Shopsmith Forums

I think the bearings on my Shopsmith jointer cutterhead are going out. This is a jointer I purchased new in 1984.

When I spin the jointer input shaft by hand there is a soft but audible noise and a dragging feel. Can I replace just the bearings or do I need to buy a whole new cutter head assembly?

You can replace just the bearings. You can find the ones from Shopsmith USA SKU 502898 at the link below. They fit both the older (pre-1999) Jointer Cutterhead Assembly and the newer one.

https://www.shopsmith.com/product-page/ ... aring-only

There are bearings available from other sources.

These are pressed on bearings so a puller to remove them and a way to press them on are needed. Does not require a Press and can be done with simple tools.

chapmanruss wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2026 11:12 am You can replace just the bearings.
..,
These are pressed on bearings so a puller to remove them and a way to press them on are needed. Does not require a Press and can be done with simple tools.

Thanks Russ. Much cheaper than replacing the entire cutter head. Can you point me to a post explaining how to push the new bearings on without a press?

I know there is information out there on "pressing" bearings onto different shafts. Maybe someone has a link. A simple way is to use a piece of pipe with an inside diameter just larger than the outside dimeter of the shaft the bearing is going onto. Do make sure the pipe end is smooth not a sharp edge as is common with iron water pipe from being cut to length. You want to press only against the inner race of the bearing. With light taps on the free end of the pipe go until the bearing is seated. Repeat for the second bearing. The Bearing Housings/Mounts should slide over the Bearings without too much resistance.

Everett Davis has a large and highly detailed document on Shopsmith bearings. It is available through the first post in the pinned post in this folder entitled Shopsmith Large Format Drawings... Click the link for his Google Drive and see Bearings.

Many of us (including Everett it seems) have and use an inexpensive Harbor Freight Bearing Separator and Puller Kit. In many cases, it can be reversed (relative to how you removed the bearing) and then used to 'pull' the new bearing onto the shaft. This is especially true for short shafts, so while I have never done the Jointer cutter I would kind of expect it to work. I keep a selection of old inner and outer bearing races to use as spacers to ensure I am only applying pressure to the correct race on the new bearing. Off hand I can only remember one Shopsmith bearing that I couldn't install this way, it was a quill bearing for one specific version of quill and I ended up tapping it on as described by Russ.

- David