Saw gloat and an arbor bearing question

[Dan Duperron]

Evening Creekers,

Some of you may remember just a few weeks ago I was trying to figure out which used cabinet saw to buy, what constituted a good price, etc.

I decided on a PM66 after all over an old Uni, as I prefer left-tilt.

Then I got lucky. I was days away from driving 4hr (RT) to B'more to look at a hard-used PM66 (daily use in small cabinet shop, on it's third motor), when a deal popped up 30min from my house. Super nice guy (probably a Creeker ;)) selling his entire shop of PM tools. I wish I could have bought him out, but didn't have the $$ or the room (or a forklift to handle the planer - what a machine!). A serious woodworker, but as a hobby, not for a living.

Anywho he let me drive off with his clean 4yo FIVE HP 1PH PM66 w/50" fence and table board, plus a PM Model 44 bandsaw (with stand and 3 blades, one unused) that looked like it had been used exactly once.

All for $2000. Did I steal it? No. Did I get a great price? Yes! Is it probably more saw than I will ever need? Yes! Do I care? NO!

Now the question: I'm waiting for a mobile base to arrive now, and doing what little cleaning & checking I can while the saw is in pieces. I noticed that the arbor bearings have just a tiny bit of play when you lift up on them. I can grab the arbor end or the sheave, lift up, and feel that slight movement. Is that normal or OK, or should there be zero play in that direction? It looks pretty easy to replace the bearings on a PM66, but if that's the consensus any tips are appreciated.

[Myk Rian]

I would replace them. If it's easy, peace of mind is foremost.

[Chip Lindley]

Congrats Dan, on becoming a PM66 owner! They are One Serious TS! I Love my '98 model. There should be zero play between the arbor bearings and their housing, either end-to-end or radially. If there is any play at all, The housing may be mis-machined, or long-term use and corresponding out-of-balance forces may have worn the CI housing larger. (I doubt this is the case on a machine only 4 years old)

I had this problem with the spindle cartridge of a *gloat* bargain PM26 spindle shaper. I solved the slop while installing new bearings by inserting shim brass strips at points 120deg. apart between bearing and housing to achieve a press fit. Gap-filling *LocTite 41650* was applied to secure the bearings in place.

This *fix* can render an unusable machine NEW again! Of course, if bearings are changed in the future, heat will have to be applied to release the LocTite!

[Pete Bradley]

If the machine is over 10 years old I'd replace them no matter what. However, it takes a lot of wear or damage to cause noticeable play in a bearing. I suspect the play you're feeling is not the bearing itself. Is it possible that the play you notice is axial rather than radial? I don't know the PM66 design, but typically axial play is taken up by a spring washer or spacers.

A second possibility is that a bearing has seized and worn away the shaft or bore. This is more common on old machines and is a bad thing since more than a few thousandths is very hard to fix.

Pete

[Mike Cruz]

Ha! Saw the ad. Yup, he had a lot of nice equipment. Glad to hear you got some of it. Congrats!

[Dan Duperron]

Thanks Chip. The play is definitely in the radial direction. Sounds like I should pull the bearings and determine if it's play actually in the bearings or between them and the casting, then proceed from there. I hadn't thought about play between the bearing and casting - hope that's not it but your suggestions for a worst case fix are helpful.

[Neal Clayton]

grats on your new-old saw ;).

using a second hand ~20 year old 5hp PM66 as my new-old saw for the last couple of years myself.

[Lee Schierer]

We recently replaced the bearings on an old Powermatic cabinet saw here at work. It took a couple of hours, but there is zero arbor run out now and the saw cuts true all the time. I think we have less than $40 in new bearings. If were my saw and I already had it apart, I would find someone with an arbor press and replace the bearings.