

I understand that the bearings provided by the MS are from China and thus of lower quality than some other bearings out there.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... lerkit.htm

I found an interesting ebay listing that touts a much higher quality kit. It seems that the gentleman is a shopsmith user himself and sought out a better solution for the bandsaw bearing squeal issue.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shopsmith-Bands ... xy4fBTjoGg

They are both essentially the same price so it's kind of toss up. I do want the best quality bearings so that I get good longevity out of it. I love using the bandsaw, but the squealing really starts getting irritating after some longer sessions with the bandsaw.

Please correct me if I am wrong on the shopsmith bearings and their country of origin.

Cheers,
John

Just a thought, as I'm sure others may advise against it:

I researched skateboard bearings and they're an exact match as the dual bearing setup (7mm width I think, off the top of my head. And whatever the outer diameter is). Although the bore is a millimeter or so larger. I still bought a set (comes in 8 packs) of the cheapest ones at the local skate shop, still great quality because they're name brand skateboard bearings, for like $10.

To combat the difference in the bore size, I wrapped a few layers of Teflon tape around the screw, and slid on the bearings nice and snug. I cut off any excess peaking out from under the bearing and my setup was complete.

Cheap alternative and readily available anytime I need extras.

Preliminary testing has been good so far. Minimal applied testing completed so far, though. I see no issues.

cheap and readily available. I'd like to avoid wrapping teflon tape though as sometimes it can become quite the mess down the road. However, that's when I used them on PVC thread fittings.

Cheers,
John

I bought the ones on eBay. A well respected member of this forum he is!

Another member had posted this and quite a few of us used it to update our saws.

[Incomplete link removed]

I personally have done this and everything worked out fine.

I'm sure the one Bill is selling is just as good but I have no personal experience with the collection. I do trust him, he is a good person to support and it is a lot less work to just buy from him.

Ed

Edit: I think there was another page to the pdf........ so my link needs a tune up. If someone else has it please post or wait for later today when I can search for it.

Yes, there is another page (or two) that has the upper and lower backup bearing parts. I did this upgrade back in 2008 when LDH first published it. It is still going strong today on my band saw. I still have a bunch of the McMaster Carr shims called for if anyone is interested.

reible wrote:Another member had posted this and quite a few of us used it to update our saws.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/downl ... p?id=18928

I personally have done this and everything worked out fine.

I'm sure the one Bill is selling is just as good but I have no personal experience with the collection. I do trust him, he is a good person to support and it is a lot less work to just buy from him.

Ed

Edit: I think there was another page to the pdf........ so my link needs a tune up. If someone else has it please post or wait for later today when I can search for it.

Both pages are in this, the original post. http://shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic ... 583#p15583

Thank you!

Ed

rpd wrote:

reible wrote:Another member had posted this and quite a few of us used it to update our saws.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/downl ... p?id=18928

I personally have done this and everything worked out fine.

I'm sure the one Bill is selling is just as good but I have no personal experience with the collection. I do trust him, he is a good person to support and it is a lot less work to just buy from him.

Ed

Edit: I think there was another page to the pdf........ so my link needs a tune up. If someone else has it please post or wait for later today when I can search for it.

Both pages are in this, the original post. http://shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic ... 583#p15583

Thanks all!

I will go with the Bill bearing setup. Looks like the homework has been done and the price is fair.

Always nice to throw out a question on here and I get plenty of great answers and good ideas in short order.

Cheers,
John

You will be pleased...