Adjusting support bearing on G0513X2

[Larry Browning]

I have been scratching my head about getting access to the upper support bearing on my Grizzly G0513X2 bandsaw. There is this big red guard blocking my access to insert the dollar bill between the back of the blade and the support bearing. The manual illustration shows how to do this but the big read guard is missing, so there is easy access. The manual has no mention of the guard. I tried to remove the guard once and it was a royal PITA and I still did not get easy access to the support bearing. Has anyone else had this issue? How do I get access to this thing? I have just been eyeballing it, but I wish I could get access to set it properly.

[Mikail Khan]

I have a 514X. I can't recall removing the red guard. I think I normally adjust the rear bearing by moving it up until it touches the blade and then moving it back slightly. No dollar bill. On my saw the red guard is attached with 2 socket head cap screws. To get easy access the rear guide bearing you can use the hand wheel to put the guide bearings in the highest position, remove the screws and lower the guides with the handwheel while holding the red guard in position. This should give you access without having to remove the whole guard. MK

[glenn bradley]

I just put a blade on this evening. I move the thrust bearing up until it touches the blade and then back off the tiniest amount and snug it down. I then press the blade back into the bearing. It is much easier to see how much the blade moves than to try and judge the gap for me. If it looks good, I lock it down. I have seen pictures where people have cut away a portion of the guard but, once you change a blade a few times, it comes pretty easy so I would advice against the hacksaw ;-)

[Erik Christensen]

I have the 514x with the same guard setup. first couple of times I unbolted the guard and lifted it up out of the way & held it a piece of duct tape but since then have decided that it is a waste of time. You want the thrust bearing to be a close as possible without touching the blade until it starts to cut - pretty much every blade I have put on has one or more "high spots" - i rotate the wheels till I find the high spot then back off the thrust bearing to the point where it stops moving and no further. tighten it down & spin again to make sure that tightening did not cause it to drift - turn on the saw and make sure the bearing remains stationary - that's it.

[Larry Browning]

It seems the general consensus is that this setting is not that critical to be measured and can be eyeballed. This is what I have been doing and you guys have validated that. So I am not going to worry about it anymore.

Thanks for taking the time to do that.

[John Coloccia]

Here's my foolproof procedure:

-Back off the rear bearing

-Move the one side bearing in and tap on the blade. Adjust it so that it still goes "tap tap tap" against the bearing but just barely. If the bearing is hitting the blade, it won't make any noise. Do the same for the other side bearing.

-Push the rear bearing right up to the blade but leave it loose. Push the blade back until the gullets are just in front of the side bearings. Snug down the rear bearing.

That's it. It's all about understanding the purpose of the bearing. You want the side ones as close as possible to the blade without actually touching it, and the rear bearing is just there to keep the blade from moving too far back under pressure. Ideally, the rear bearing isn't even being used most of the time. Doing it like this, I can adjust all of the bearings reliably and in less than a minute.