Sealed vs greased bearings on jointer

[Don Kondra]

Greetings,

Short story, General 12" jointer, changing the bearings.

There is a fibre seal on the end cap/races that is missing so excessive grease tends to "leak"....

We haven't found out yet if a new set is available, the manual says they are not needed.

Obviously, sealed bearings will eliminate maintenance and the "leaking" but will they last as long as the greased bearings?

Cheers, Don

[Bob Oswin]

Actually, Don they should last considerably longer.
The cost shouldn't be more that 15-20% and when you have em out, it no a big deal.
ps. we get 50- 100% longer longer life with sealed bearings in the air turbine /dental business.

Bob

[Pete Bradley]

I'd go with sealed. They'll last for years, perhaps decades, with no maintenance and in a jointer, they're usually easy to replace. Just be careful to match them up properly with the originals.

Pete

Pete

[Bruce Page]

Sealed, absolutely the way to go.

[Don Kondra]

Update...

Turns out the original bearings are double row self aligning and sealed bearings either are not available in the size required and/or won't work in this situation...

Anyhow, we installed rubber o-rings where the original fibre seals went and installed new greased bearings.

Will letcha know if the o-rings last :)

Cheers, Don.

[J.R. Rutter]

I think I have that jointer, or similar, and found the same issues when I changed bearings to install my Byrd head. I stuck with the greased version, but next time, I think I'll just get sealed sets and install some spacers to keep them in place.

[Don Kondra]

Hi JR,

The set up for the bearings on this machine is basically pillow blocks.

The outside circumference of the bearings rest in cylinders with end caps and there is no reference to the base to align a sealed bearing that does not swivel... even a small misalignment in installation and the sealed bearing won't last.

You can probably tell by now that my experience with bearings is post 1980 and limited to remove and replace with same type and size :)

Cheers, Don.

[David DeCristoforo]

One of the many euphemisms in common use: "Sealed Bearings" which translates to "Cannot be Cleaned or Lubricated". A few others that come immediately to mind:

"Maintenance Free" = "Cannot be Repaired"
"Double Insulated" = "Made of Plastic"
Etc......

[Chris Friesen]

One of the many euphemisms in common use: "Sealed Bearings" which translates to "Cannot be Cleaned or Lubricated".

I have sealed bearings in the front hub of my mountain bike. Every time I manage to submerge the hubs in water I have to re-pack the back wheel, but the front wheel has never needed any attention.

Sometimes sealed bearings "just work".

[David Epperson]

Update...

Turns out the original bearings are double row self aligning and sealed bearings either are not available in the size required and/or won't work in this situation... That might explain why the "originals" were missing. :D


Anyhow, we installed rubber o-rings where the original fibre seals went and installed new greased bearings.

Will letcha know if the o-rings last :)

Cheers, Don.
Actual double row self aligning bearings would be very difficult to mount seals in, as the shaft alignment is not tied to the outer race and the seal center could not be held around the shaft center. Best bet would be a "slinger" ring arrangement which keeps debris out of the bearings by using a thin "washer" type attachment on the shaft very close to the bearing. If your O-ring is tight to the shaft it just might also perform this function.
So long as needed alignment is limited there might be an option of shielded bearings in this application, which have their own built in slingers in a labyrinth arrangement.

[Bob Oswin]

One of the many euphemisms in common use: "Sealed Bearings" which translates to "Cannot be Cleaned or Lubricated". A few others that come immediately to mind:

"Maintenance Free" = "Cannot be Repaired"
"Double Insulated" = "Made of Plastic"
Etc......
Hard to believe that several manufacturers would go to the trouble of producing "Sealed Bearings" if there was not some merit in the task.

We should try not to be too quick to judge lest we overlook the obvious.

Bob

[David DeCristoforo]

Sheech..... Sometimes you gotta wonder..... How many of the people posting to online forums are just looking for something to jump on? Does your life offer so little that this is all you have to do with your energy? Did you ever consider developing a sense of humor? Or did you just miss the "tounge in cheek" element because you did not see one of those little smiley faces to tip you off? Is this too "aggressive" a reply? Will I get my wrist slapped by someone else for saying this? Most likely....but like I have said before, I have a pretty thick skin....

[Pete Bradley]

Does your life offer so little that this is all you have to do with your energy? Did you ever consider developing a sense of humor?

Actually it wasn't at all clear that your note was tongue in cheek. Degrading comments to the person who responded certainly don't add to the "humor" of your original post.

Pete

[David Epperson]

Hard to believe that several manufacturers would go to the trouble of producing "Sealed Bearings" if there was not some merit in the task.

We should try not to be too quick to judge lest we overlook the obvious.

Bob
He said nothing about there not being any merit to sealed bearings. But they are not meant to be "cleaned or lubricated" and this is true. You can if you must - but there really is no merit in those actions as they will definitely reduce the life of the bearing. Pumping additional grease into a sealed bearing is a guaranteed way to shorten it's life.

[David DeCristoforo]

"Actually it wasn't at all clear that your note was tongue in cheek."

Well I don't see how anyone could have taken it that seriously. I mean really...

"Degrading comments to the person who responded certainly don't add..."

I suppose you are right. It would be much better for me to disguise the "dregading comments" in some phrase like "We should try not to be too quick to judge lest we overlook the obvious." which would allow me to feel superior without having to actually say what I mean.