I just acquired a “new” arbor assembly for my Powermatic Model 65 Table Saw on eBay. The threads on the existing arbor are badly worn. The nut will loosen if I don’t use an extra spacer and make sure that the nut is very tight. (It’s only happened twice when I was switching back and forth between a regular blade and a dado stack, but it was scarry.)
Powermatic produced the Model 65 until about 1965 so both the existing and the “new” assembly are at least 58 years old.
I haven’t inspected the existing arbor assembly since I first acquired the saw several years ago. The new assembly does not appear to have much wear and there’s no “play” in the bearings that I can detect by hand. When I remove the existing assembly, I’ll carefully inspect and compare them both.
I could replace the existing arbor assembly with the new one without replacing the bearings. Or I could disassemble both and use the new arbor in the best of the two housings. In that case, I would replace the bearings but I don’t own a bearing press so I’d have to take it someone who does or put the housing in the oven and the bearings in the freezer...
I can’t visually inspect the bearings without at least some disassembly and probably not even then. I would have to install the new assembly and put them under a load to find out if they heat up or vibrate. Even then, I won’t be able to tell if they make noise.
I’d rather work on the project I’m using the saw for than on the saw itself... but if I should replace the bearings, now’s the time to do it.
Is there a way to test/inspect the bearings without installing the assembly? What “should” I do?