Sawmill Maintenance/Repairs

[Magicman]

I have been sorta riding the ole gal hard and putting her up wet and tomorrow's sawing job will be sawing some fairly large Oak log.  Since I am off today I decided to make a quick blade guide check.


 
It was off about a 32nd so I let it ride.  

[moosehunter]

It took a week for the idler wheel bearing to get here! Glad it isn't sawing season for me yet. Had to use a puller to get it off then the press at work to remove the bearing. I'll press the bearing in today and finish the mill maintenance tomorrow. 
mh

[Hackeldam Wood Products]

Jarhead's video of changing the bearing is good. If you are not near a machine shop or a press, I will give you some general advice about press fit bearings and bushings.

On the clips spray with your favorite penetrating spray and tap it loose with a punch before the pliers.
Heat is your friend. Interference fits are usually only a thousandth or two. So using a little expansion and contraction goes a long way. Machine shops use dry ice. In this case use a torch and warm up the pulley around the bearing. A air chisel will almost always drive out the bushing or bearing. A good air chisel is better then a ten pound sledge hammer. If you do not have a blunt driver just grind a chisel flat. If you can not use an air chisel support the pulley on wood blocks and find a socket that fits the bearing and drive it with a large hammer. On installation warm up the pulley and put the bearing in the freezer. It should tap right in.  Also in general you always have to have what you are driving well supported otherwise all the inertia is wasted. When driving bearing just find a socket or pipe that fits the inner or outer race well you can drive them fairly hard with no damage. And use lubrication. 

Of course having the correct pullers, fixtures and a press is always best. But most of the time unavailable.

Another way to remove a stubborn bearing is to knock out the center race and bearings and weld a few short beads on the inner race. It will shrink it. Of course over the years I have used a cutting torch to cut them if they have just welded themselves together, like a wheel bearing on a spindle.

[Magicman]

Replacing that idle wheel bearing does not call for any high strength measures.  Three leg puller to get the wheel off and a simple press to slide the old bearing out and the new one in.  Nothing is a tight fit.

[terrifictimbersllc]

I had the idle wheel bearing on LT40 pressed out once.  The next time I did it myself on the workbench with a lot of tapping using Bluecreeper and a lathe turned block.

Re-installing, I waited for my wife to leave for the grocery store, then put the idle wheel into the oven for an hour at 270F.  The new bearing had been in the freezer overnight.  It dropped right in without any fuss. I recommend this procedure if you think you can get away with it.  :D

[doc henderson]

I thought there may have been foul language not consumable by a fair lady.   

[SawyerTed]

A gas grill is an alternative for those of us who "can't get away with anything!"   :D

[doc henderson]

I used a toaster oven past its prime but in the kitchen to do dry weight moisture calculations.  went in a month later and it was gone.  i asked my wife, and she gave it to a young girl at work cause "we did not use it anymore".  should have takin it to my shop.

[terrifictimbersllc]

I lost a treasured boxful of little mahogany pieces once,  because I failed to keep up the kindling supply for the woodstove, and "someone" went foraging in my shop.  I suppose I should be grateful for help keeping the fire going.  :

[terrifictimbersllc]

Just a heads up on using the oven, an hour isnt long enough to clear the odors associated with roasted Bluecreeper, wood samples, or steamed white oak.

Not that it is the end of the world, but rather an otherwise unnecessary discussion of the "appropriate use of the kitchen".  :

[moosehunter]

That idle bearing was not going to be "tapped " with a hammer shy of a twenty lb sledge. I had it in a 40 ton press with a lot of pressure on it before it moved. The new one going in was very easy.
The mill is ready except for repacking the wheel bearings. I have spent about an hour looking for my way cool bearing repacking tool. I may have to resort to the old fashioned hand method. :(
mh

[GAB]

Just a heads up on using the oven, an hour isnt long enough to clear the odors associated with roasted Bluecreeper, wood samples, or steamed white oak.

Not that it is the end of the world, but rather an otherwise unnecessary discussion of the "appropriate use of the kitchen".  :

Sorry to read that you and your spouse did not see eye to eye on the matter.
It is my opinion that using a kitchen appliance to repair a piece of equipment that generates income that can be used for the purchase of sustenance is a proper use.  My dad had a kitchen stove in the garage/shop for this purpose.  Said stove also cooked thanksgiving turkeys so the kitchen oven could be used for cooking other items like maple syrup pies.
GAB

[caveman]

Moosehunter, I'm glad you got your bearings installed.  

I kept a stove/oven in my previous school's shop.  We used it to make omelets from the eggs our hens laid and prepare meals from garden vegetables as well as other foods for meetings and such.  Someone kept turning in work orders and county workers kept showing up trying to put a hood over it.  This probably happened after the fire inspector's walk through.  I'd just leave it unplugged when it was not in use and then that was not a problem anymore.  I told them to assume we were repairing it.

When I replaced the bearings on my old Powermatic 66 tablesaw several years ago, I put the bearings in the oven and the arbor shaft in the freezer.  I marked the shaft prior to removing the original bearings.  The new bearings slid right on.


 

[trapper]

I used to heat the soft aluminum housings on air drills and blow the steel Motors out.   Only way to get them out without damage.

[doc henderson]

When older folks prolapse the rectums out, we sprinkle with sugar to shrink down the membrane so it will fit back in.  no pics!

[SawyerTed]

Doc, Ewwwah!

[Old Greenhorn]

Doc, I am not sure how that relates to the subject at hand, but no matter. Is that really what you do? If so that just raised my medical training to a new level. Can't wait to try that out! Well, on second thought, I can wait. ;D Actually, a pretty long time in fact. :D

[Magicman]

That's better than using a 3 jaw wheel puller, a freezer, an oven, and a hydraulic press. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Lynn, EWWWAAH!

[SawyerTed]

 :D :D :D :D

[Sod saw]

.


GAB,   In your Maple Syrup Pie, what are the ingredients?  

What thickens it?  Maple Syrup seems a bit too runny to be used alone without some sort of filling thickener. . .  Just a thought.

Actually, this sounds very good, with all the boiling going on earlier this month.

While living in Vermont and New Hampshire I learned to enjoy fresh hot maple syrup on freshly fallen snow.  Makes the best original snow cone .  The syrup must be taken directly off of the wood stove, to be best. 

Are you allowed to send the pie recipe here?


thanks


.

[beenthere]

Doc
Sugar-coated works there too? Who'da thunk.

[LeeB]

Does it work better than smoke?

[Andries]

Only on the FF!
From anal prolapse treatments to maple syrup pie recipes in less than five posts - on a thread about sawmill maintenance! Love it.
😁 
We're an eclectic and informational bunch, eh?

[doc henderson]

you have to reduce the prolapse before any smoke can be blown...  Had one the other night.  had been years since the last.  usually kind of a chronic recurring problem usually for older ladies.  the sugar pulls fluid that occurs as they often do not come right in.  often just 5 inches, but in the old days had one that turned inside out for a about 18 inches.  it took a while.  Sorry I do not think I should post pics.