Bandsaw motor squealing

[Dan Coes]

I'm in the process of getting a Rockwell 28-200 bandsaw back up and running. The motor runs but has a mean squeal. I've disconnected the belt and the squeak is still there, so 100% sure it's the motor and not guide bearings, belt/pulley issue, etc. The motor is a Delta 1312023 3/4HP, for which I can find very little information, but I'm fairly sure it's original to the saw (1976).

I have no experience with electric motor repair, but from what I've read it seems likely that this is a bearing issue. Does anyone know if there is a quick way I can try to lubricate the bearings? I understand that this wouldn't be a long term solution, but I'd like to at least know if that is truly the issue or if there is something else wrong with the motor requiring replacement.

[David Buchhauser]

If your motor doesn't have the removable oil ports, then you could possible drill a small hole in each end bell and attempt to add some oil. Otherwise take it to an electric motor repair shop for a diagnosis and repair estimate.
David

[Bill Dufour]

44 year old grease has probably dried out as seals hardened with age and let air in. Does it spin down slowly? Feel gritty when turned by hand? It is less work to replace the bearings then to remove them and regrease. Many motors use two different size bearings. A quality motor will list bearing sizes on the namplate. Wheel bearings are lower rpm and survive longer.
Bil lD

[Carroll Courtney]

You can get bearings for about 10.00 each, before you remove those bell ends take a punch and mark both ends where they line up with the housing. Believe it or not lot of bearings are metric

[Ed Griner]

I would replace the motor with any I could find. I souped my 14" delta up when the resaw/bi-metal blade article from FWW appeared years ago. The motor on my saw is 2HP (never stalls) after market mounting is very easy,make sure the motor, rotation is reversible. Almost forgot, all my wood working machinery is single phase/240 volt. Used motors are available at yard sales,E-bay, salvage yards, etc.. Read the motor plate before you make your purchase. Good Luck !

[Bruce Wrenn]

Most likely your motor has 6203 bearings in it (both ends.) I would replace both with new 6203- 2RS bearings, I get mine from Fastenal, as they are only two miles away. Cost less than three bucks each. As for quality, I have some in the tensioner on our van. Been in there for over 60K miles. Have one in tensioner on daughter's car which has over 300K on it. Cheap Chinese crap.

[Charles Lent]

Replacing bearings in an electric motor isn't hard. At worse case you may need the original bearings pressed off the motor shaft and the new ones pressed on. An automotive parts shop or machine shop can do this for you for very little, if you already have the bearings. Like others said the bearings are usually very common. Looking at the numbers stamped in the sides of the bearing will tell you what you need. They can be purchased from industrial suppliers like Fastenal, Grainger, Johnstone Supply, or at a bearing/power transmission store quite reasonable. Amazon might also have them.

With the power disconnected and the motor sitting on your bench, place a mark across the seam between each end cover and the main body of the motor. Use 1 mark on one end and two adjacent marks on the other end. These are for aligning the motor case in the correct orientation when you re-assemble the motor. Now remove the 4 long bolts running through the motor, the 4 bolts that protrude from the end housings with nuts on them.

It usually requires a flat blade screwdriver and a hammer for the next step. Place the blade of the screwdriver against the edge of the motor end housing, angled so that the handle is over the main center part of the motor and the tip is pointing toward the motor end housing. Hit the screwdriver with the hammer one or several times, but try not to hit it like you are killing it. A few hits should be all that is necessary to open the crack between the main part of the motor and the end housing.
You will need to do this to both end housings to pop them free. One end housing of the motor will have the centrifugal start switch mounted in it, so wires will be involved. The other end housing should pull free easily with no wires. The bearings will almost always remain on the center rotating part of the motor. At this point you should be able to remove this center part with the bearings. In the end cups where the bearings were, there may be shims, round flat thin kind of washers. You will need to keep these organized somehow so that the same one or ones get put back in the same places when you re-assemble the motor.

Now you have the center rotating part of the motor out and it likely has both bearings still on it. Clean it up as needed and look closely at the numbers on the sides of the bearings. You will need these numbers to find the correct replacements. If you can pull the bearings off the shafts, great. If not, you will likely need a press. This is where you will need to take your new bearings and this part of the motor somewhere to get help. If you have a bearing puller, this can usually be done without taking it to a shop for help.

Once the bearings have been replaced you can re-assemble the motor, making certain that the shims have been put back into the end cavities where the bearings go before putting the motor end covers back on. Position each end cover for it's correct orientation to your marks and tap it into place. The bearings should slide into their pockets in the end covers. Once both end covers are back on and the marks that you made are again lined up, it should be easy to slide the 4 long bolts through the motor and put the nuts back on them, tightening them enough to keep the end covers tightly on.

Now connect the motor to power and test run it. If it runs Ok, put it back in the tool and test the tool to assure that everything is Ok. Then congratulate yourself on a job well done.

Charley

[Bruce Wrenn]

Good advice from Charley. Auto parts stores will lend you a bearing puller to remove bearings from shaft. The one on the arbor end will need to be pressed on. Before trying to install bearing, heat it. Since you don't own a bearing heater, place bearing on top of a light bulb (not CFL, or LED0 after about five minutes, using gloved hand, pick up bearing and place over shaft. Use either a piece of pipe, or deep socket, drive bearing onto shaft. DO NOT rest pipe on outer race of bearing!.

[Bill Dufour]

A bearing splitter is a good tool to own. A medium size one that will take up to a one inch shaft is plenty big for most wood machine tool work. I got mine from the bay. Sneaking the motor shaft into the freezer overnight can help the fit as well.
Today I cut a piece of 3/4" PVC pipe to length and slit it down the side to make a bearing installer tool for my saw arbor project. I have also taken two parallel cuts down the side to make it smaller with some hoseclamps.
Keep the old bearing. I grind the outer diameter down 5-10 thousandths Then I throw it in the woodstove to draw the temper overnight. then I pop the two pieces apart and drill out the inner bore a fraction. Now I have the perfect pushers to install the new bearing.
I have used deep sockets, pipe and pipe couplings, etc as pushers. They work better with a used bearing on the working end so it only pushes on one race at a time.
Bil lD

https://www.otctools.com/products/bearing-splitter-1

make sure those two threaded holes are American thread so you can buy all thread to fit. Not sure if Harbor freight knockoffs are metric or not.

[Bruce Wrenn]

A bearing splitter is a good tool to own. A medium size one that will take up to a one inch shaft is plenty big for most wood machine tool work. I got mine from the bay. Sneaking the motor shaft into the freezer overnight can help the fit as well.
Today I cut a piece of 3/4" PVC pipe to length and slit it down the side to make a bearing installer tool for my saw arbor project. I have also taken two parallel cuts down the side to make it smaller with some hoseclamps.
Keep the old bearing. I grind the outer diameter down 5-10 thousandths Then I throw it in the woodstove to draw the temper overnight. then I pop the two pieces apart and drill out the inner bore a fraction. Now I have the perfect pushers to install the new bearing.
I have used deep sockets, pipe and pipe couplings, etc as pushers. They work better with a used bearing on the working end so it only pushes on one race at a time.
Bil lD

https://www.otctools.com/products/bearing-splitter-1

make sure those two threaded holes are American thread so you can buy all thread to fit. Not sure if Harbor freight knockoffs are metric or not.

Lowes stocks short lengths of metric all thread. It's in the drawers of bolts area. Metric bolts ar readily available at my local hardware store (Ace.)