Tablesaw Bearing Replacement......Anybody?

[Dennis Peacock]

I have a JTAS-10XL-1 cabinet style tablesaw. It is now yelling at me like the bearings need to be replaced. Anybody here replaced bearings in the TS before? I'd like to know how difficult this is going to be. I've already ordered the replacement bearings. Please advise.

[Andrew Seemann]

It was pretty easy on my Unisaw. It probably will be on your Jet as well. There are videos out there for rebuilds and bearing replacement on Unisaws (there might be on Jets also, I haven't looked since I don't have a Jet). They are probably close enough to the Jet to show the basic concepts, even if the parts aren't exactly the same. While you are in there you might as well do the belts also and give everything a good clean up and lube. Again, the Unisaw vids will cover the basic concepts on the overhaul.

[Matt Day]

Pretty easy especially with the right tools. The most important being a bearing puller, and the right size pipe to knock the new bushing on, only striking the inner race.

You’ll need to remove the top, and realign it afterwards.

[Frank Pratt]

You’ll need to remove the top, and realign it afterwards.

You probably already know this, but be sure to keep track of the shims, & which corner they were in when you remove the top.

[Alex Zeller]

I just did my Powermatic tablesaw. There wasn't any shims to deal with on it. A gear puller might have worked but when it seamed like I was putting a lot of force on it I switched to my 20 ton hydraulic press. On it the arm that holds the arbor can be adjusted and the arbor itself has side to side adjustment so just make sure to measure anything you can just in case it can be adjusted. I also went with Timken bearings. Don't cheap out on the bearings and you should get lots of life out of them.

[Matt Day]

If the OP had a 20t press I don’t think he’d be asking this question.

And I’d suggest getting CHEAP bearings. They’ve come a long way since back in the day when only the name brand bearings were any good. I’ve replaced dozens of bearings with no name brands and never had a problem.

[Robert Hazelwood]

A three jaw automotive gear puller can remove the bearings. You have to pull by the outer race so it trashes the bearings, not a big deal if you are going to replace them anyways.

To get the new bearings on, I used differential heating. I put the arbor in the freezer for an hour or so. Then I wrapped the bearings in several layers of damp paper towels and stuck them in the microwave for, I think, 30 seconds or a minute. The water in the towels limits the bearing temperature so you don't cook the grease, and prevents sparking.

Pull the bearing from the microwave and take the arbor out of the freezer, and the bearing should freely slip into place. You have to work fast since the temperatures will start to equalize quickly. Have an appropriately sized pipe or something in case you need to provide some extra force.

[Ed Henderson]

You do not mention if there is play in the blade because of the bearing being worn. If not, I have on occasion sprayed the bearing while in place with electrical spray cleaner, blew it out with compressed air and then sprayed a high quality lube on it, blew it again and ran the saw. I've had my 50 yr old Unisaw for 25 yrs.

[Dennis Peacock]

You do not mention if there is play in the blade because of the bearing being worn. If not, I have on occasion sprayed the bearing while in place with electrical spray cleaner, blew it out with compressed air and then sprayed a high quality lube on it, blew it again and ran the saw. I've had my 50 yr old Unisaw for 25 yrs.

I bought this saw brand new almost 15 years ago and I have used my tablesaw a LOT. It's been starting to complain for a couple of years now and it's just now truly complaining and getting noisy. No play in the blade or anything like that...just REALLY noisy bearings. I'm sure the belts need to be replaced as well.

[Lee Schierer]

As you remove parts lay them out in order on a nearby table or workbench. This will prevent trying to figure out which bearing spacer our shim hoes where. Photos help too.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have the same JET saw and about the same age too.

I also THOUGHT I needed to replace the bearings. I called JET for advice. The service tech I talked to said "you dont need new bearings, Just the arbor set screw has worked lose" Long story short He was correct. I have mine backed up with a second screw but it still comes lose. I need to tighten it again now.

I did say that I have read many owners with the same reported problem and all said a bearing replacement fixed it. He said Yes, Because when they replaced the bearings they retightened the set screw.

My point, The set screw is a simple and easy fix to try before taking everything apart for bearing replacement.

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks Dave Lehnert, I'll give that a check tonight.

[Lee Schierer]

I also THOUGHT I needed to replace the bearings. I called JET for advice. The service tech I talked to said "you dont need new bearings, Just the arbor set screw has worked lose" Long story short He was correct. I have mine backed up with a second screw but it still comes lose. I need to tighten it again now.

Some Blue Loctite on the set screw will help hold it in place and still allow it to be removed when needed.

[Bill Dufour]

Run the motor with no belt and see how it's bearings sound. Biggest problem for me was removing the nut that held the bearing in arbor casting. #51 in the diagram. It needed a hook spanner which I had to grind thin enough to get in there. Start spraying penetrating oil on the bearing nut for a few days before you try to loosen it. On my delta saws that lock ring has been brass or pot metal so the drive slots smear easy but it saves the cast iron threads from damage.
Bill D

http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/1214ArborBearings.ashx

[Jacob Reverb]

I did the arbor bearings in my PM 64A contractor's saw a year or two ago. I would echo what others said -- you'll want a gear puller, and pay particular attention to how the parts were assembled on the saw, and if you're forgetful like me, take pictures along the way. On mine, the assembly as it came from the factory didn't match what was in the PM drawing: There were more parts in the drawing than on the saw, and they were assembled differently. (One online version of the PM parts list also got the bearing number wrong, transposing a couple of the digits.) And be on the lookout for any LH nuts (I have some in my saw, but I forget whether I had to deal with them).

While you have the main body of the saw accessible, take a look also at the mechanisms to raise, tilt and immobilize the arbor -- the set screws in some lock collars on mine had either gotten loose over the years, or never been tightened right in the first place. Loctite is your friend. I also Loctited the set screw on the motor sheave. Now's also a good time to clean and relube the rack and pinion gears for the motor raise and tilt, too...I used brake cleaner to clean, and Kano spray-on graphite to relube.

Like Robert above, I froze the arbor shaft in the freezer and kept the bearings warm in a Ziploc in my pocket. I also used a piece of small PVC pipe that matched the diameter of the bearing's inner race to drive and seat it on the shaft.

[Tom Bender]

Cooking in a microwave oven wrapped in a damp paper towel seems risky. You don't want to cook the grease.

Cooking it in a 250 degree oven or putting it in a ziplock and boiling it would be safer.

[Doug Dawson]

Cooking in a microwave oven wrapped in a damp paper towel seems risky. You don't want to cook the grease.

Cooking it in a 250 degree oven or putting it in a ziplock and boiling it would be safer.

Try sous vide. It produces a more tender, more evenly cooked bearing. The new machines are surprisingly affordable.

[Robert Hazelwood]

As long as the towels stay wet you should be ok. I tried placing the bearing in a toaster oven but it took forever and didn't get hot enough. The "sous vide" approach seems like it should work fine, just more hassle.

Placing the bearing on a candelabra style incandescent light bulb is a good way since it mainly just heats the inner race.