Replacing arbor bearings and possibly arbor in sliding table saw

[Bobby Robbinett]

Hey guys. I have an older Griggio sc3200b sliding table saw that I would like to replace the arbor bearings on. Might also replace the arbor. The arbor is brownish and lightly rusty. Would it be ok to take the arbor to a machine shop and have them turn the flange flat and clean up the rust in the process or would it be better to just replace the arbor all together? Nothing visibly wrong with it though. Tried taking run out measurements with a dial indicator but the flange is so rough the dial indicator kept moving which made the measurements difficult and probably not very accurate.

I have replaced arbor bearings in cabinet saws but never a slider. Can I remove the pully, nut, and snap ring on the back side and use a 3 jaw puller to pull the arbor and bearings on out the front side? Any tips or advice would be great. Thanks guys!

[Erik Loza]

On the arbor, highly unusual that it would totally need to be replaced. Could you just clean it up on bench grinder/wire head?

Erik

[Greg Quenneville]

I would guess that Griggio may not be able to supply an arbor for an old machine, or if they could it would be expensive, and a long wait. Any competent machine shop should be able to recondition the flange. I bet that the bearing seating areas of the shaft are rust free. If so, you could have the other sections linished to restore its appearance. I am guessing that the flange was originally precision ground?

[David Kumm]

Is the flange integral or keyed on ? On need to replace. Scotch brite or wire wheel it. No big deal to remove the arbor. Replace with an SKF Explorer ABEC 3 with normal clearance or equivalent. If the rust is really bad, you can bury the arbor in a tub of evaporust for a day. Just make sure the entire thing is covered. Dave

[Bill Dufour]

I would soak the arbor in EDTA and water for a night and then wash it off and see how it looks. Make sure it is fully submerged. Then light wire brushing if needed. Wire brush the non critical surfaces first to save on chemicals.
Bill D

[Richard Coers]

Griggio is no longer in business are they? Personally I feel you are over thinking it. What's wrong with a little color on the arbor? Wipe it with a maroon Scotch-Brite if you must. It will be perfect under the bearings since moisture can't get between the surfaces. I'd be surprised that the bearings even need to be replaced. What kind of runout or play have you found at the blade? The only issue I had with my Griggio was with the motor bearings.

[Bobby Robbinett]

Griggio is no longer in business are they? Personally I feel you are over thinking it. What's wrong with a little color on the arbor? Wipe it with a maroon Scotch-Brite if you must. It will be perfect under the bearings since moisture can't get between the surfaces. I'd be surprised that the bearings even need to be replaced. What kind of runout or play have you found at the blade? The only issue I had with my Griggio was with the motor bearings.

Technically the bearings probably don’t need replaced right now. But this is an older saw and I figure they will need replaced at some point in the future. The main reason for me doing this was because I had to pull the top to replace the half moon (curved rack) for the tilt. I got that reinstalled and would like to pull the arbor and have a machine shop turn it to true it up and replace the bearings since I already have the top off.

[Brian Holcombe]

The arbor size has to remain accurate. If this is a hard to find part, which is likely is, and it is no longer in spec I would take it to someone who grinds crankshafts for engines. He could weld up the area after removing material and then grind it true to size. In the process he could also grind the flange true.

All this wire wheel nonsense isn’t going to leave you with an accurate part. I would scotchbrite the areas that don’t interface with anything precise, so nothing the bearings or saw blades touch. When I worked at the machine shop, fot non-precise areas that needed the appearance improved we would spin up the part in a lathe and use a handheld belt sander with a very very fine belt to cleanup parts. The results were fantastic.

[Ronald Blue]

I would just take it to a machine shop after cleaning it up and inspecting. I can't imagine the flange being more than just a little roughed up. A competent machinist can put it in the lathe and skim just enough to restore a smooth flat surface again. If it has center holes in it then they can mount between centers and verify that it's straight and true as well. A .005 skim off the flange would do wonders and wouldn't be enough to weaken it.

[David Kumm]

I should have been more clear. Scotchbrite and wire wheel will clean the rust and crap from the flange but not true it. If you have it skimmed on a lathe, you want to put a dial indicator on it when installed to verify it still runs true. If not, there are videos of stoning a flange while in place that you can look at. Dave