Question regarding cleaning/packing tapered bearings in old Jointer

[Hasin Haroon]

Hi All. I purchased a Beaver 3800 6 inch jointer a couple months ago and finally got around to disassembling it for a restoration.

My question is regarding the bearings in the jointer, they are tapered roller bearings set in a metal cup of sorts (my knowledge is pretty limited on this, sorry). The bearings look like they are in good shape,one looked a little dry, but otherwise the grease still looked grease like and not solid soap. I don't have the tools required to separate the bearing cone without damaging them, and would prefer not to spend around $100 on new bearings, so I want to clean and repack the bearings without disassembling them. Would it be okay to soak them in alcohol and then dry them with a hair dryer before repacking from the outside, trying to push the grease in? Or would I end up with dry bearings on the inside?

The other option would be to just use them as is, the tube they were set in was full of grease that looked pretty clean so I could just re use that.

Thanks in advance!

[Jerry Bruette]

The best thing to do is replace the bearings, but if you don't have the knowledge or ability to do that cleaning and repacking is an option.

I would use kerosene or some other solvent to clean the bearings, not alcohol.

Also I would use compressed air to blow out the bearings during cleaning but don't use the compressed air to rotate the bearings, that can cause damage to the bearings.

Use a good EP2 grease to repack the bearings and you should be good. Don't pack the tube chuck full of grease either, there is such a thing as too much grease.

I don't want to spook you but bearings are funny things, some times they look and feel like they're still good but we can't feel or see the things that will make a bearing go woof.

[Hasin Haroon]

Thanks for your response Jerry. I think I will go with cleaning and repacking then. Just so I'm clear, once I'm done cleaning and drying the solvent, I can push in the grease from the outside? (since I dont have access to both sides of the cone without separating it) I just want to be certain so I don't misunderstand and wreck the bearings.

Thanks for the pointer on the type of grease too, that was something else I was wondering.

[Jerry Bruette]

If you have a grease gun you can buy a needle attachment to put the grease right between the rollers, then smear some all over the outside of the bearing before putting the cone into the cup.
You could probably buy the needle at a automotive parts store.

[Andrew Gibson]

If I am reading this correctly, you have a pretty standard needle bearing setup with a Race (cone) pressed into the housing and the bearing on the spindle.
if you can access the bearings in the cage to soak/clean them, you should be able to simply repack them. I would hesitate to soak them, rather I would repack them pushing the fresh grease through the cage until all the old grease is pushed out. The same process as repacking a wheel-bearing.

If the bearings feel gritty at all they most likely need to be replaced.

[Bradley Gray]

+1 for Andrew's method. Trying to clean the assembly could do harm. This is a good first step - this all I've ever done on my old American Sawmill Planer in 25 years.