changing shaper bearings

[joe milana]

Trying to factor in the cost of replacing spindle bearings into the value of buying a used shaper. Is this something I can do, or does it require special tools, press, and a service call? I'm talking light duty industrial machines, like SCMi T110, Older MiniMax machines, Invicta Delta , powermatic, etc.

[Steve Griffin]

Joe,
I can't speak for the specific machines you listed, but I've replaced the bearings on my Grizzly shaper twice in 10 years. The first time I replaced just the bearings, and it wasn't too bad using a block of wood and mallet. The second time I got lazy and just ordered the cartridge, which comes with all new bearings and takes a few minutes to replace. Since my time is worth something, this was far more pleasant and worth the extra $100 or whatever it was.

[Stephen Cherry]

http://artisans.homeunix.com:443/pro...roducts_id=177

This is Richards site. He's the one to talk to about Delta HD shapers, and Powermatic as well. So it's 75 dollars for a powermatic rebuild. He's rebuild one of my Delta HD spindles, and it could not have been an easier process.

I also have a SCMI T110, and can tell you that is much more massively built than the delta hd. There really is no comparison. I think the PM is a little bigger than the Delta HD, but also relatively small compared to the T110.

[David Kumm]

Hey Joe. Bearings over 20 yrs are likely to need replacing- or at least cleaning if not sealed. The SCMI, MM, SAC type machines will be more expensive due to better bearing quality. You do not want cheap bearings running at 10000 rpm with no runout. Guessing $500 deal. Felder has their bearings in the spindle cartridge so that is most likely easier. Dave

[J.R. Rutter]

I think the OP is talking about the big Delta and Powermatic shapers that have spindles very similar to the SCM. The big old Deltas are more like an SCM T130 - probably heavier. When I did the bearings in my old T130, I used a forklift to pull the spindle and took it to a machine shop to have the bearings installed. It was several hundred $ total, IIRC. The Mnin Max shapers that I'm familiar with use a miniature version of the spindle found in the T110.

[joe milana]

Correct JR, I'm talkin about the older industrial machines. With brokers driving the cost of used machinery up, it's something to consider. When I ask, i usually get a response like" I'm pretty sure they were just changed". or "the machine was completely checked out by our technician and is good to go". ...yeah right.

[J.R. Rutter]

Found this post from almost 5 years ago. The shaper ran well after the bearnings. I measured runout when I sold it, and it was something like 0.0005" - hardly measurable.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...t-project-quot

[joe milana]

You just validated my worse nightmare...

Oh, and by the way, machines like that are going for 3-5,000 these days.

[David Werkheiser]

J.R. Rutter, I have followed your posts in the past on the rebuild of your SCM T130 and am now looking at buying a 15 yr old one. I've been told that the massive bearings that do so well in supporting the spindle are also massive in price. Is there any truth in this? Joe, sorry for the side track of your origional post but my question is somewhat related.
David

[David Kumm]

David, When you get the bearing spec give Accurate Bearings a call. They are the place that the OWWM guys get their bearings and the old machines use some huge ones. They are reasonable and give great info. Bound to be cheaper than going through SCMI. J R, maybe you could also speak as to whether those bearings can be cleaned out and regreased or not. Dave

[J.R. Rutter]

If I remember correctly, I found the bearing specs by downloading the manual / parts diagrams from partspronto.com, then looked up the bearing part numbers in their online system. This gave the actual bearing specs. The SCM prices were quite high. I think that there are some Belleville (sp?) washers at one end. I ended up ordering bearings somewhere online - Accurate Bearings sounds like a great source. The originals and replacements were sealed. The SCM manuals typically do not cover any actual maintenance procedures aside from things like belt changes, but they do a good job with exploded parts diagrams, so if you study the drawings it should make sense.