LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Delta band saw wheel and bearing removal

31K views 59 replies 15 participants last post by  Zivosb 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Can any one point me to a video or directions for removal of the upper and lower band saw wheels and bearings? The old band saw I recently aquired is quite noisy when I turn it on. As long as I have it torn down for painting I thought it would be a good time to replace the bearings.

I understand that these bearings are quite common so I should be able to find them easily.

I was also wondering about replacing the tensioning spring too. Is this usually necessary? Do any of you replace the tensioning knob with the cranks I have seen on Amazon.

Charlie
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
There was a good pictorial on how to remove the upper bearings, but I can't find it at the moment.. think it was over at owwm.org maybe..

Anyway, the bearings are pretty simple. Top bearings are got to by first taking off the nut holding the wheel on and removing the wheel. At that point, the shaft will be loose, so you can remove the tension assembly on the back for cleaning also. The bearings will be in the wheel, and each one has a retaining clip behind it and there is a metal spacer between them. You can reach in with a screwdriver and move the spacer over enough to get a punch or wood dowel in there to knock the bearing out. Just keep going around in a circle (ie: top, bottom, left, right, repeat..). Once you get the first one out, the second one is a breeze. They are friction fit, so you don't need too much force. Then take out the retaining clips with some needle nose pliers. Here are all the parts involved:

Hand tool Tool Kitchen utensil Gas Ratchet


In the middle you can see the cllips that sit behind each bearing, and the spacer that sits between them. The shaft is removed from the tracking hinge by pushing out the long skinny rod shown. Just poke it out from one side of the assembly and remove.. then the shaft will fall out.

For the lower bearings, start by taking off the wheel on one side and pulley on the other. The wheel has a woodruff key that may give you some trouble, but a good even force should break it loose. Then take off the compression nut on the pulley side. Once you have that off, if you are lucky, the outer (pulley side) bearing will just pop out by itself as it has some spring washers behind it (see picture). I've seen them with just one or two spring washers.. mine actually had 3! If it doesn't come out, just bang on the shaft from the front with a wood mallet or similar and it should pop it right out. Then you can do the same with the front bearing. These are more or less slip fit, so it shouldn't require much force. Parts involved are:



Ignore the ugly pulley in the picture.. that was the non-original one that was on my saw when I got it.. I later replaced it with the correct one (Delta P/N #5800)..

I would take the bearings out, or at least visually verify their numbers before ordering.. while they might be what is called for in the manual, they might not.. you never know what a PO may have done in the past. I've seen where they had been changed to the 'new' style bearings which don't have the extended inner race. The proper bearings should be 87502's up top and 87504's on the bottom. While you are ordering them.. go ahead and get two new blade guide thrust bearings (6200-ZZ). I think it was around $50 (including shipping) for all of them from Accurate Bearing Co..

Get a spring if yours looks tired.. or leave it.. doesn't matter much unless you are unable to properly tension a blade, and it can always be replaced easily in the future if you decide.

Cheers,
Brad
 

Attachments

#3 ·
Thanks Brad. I may tear into thie bearing thing this afternoon.
While I am thinking about it what paint did yoiu or would you use to paint a saw like this? I have read some posts that say thre is a Rustoleum that many use.

Charlie
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
Brad or anyone else who cares to weigh in on this thread. I got the upper wheel and shaft off. That was a piece of cake. I am having trouble getting the bearings to budge so far.

The lower wheel is pretty much stuck. The pulley is attached by a wedge sort of thing with 2 screws in it. After repeated soakings in Gunk and WD 40 I got the loose but so far I have not been able to get the thing off the shaft. Also the nut on the lower wheel won't budge so far. I stuck a piece of wood between the spokes and tried to wrench the nut off. So far nothing. I am going to keep soaking that nut and see what happens tomorrow. Any ideas?

The bearings in the upper wheel I have not been able to pound out yet either. I am open to suggestions.

EDIT I just got the bearings on the upper wheel out. Tear down wise the upper wheel is done.
Charlie
 
#5 ·
I had to use a gear puller to remove some bearing on an old tablesaw. The ones with three hooks are preferable to the two legged ones. Ypu can use a heat gun or proane torch on the wheel (not the bearing) to get it to expand a little and this will ease the process. Here's a video that shows how to put the bearing back on.
 
#7 ·
No need to 'press' anything.. the bearings all go on without much fuss.. the uppers can be tapped in quite easily, and when you tighten up the wheel retaining nut it pulls it all together. The lowers are slip fit, and again, tightening the two nuts pull it all together.. actually, the outside bearing on the pulley side will stick out a bit due to the spring washers and won't fully seat until the retaining nut is tightened. Just make sure every thing is clean and they will be easy to install.

Your pulley doesn't sound stock.. should have a set screw that engages the shaft. Post a picture. You might need to put a puller on it and -lightly- tension it, then whack the shaft with a mallet to break it loose.. it should just slip off, unless there is a lot of crud/rust on the shaft. Clean up the shaft and give it a little penetrating oil. Lightly tapping with a plastic mallet around the edges also helps break it loose.

As for paint, I used the suggestion on the Vintage Machinery Wiki and used Sherwin Williams "High Seas Gray. Unfortunately, they seem to have discontinued that color. Plenty of people have used Rustoleum without any problems.. light/dark machine gray seems to be the most popular. But it's your machine.. paint it whatever color you like.. it doesn't have to be an exact match.

Cheers,
Brad
 
#8 ·
Brad, I suspect your right about the pulley. Mine does not have a set screw as one would normally expect. I will snap a photo in the morning. I don't know if I ever mentioned it or not but I don't think the lower wheel is stock either. It seems to me like I remember the PO saying that for some reason he replaced one. They definately don't match. Probably doesn't make any difference. They are both 14".

If I can get that pulley off the back, and I am pretty sure I can, will the whole shaft with the wheel on it pull out of the front? The biggest problem I have right now is getting the nut off the lower wheel. (the nut that holds the wheel on I should have said.

I think I will probably paint it with Rustoleum. I was thinking purple. lol just kidding. I just soaked the shaft ends again with Gunk and WD40 so I will see what happened in the morning. Going to run over to NAPA as see if they might have or can get those bearings. when I used to restore John Deerre Tractors I used to pick up some bearing there.

Thanks Brad.

Charlie
 
#10 ·
Brad and all, First I finally broke the nut loose on the lower wheel. I am going to have to use a puller to get the pulley off as well as the wedge type retainer on the pulley end of the shaft. Here is a picture of what I have been talking about:
Door Wood Automotive tire Fixture Handle


I also went to NAPA this morning and they had bearings that were the same size as those I had as samples. The only difference was that they are flat across both ends and the ones I removed appear to stick out on one side but that may be because I drove them out with a punch and I may have pushed one side out.

One final question, is it necessary to remove the wire retainers from the inside of the wheel? I can't see a reason why but I may be missing something.

Charlie
 

Attachments

#11 ·
Sounds like you got the wrong bearings.. 875xx's have an extended inner race (ie: they 'stick out on one side'). They probably sold you 6202's and 6204's which are the same size but don't have the extended inner race.

And no, you don't have to remove the retaining clips.. but it makes it easier to clean the wheel (particularly inside the hub) and it only takes a couple of seconds to remove/install them.

Cheers,
Brad
 
#12 ·
Thanks Brad. Can you point me to a source for the right bearings? NAPA said the found that exact number bearing in their computer and can order them. The down side is they are $40. a pop. It seems like I have seen others in this and other forums who claim to have bought the exact bearing for much less than what NAPA quoted. Glad I didn't put those two bearing in the wheel as I had planned.

I just got the bottom wheel off. I had to use a 3 leg puller to get it off. Which was does the bottom shaft pull out. Inside or outside. I haven't tried either yet.

Charlie
 
#13 ·
I always order from Accurate Bearing and they usually get delivered within 2-3 days. Last time I ordered them, about two years ago, it was around $50 for all six bearings including shipping. Read this post about ordering from them, then give Lynne a call and she will hook you up. NAPA is great when you need car parts.. but a dedicated bearing supplier will generally provide better quality bearings for less.

The lower shaft can come out either way..

Cheers,
Brad
 
#14 ·
Brad, thanks for the info. You said you ordered all six bearings? I know of four (two in the top wheel and two on the lower shaft. Where are the other two?

Can she match the bearings by the numbers on the ones I have? Any information you think will help would be appreciated. I plan on caller her tomorrow.

Oh, the last photo I enclosed to you had the pulley picture in it. Is that a non original belt pulley? It does not look like any of the pictures I have seen of these saws.

Charlie
 
#15 ·
Where are the other two?

LOL.. go back and re-read this thread starting with the first reply :) And if your motor has bearings (not sleeves like mine had) and you want to replace them, might as well order all 8 at one time to save shipping. What numbers are on your bearings anyway?

And your pulley is definately not stock.. the original pulley (P/N #5800) is what should be on there and looks like:



The pulley on the BS should be an 8" diameter one.. and the one on the motor a 2.75" one.. if your motor has a different size, you might need a different sized pulley on the saw.. these things get changed a lot by previous owners, so you never know what you might wind up with.

Cheers,
Brad
 
#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
Ok, I got it Brad. I use two different computers and the one I was looking at didn't have your original tear apart message with photos. It all clear to me know. I just have to pop out those lower bearings now.

There are numerous parts on this saw that aren't original that I am probably not going to try to make it original. The pulley sizes you mentioned are what I have to I will keep them. The upper wheel and the lower wheel don't match. Unless there is a reason to do other wise I'm leaving those alone too.

When I started out all I wanted was a fairly nice second saw. I will be using Rustoleum grey too. So the color won't be origianal either.

Reminds me of my John Deere garden tractor restoration days. I used to drive a few of the "correct at all costs" guys nuts. I just wanted reliable tractors. Just as all I want is a good reliable saw.

Charlie

EDIT Forgot to mention You have a great looking saw there. Beautifully done. Your saw table looks a bit like mine.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
No prolems.. there are a lot of old machines out there with creative alternatives to original; as long as it works like it's supposed to, which is why I mentioned the pulley diameters. Also, there have been saws found in the wild that had different wheels from the factory, so yours may or may not be a replacement. They used whatever they had on hand at the factory when building them, so when part designs changed, there is a good possibility that they used both designs, old and new, to build them until the old stock was depleated. If you are interested in the restoration of my saw, it's documented over at OWWM in this thread (the good stuff starts on the second page).

Cheers,
Brad

PS: Speaking of JD lawn tractors, about 8 years ago I bought a used JD 180 that was built in 1987 because they were so much more robust and sturdy than the stuff being built today.. just like my bandsaw. I've been thinking about restoring it, but I'm too busy using it to take it out of service for any length of time. Maybe some day. Between it and my JD 790 with LX-6 bush cutter, they are in constant use around here.
 
#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
NEW DAY NEW PROBLEM…..oK people….I got the lower shaft and bearings out. Progress??? Not necessarily. The bearing on the pulley end came off the shaft with no problem. The bearing on the wheel end (opposite the pulley) slides about half way over the threads and will not come any further. I looked at the threads on the end of the shaft with a magnifying glass and noticed that the threads are about half flattened. There are some severe marks on the outside of the bearing that looks like the PO put those bearings on with a punch or something like that. I could probably drive the bearing off the shaft but will no doubt do serious damage to the threads on the shaft. Or I can attempt to break the bearing apart some how and remove it in pieces.

I did notice that these bearings appear to have been replaced. They are stamped "Japan" with a number that I can't read. The upper bearings were original with the correct part numbers.

I did notice that when I removed the nut on the wheel end of the shaft that I had to turn it off with a wrench all the way to the end. Either way the threads are damaged. If they were a normal thread there would be no problem. I would simply run a die over the threads and clean them up. These are fine threads and I don't know anyone who has one of those.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated. I am beginning to think my $50. investment was no bargain.

Charlie
 
#20 ·
Clean the threads up with a thread file. Don't break the bearing open to remove it. You will still have to deal with the inner race and it is small. Take the parts to someone with an arbor press and pay them to remove the old bearing and possible install the new bearings. Sounds like the last guy didn't and see what he has done to you. You are okay with the shaft. Get the new bearings installed and move forward. You are worrying about nits…nit picking.. and could be cutting wood.
 
#21 ·
I have s delta wood band saw. And I too am having a terrible time getting the shaft out from the wheel, I've tried everything, Pullers (which broke a little of the wheel) Hammering it out, and nothing helps. they're really stuck together. any suggestions on how to separate the two?
 
#24 ·
Thanks Guys, I'm all set now. What I did was, I cut the shaft which the wheel was attached (stuck) on, with a hack saw and I was then able to drive (pound) the shaft through in the opposite direction. leaving the wheel in tact and in good shape, and the machine is running great again !!!Thanks for your advice and knowledge in this situation.
 
#25 ·
I finally was able to remove the nut from the pulley side of the lower wheel axle. I have not been able to budge the top bearings at all. If I understand the instructions above, the inner spacer is moved to the side and the bearings are supposed to be tapped out. Is that correct and are the retainer clips supposed to stay in place until the bearings are out (I can see no way to remove the cap with he bearing in).

Thanks for any help at all.

Mike
 
#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
If I understand the instructions above, the inner spacer is moved to the side and the bearings are supposed to be tapped out. Is that correct and are the retainer clips supposed to stay in place until the bearings are out (I can see no way to remove the cap with he bearing in).
Go back and read the first reply in this thread.

Cheers,
Brad
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top