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Blade guide bearings

Started by Bruno of NH, March 25, 2020, 05:37:53 PM

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Bruno of NH

How long should they last.
Mine went out today on the adjustable guide arm side with 234 hours.
I ordered some more today. 
My friend that mills 3 towns over is giving me some till mine come in.
I will replace his , when mine get here. 
I wish Woodmizer would have told me when I got the mill to have extra on hand. 
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

Magicman

It seems that you can get good ones and bad ones so I can't say how long they will last.  I have had a few that only went a few hundred hours like yours, but then again, I have had some to last thousands of hours.  I just replaced my blade guides last month and they had gone 4 years.
 
Tail gate repairs
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

donbj

Quote from: Bruno of NH on March 25, 2020, 05:37:53 PM
How long should they last.
Mine went out today on the adjustable guide arm side with 234 hours.
I ordered some more today.
My friend that mills 3 towns over is giving me some till mine come in.
I will replace his , when mine get here.
I wish Woodmizer would have told me when I got the mill to have extra on hand.
Were they the greaseable type?
I may be skinny but I'm a Husky guy

Woodmizer LT40HDG24. John Deere 5300 4WD with Loader/Forks. Husky 262xp. Jonsered 2065, Husky 65, Husky 44, Husky 181XP, Husky 2100CD, Husky 185CD

Bruno of NH

Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

Bruno of NH

Can you get greaseable ones ?
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

donbj

I replaced mine at 1000 hrs and they were still good actually. They were greaseable. Your shaft they mount on has to have the grease zerk on the end to grease them though. The replacement bearings WM sent were the non greaseable sealed bearings. The only difference between the two is the greaseable ones have one side with no seal on it and there is a small notch on the end of the inner race to let grease pass through to the bearing when it's greased. All I did was take my dremel with a cutting wheel and make a notch like the original, remove the seal and install. Open sides of the bearings face each other in the roller guide.

If your shafts don't have provision to grease the guides you can carefully remove one seal and make sure the new bearings have sufficient grease. It's surprising how little are in them sometimes. I would take a seal out, fill it with grease and put the seal back in and install. It should make quite a difference in longevity. The seals are easy to remove and reinstall if they are the rubber/plastic ones, just be careful.
I may be skinny but I'm a Husky guy

Woodmizer LT40HDG24. John Deere 5300 4WD with Loader/Forks. Husky 262xp. Jonsered 2065, Husky 65, Husky 44, Husky 181XP, Husky 2100CD, Husky 185CD

Silverfoxfintry

Bearings are a consumable item and all require replacement at some time.
Beware of over greasing bearings. It makes them run hot until the excess has worked out of the bearing.
I suspect that you are paying a premium ordering bearings from the mill manufacturer.
Measure the bearings in your guides and go to your local bearing shop.
Or look online. 
DONT purchase generic, unbranded bearings. SKF, RHP, KOYO, ETC.
Are all good and if you get bearings with rubber seals will last a long time as long as you don't pressure wash them.
I keep a complete set of bearings for my sons mill and if one fails it's a quick job to change one out. Minimum down time! No rushing about trying to find replacements.


Bruno of NH

I had my other mill 5 or 6 years and never had a issue with them.
I know bearings need to be replaced but I thought they would last at least 500 hrs.
I have a complete new guide coming and 10 bearings from Amazon. Name brand.
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

YellowHammer

They are not greasable, but if you give them a shot or ATF on either side with a hand sprayer before sawing, it seems to help them last longer.  I don't know if they are truly sealed well, and that lets the water lube system slowly gets past the seals.

I have the same experience as MM, some last a long time, some not so much.    
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

Bruno of NH

Mr.Yellowhamer 
I will start doing that
I have used lots of washer fluid this year as I have sawn 6 days a week all winter.
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

Magicman

Don't fret over it Jim.  Yours was just a fluke/defective bearing and not the normal.  Also, forget the idea of greasing.  Yes it can be done and some do, but you have better things to do.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

WDH

Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Brad_bb

My first set lasted about 250 hours.  I say about because my mill didn't come with an hour meter and I didn't put one on until after I put the new guides on. When I ordered the replacements, the woodmizer salesman I talked to on the phone sounded like 200-250 hours was about normal.  Not sure if they really know. The first one failed(on the adjustable guide arm), so I just replaced that one. The other one failed not long thereafter- maybe 20 hours.  They failed by just no longer rotating.  Now I keep a new set on hand.
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

Bruno of NH

I'm back up and running thanks to Rick at Wrightway Sawmill for giving me some bearings.
I will change them out at 200 hrs from now on.
Please suggest any other parts I should keep on hand.
I have the loader valves and spare wheel belts.
I will have bearings when they come in.
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

Magicman

Personally, I never replace the bearings unless they go bad.  Most times they well go thousands of hours.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

GAB

Quote from: Bruno of NH on March 26, 2020, 11:33:20 AM
I'm back up and running thanks to Rick at Wrightway Sawmill for giving me some bearings.
I will change them out at 200 hrs from now on.
Please suggest any other parts I should keep on hand.
I have the loader valves and spare wheel belts.
I will have bearings when they come in.
To your comment: "Please suggest any other parts I should keep on hand." I offer the following:
A complete set of spare belts: up/down motor belt, Feed motor belt, and drive belt.
Enough fuses to be able to replace those that give up the ghost.
Hydraulic fluid and both log loader velocity fuses.
A seal kit for the blade tensioner.
I'd have to check my sawmill toolbox to see what all else I have in there.

As an aside I destroyed a velocity fuse trying to scoot a log over with a peavey while on the loading arms.  I then added a piece of 1" pipe (home made bushing)(I can't recall the exact length) on both sides of the log loader cylinder when the log loader is down.
I removed the small bolt slid out the 1" diameter pin then put pin back in with new bushings on both sides of the cylinder mount then put the small bolt back in.  Have not broken another velocity fuse yet.
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

Bruno of NH

Gerald 
Do you have pictures ?
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

GAB

Quote from: Bruno of NH on March 26, 2020, 03:10:29 PM
Gerald
Do you have pictures ?
Jim:
Yes I do somewheres.
I have never posted a picture on this site so it would be a major learning curve for me.
Me and putters do not get along very well.  They do not work as my dad blame mechanical mind thinks they should.
The pictures of RAY with his box of grits which my wife took were posted by Mr. Davis.
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

WDH

If the pics are downloaded to your computer, it is easy.  I can walk you through it. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

ladylake

Quote from: Magicman on March 26, 2020, 01:30:27 PM
Personally, I never replace the bearings unless they go bad.  Most times they well go thousands of hours.
Same here, give them a spin, if noisy replace them. No sense in wasting money replacing good bearings.   Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

Magicman

Quote from: Bruno of NH on March 26, 2020, 11:33:20 AMPlease suggest any other parts I should keep on hand.
Jim, go easy on stocking up with a bunch of spare parts that you may never need.  Even though you have a new sawmill you may still have an odd failure (such as you just had) from time to time but Wood-Mizer ships plenty fast so you will never be down for any appreciable length of time.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

YellowHammer

I keep at least one spare guide roller on hand, as well.  So if a bearing goes bad, it will sometimes partially lock up and not roll freely, and the band will slide against the guide roller, and put little notches in the shoulder, or a flat spot the surface.  Even if the bearings are replaced with the existing roller, the notched rollers will damage the bands and prematurely break them.  So a new spare guide roller instead of a couple of prematurely broken bands is part of my inspection checklist.

In the grand scheme of things, a set of bearings and a spare guider roller don't cost much, and can be changed in a few minutes, and I can be back top and sawing in a hurry.  While doing the repair, I'll call up WM and order a new set.  

YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

donbj

Quote from: Magicman on March 26, 2020, 07:59:39 AMYours was just a fluke/defective bearing and not the normal.  Also, forget the idea of greasing.


Due respect, how do you know that it was a fluke/defective? Gotta be careful making a claim like that. New sealed bearings failing in short order is not always a defective bearing. How does one know if they have sufficient grease in them? It takes 5 minutes to do a couple bearings when purchased.
I may be skinny but I'm a Husky guy

Woodmizer LT40HDG24. John Deere 5300 4WD with Loader/Forks. Husky 262xp. Jonsered 2065, Husky 65, Husky 44, Husky 181XP, Husky 2100CD, Husky 185CD

Larry

The bearings fail because the grease is washed out by the lube.

Use just a little water and they last a long time.

Use more water and they don't last as long.

Use lots of soap with lots of water and the life span gets shorter.

Add in windshield washer fluid and the mix becomes lethal.

I think I get the best bearing life with very little water flow and a big glug of cotton spindle lube.  No soap.  In the winter I do use windshield fluid, but not much.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Magicman

Quote from: donbj on March 26, 2020, 09:19:38 PMhow do you know
How do I know?  I am not some kind of expert but I do have over 18 years of sawing under my belt and I certainly know that a blade guide bearing "going bad" is not normal.  If it failed in 200 hours, it was a fluke, defective, or whatever else it might be called.  Bearing failure does not have to be a roller, ball, or a race failure, but it could be.  The bearing is a unit and if it came from the manufacturer mechanically perfect but with not enough or improperly greased it was defective.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

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