LT40 Super blade guide life expectancy.

[Dave Shepard]

Just wondering how many hours people are getting on their 30/40/50 Super blade guides.

[pineywoods]

Usually at 4-5 thousand hrs, the bearings get noisy, unless you are talking the greasable types. I've had them go out ins 1-2 thousand hrs. Replace with high speed sealed bearings. There's 2 bearings in each roller. One good and the other bad will drive you to drink..Mine wore off tapered with a crown, made alignment just about impossible.

[PAmizerman]

Mine got wabble in them around 2500 hours and I replaced them

[Dave Shepard]

I just passed 1,000 hours this weekend. I think mine are junk. Bearings are good, but they are obviously hanging up. 

[Percy]

I just passed 1,000 hours this weekend. I think mine are junk. Bearings are good, but they are obviously hanging up.

I have the same marks on mine.....I think it happens when a splinter wedges itself between the blade and guide and you carry on milling because you cant really see it from your position. With a 1000 hours on them, my guess is they are still good. Bearings...I dunno...I found them to be Las Vegas. I buy my guide bearings from WM and its a roll of the dice how long they will last. Last set of bearings has 2000 hours on them and the prior ones, maybe 100. The guides themselves seem to wear conicaly and when the front of them are down to 1-15/16, I toss them. They are way hard metal. I brought a set to the machine shop to get overhauled/reshaped.....Apparently Im not a popular guy with the lathe operator :D

[YellowHammer]

Time for new ones.  When I get those type of grooves in mine, it really shortens the band life, causing fractures in the back of the band.  A couple prematurely broken bands will pay for new rollers and bearings.