Grizzley table saw 1023 SL possible bearing problem

[Rick de Roque]

I have the 1023 SL table saw (bought less than 4 years ago) and it has not been cutting smooth of late. Thought it was the blade (Forrest) so I bought another one and no change in the cut. I checked the set up and everything is aligned well. It has been making a humming noise at times. My thought is it needs a new arbor bearing. But at less than 4 years old would a bearing go out this soon? I do this as a hobby so the TS gets about 5-10 hours average of use a week in the shop over the last 4 years. If not the bearing what else can be causing the bad cuts? (leaves scoring marks on the rip cuts, never did this before)

Thanks,
Rick

[Brad Olson]

It is hard to say with Grizzly. Now they are using better components, but a few years ago they were using crap bearings.

In my Grizzly bandsaw, I pulled and replaced all the bearing with ABEC rated bearings (from granger) in lieu of the "China" bearings that were installed by Grizzly. I did this because running the blade under moderate to high tension killed the bearings. I spent a total of $20 and an afternoon to replace the bearings and made a world of difference in cut quality.

[Roy Wall]

Rick,

Do you take the blade off and let the machine run....listening for troubles? You may well be right on the bearings. They will get HOT when failing.
I agree with Brad to stay away from the Chinese bearings - Japanese brand like Nachi are good though - I have used them before.

I remember an old trick used when working on auto engines - checking for water pump bearings, etc.... I took a steel rod (2') and used it as a "stethascope" to listen to various parts of the engine - touching it to locations and you could hear the internals better......