RAS advice (bearings etc)

[Noel Hegan]

Hi, after many years of searching I finally found a radial arm saw. It's not as old as I would like it to be but I'm happy. It's an early 80's DW 125 Powershop.
Few things I need advice on:
Bearings - there's 3 bearings on the arm and they feel, turning them with my fingers, as if they're clogged with sawdust rather than pitted or worn. Generally I'd be happy to renew them but overhere the DeWalt replacements are around $40 each plus shipping, not a fortune I know, but.... If I try and clean them out with solvent is it possible to repack them (removing and replacing seals etc) with grease or something similar?
Other option is to find a bearing supplier and see if I can source at a sensible cost. I haven't removed the bearings yet and cannot see a manufacturer's name on the top side, does anybody have details on their size? I'm assuming little has changed in specification over the years.
I'll also be getting a Freud or Forrest neg rake blade.

TIA

Noel

[Steve Campbell]

Noel if you are talking about the bearings on the top of the arm, I would say go ahead and take them off and clean them up. It's not like they are high speed bearings. I have had good luck taking a dental pick to pry out the side seals. Just flush out the old gunk with a solvent. Then push the side seal back in place. A little work with a punch and hammer and they should fit back in. If you need to you can seal up with a little silicone.
What have you got to lose. If it doesn't work you can always replace.
Hope this helps.
Steve

[Noel Hegan]

Steve, thanks for that, I'll give it a try. And yes, it is the bearings on the arm that the motor assembly slides on.

[Rick Lizek]

I agree with Steve but if you do need any kind of bearings I buy from http://bearingbrokersinc.com/ I just replaced the carriage bearings on 2 Dewalt saws and the bearings were $5 and $9 each versus the $40 you were quoted.

[Noel Hegan]

I agree with Steve but if you do need any kind of bearings I buy from http://bearingbrokersinc.com/ I just replaced the carriage bearings on 2 Dewalt saws and the bearings were $5 and $9 each versus the $40 you were quoted.

Rick, thanks for the link. I presume the bearing sizes haven't changed much over the years, do you know what the part no / reference / size or even the name (type) of the bearing?

Many thanks

Noel

[Rick Lizek]

You can easily slide off the carriage and read the bearing numbers. A magnifying glass helps.
Never assume things didn't change. Had two similar arms but the carriage bearings were different. Eight beraings per carriage for these saws. One took all the same bearings the other took two different sizes, four of which were the same size as the first carriage but the other four were smaller. You just give the numbers of the bearings and it's also helpful to verify the dimensions. They are all in metric. This surprises a lot of folks. They expect an old American machine to have the bearings in inches. Metric bearings are more common in my experience.

Paid $150 for for 16 Japanese bearings including second day air shipping. Bearing Brokers has great pricing. Bought original English bearings for our moulder that were prices $400 each and got them for 1/3 the cost.