Unisaw - New to me, Arbor Bearing question

[Dave Carteret]

Just picked up a Unisaw 34-466, (1978 vintage) with a much newer Bisemeyer fence

Everything looks to be in great shape except for the arbor bearings. Has quite a bit of runout and the arbor is pretty stiff.

First question: How do these suckers come out?

I suppose that's my only question at the moment. Once I see how they come out, I think I can get new ones in.

Requisite pics:
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll169/DRIVENC3/Woodworking/a2ae6e90.jpg

First thing I did? Yup. Took the lid off.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll169/DRIVENC3/Woodworking/IMG_8669.jpg

After a quick dusting with the shop vac:
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll169/DRIVENC3/Woodworking/IMG_8670.jpg

[Ray Newman]

See the Saw Center's page on Uni-saw rebuilding:www.sawcenter.com/unisaw.htm

[Dave Carteret]

Well.... that went smashingly well.
Ended up having to use a hydraulic press to get the arbor out. That sucker was TIGHT in there. My full weight on a hand-press did nothing to budge it.
And with it being so tight in there, the arbor bracket decided it had enough and didn't want to play nice anymore (yes, I had it well-supported underneath both sides).

I guess now I'm looking for a good, inexpensive arbor bracket. Crap.

[Jerome Hanby]

Too late to be any help to you, but I think the sawcenter place mentioned earlier does a pretty reasonable arbor rebuild. I'm leaning that way for my Unisaw restoration.

[Chris Fournier]

If the casting cracked "nicely" I would first attempt a repair by brazing the casting pieces in a fixture that holds the assembly together as it was when but one piece!. This is not hokey or half-a$$ed but a legit cast iron repair technique that will last for the rest of your life if its done well.

[Craig Ryder]

I'm sure I could make it a hokey and half-a**ed repair technique. :)

[Chris Fournier]

I'm sure I could make it a hokey and half-a**ed repair technique. :)

Well if it's some kinda contest that you're proposing then game on! I can mess up pretty much anything if I put my mind and inconsiderable skills to it.

On a more serious note I have found that many cast iron breaks caused like the OP's are very toothy and the pieces fit back together perfectly. The right heat, a tight joint and a bit of flux coated brazing rod and there's nothing but a coat of paint preventing the casting from looking and working as good as new. Don't sandbalst the cast prior to brazing, it contaminates the joint and makes a mess.

[Bob Aquino]

Did you remove the retainer before you tried to press out the bearing? That could be why it cracked, sometimes you dont notice things like that if you havent done one before. My suggestion would be to post a WTB ad over on owwm.org, those parts show up all the time, you should have a replacement within a month or less and probably for not much money. The arbor bracket is pretty much a standard part that has not been changed for eons. When you get it, take your time and post questions if you are not sure. Tons of threads on uni rebuilds over on owwm as well, take some time and read as much as you can. Good Luck.

[Frank Drew]

Dave,

When you removed the top, were there any shims between the top and cabinet?

[Dave Carteret]

Dave,

When you removed the top, were there any shims between the top and cabinet?

No, there were no shims. Should there have been?


As for the cracked piece, it doesn't look very salvageable. I think a nice used piece along with a new arbor will be best. Wish I had some CAD drawings. It'd be cool to machine a new one. :)

I was hoping that the blade runout was due to the bearings since the arbor did not turn very freely. But when I chucked the arbor up in a lathe, I could definitely see & measure the runout. When chucked at the end opposite the blade threads, it had about 0.010 runout. Aside from my operator error causing the cracked bracket, it's nothing more than the worst case that i expected to find.

But what's up with the prices for "Delta" arbor bearings?! They're STANDARD bearings! Bearings from a good company are under $10 but Delta lists them for like $30+