Shopsmith Forums

i think i posted here a couple of months ago, i was able to procure my very first Shopsmith about two r so months ago. its about a 1987 or 8 model. i've not been able to work on it yet as i'm still finishing the basics of my first new shop. i have the electric in and this past weekend i got a small room A/C unit installed. its been in the hundreds here in paradise, so i really wanted to get this one done. i'm born and raised in Florida but i cant take the heat like i used too.....

i got started disasmbling the bandsaw yesterday and the bearings inside the cover are fine. the bearings above and below the guide blocks were froze tight and i took the shields off the lower bearing this afternoon. after flusing and letting it sit in mineral sprits, or paint thinner in some parts.....the bearing rolls fine and there's no hint of rusty drag spots.....or roughness.

i ordered two new bearings today and they will be here wednesday.

i'm almost tempted to remove the shields and flush the new ones out more often than take a chance on forgetting the schedule i have written down from the manual??

anybody been down this thought path before?????

take care, bill

If the bearings were expensive I might consider doing this. But the bearings are not expensive so I just replace the bearings when I feel a need. If the bearings appear to have some life left in them, I save them for use in jigs and the like.

You can get a very short extension by cleaning them with mineral spirits or turpentine, dry them for a day or two and then put in some graphite powder. But, as already said, when it comes time to replace, they are not that expensive compared to some real bearings. I shop for the bearings. Sometimes, I can find them locally as cheap as SS or cheaper. That also saves shipping costs. So, it is worth your time to look through your local phone book to find bearing vendors. Just take in what you need to replace and let them do the work.

Just last week, the local vendor was a dollar more for each of the upper and lower bears beside the blade guides. But, I spent more money on shipping than what I saved on getting them from SS. Just some food for thought.

I use a pair of 627Z to replace the follower bearings. They cost about $4.00 each and are common bearings that you should be able to locate locally (no shipping).

This bearing was originally an 827Z (7x22xx10).

Try here.

thanks guys!! i'm going to install the new bearings, but i still haven't decided whether i'll remove the shields and leave them open. the old ones will stay around for jigs and stuff.

i appriciate the bearing part numbers! i'll put a couple of them on order tomorrow just to have them around.

i'm going to get some low res pics this weekend and post them.

i'll also get my little homemade lathe and the results out and get pics of them. i cant wait to get the tuneup and maintenance done on the whole machine so i can make chips!

thanks again, bill

How do you remove the Lower Wheel Bearing? I just disassembled the bandsaw on my unit, and saw no way to remove this bearing assembly.

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mine were held to the structure with 3/8" nuts. they rode on shouldered bolts.

take care, bill

judaspre1982 wrote:Check out this thread paying attention to Nick's posts with regard to the lower wheel bearing.

Dave

What thread? No link!!:(

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