Sedgwick MB bearing temperature

[fetteler]

Hi Folks,
I've been cleaning and servicing my recent acquisition - a 1974 Sedgwick MB planer thicknesser and all is well. I lubricated the cutter block bearings which each took an alarming amount of grease indicating some years of neglect
On running the machine up I notice that after five minutes or so the bearing housings are noticeably on the hot side to the touch. Is this normal?? I guess there's a fair amount of energy going into churning all that grease which must, in turn, be dissipated as heat somewhere along the line. I should say that the cutter block spins nice and freely without any play in the bearing whatsoever although there is a bit of bearing noise as it rotates indicating some wear.

So, Given that the machine works nicely and I'm not likely (well I simply haven't the time!!) to change the cutter block bearings any time soon what do you reckon? Is it ok for them to run a bit warm??

I appreciate your wisdom

Cheers,
Steve.

 

[imageel]

Steve, my first guess would be that you have over-packed the bearings with grease, if you have the forces generated by the races moving it around will generate considerable heat. I did this with a large spindle moulder top bearing (120mm dia self aligning) and the temp rise was +40C in about 10 minutes.
If the bearings are getting that hot, does any of the grease bleed out? - it may be possible to run for short periods, stop and then clean out the grease and repeat as necessary....
Other than that, the only real way to check (unless you have a bearing expert to hand who can diagnose by listening to it) would be to remove the block and clean and inspect the bearings for damage - a good guide for what to look for can be found in this document -
http://www.jp.nsk.com/app01/en/ctrg/index.cgi?rm=pdfDown&pno=E7005

Good Luck!
Ed

 

[wallace]

Whenever I check bearings on an unknown machine I will clean all old grease from the bearings using paraffin and compressed air to flush out all traces. Then I will repack with grease. Old grease does not mix with new grease and can cause a reaction which is not very good for the bearings. A rumble indicates a bad bearing which will deteriate. You could try cleaning them out like Ed suggested and not pack them so much.
HTH
Mark

 

[imageel]

Not wishing to hijack this thread...
Hi Wallace - my bearing issues were with the spindle moulder I bought from you :shock: - the thrust nut got 'dinged' on the pallet and it made an awful racket up top when spun up and I thought ah need to grease it. Long story short I went overboard pumping the stuff into the upper grease cup and ended up with it flying all over the workshop.
All adjusted and running fine now, and I've even welded up some guarding for it - it really is a smashing machine and wonderfully restored too
Cheers
Ed

 

[wallace]

Hi Ed, I'm pleased. It was a nice and basic little moulder. How did the belt I put on work, was it ok or did you have to get something wider? Sorry for the hihack steve

 

[fetteler]

Thanks for the replies so far. From what has been said it may be that the bearings are overpacked. Some grease did ooze out during the first five minutes running.I don't know how familiar you are with the Sedgwick MB but taking the cutter block out looks like a major strip down to me - tables off and sides off...I reckon the same applies to acessing the bearings to clean them out.
I think I may fill the grease gun with oil and squirt that into the bearings to 'wash' them out a bit.
Any other suggestions that don't involve taking the entire top of the machine to pieces are most welcome.

Cheers,
Steve.

PS I would love a copy of the manual for this machine but they seem to be non existant on the internet. I have asked around, the manual for the modern version is readily available but since the bearings thesedays are lubed for life this is one of the many differences between the generations of machines which are not covered in the later manual editions.

 

[wallace]

Is their any way to remove some grease, do the bearings have end caps. Personally I would not flush with oil. If the bearings already have signs of wear then I would run them until it became necessary to renew them. Are you a hobby worker, if so your not going to be putting huge amounts of wood through it

 

[fetteler]

Hi Wallace,
Thanks for your interest.
No the bearings do not have end caps, I guess you are not familiar with this particular model but I will, as you suggest, run until there's a real need for replacement. As I said in the first post there is no discernible play whatsoever in the bearings. The machine will be used to plane oak stock as we refurbish the house so there's a fair amount of work for it to do around 1.5 m3 of boards for floors, doors and a staircase... However I'm sure it will cope easily as it really is built very solidly.

Does anyone here know how to remove the cutter block (or I should say, can it be removed) without stripping the entire top of the machine?

Also, thanks Ed for the excellent link to the bearing info. Super detailed and I'm sure it will serve as a reference for many years to come!

Cheers,
Steve.

 

[fetteler]

Here's the end of the story for completeness :wink:
After a bit of careful measuring it became obvious that the cutter block was inclined slightly with respect to both the top tables and the lower (thicknesser) table. Thinking that the chances of the top and bottom tables being out in the same direction by the same amount was almost impossible, I was convinced that the cutter block bearings were too worn to keep. So, I bit the bullet and took the upper part of the machine to bits. As it turned out it was relatively straightforward to do; tables off, feed rollers out, sprockets and drive pulley off, then the rear casting and finally out with the cutter block. Got it all on the bench and gave everything a good clean, bought a couple of good quality bearings and re-assembled it all. A surprisingly pleasant job When I got the tables back on and measured co-planar and squareness with the cutter block I was very happy indeed to find that the block was within 0.05mm (2 thou!!) of the table surfaces over its length. Result!
The bearings were packed with new grease and I ran it up for a test - for the first five or ten minutes excess grease oozed from the bearing housings but it soon settled down. A quick wipe down and clean up later and it was running beautifully smoothly. After a while the bearing housings get pretty warm but after reading manufacturer's data I believe that this is quite normal given the size of the bearings and the speed (~5,000 RPM) of the cutter block.
Finally I had a session this afternoon and installed a pair of blades and set the machine up properly. The result is staggering, simply marvellous. It is effortless and virtually stress free to use having an unbelievably solid feel and sense of control. The finish on my test pieces of old pine joist and some oak board trimmings is excellent. I'm very happy indeed and would say to anyone with one of these machines who has the slightest doubt regarding the health of the bearings.... "Don't think twice - get in there and change them, you won't be sorry."

So there we are, a happy planer with a lot of oak to plane in the next few months. Watch out for my cries for help as I attempt staircase building

Steve.

PS Allow me to take this oportunity to ask again if anyone has the correct manual for this vintage of machine - it would be great to have a copy =P~ =P~
Yes - I know all about the one for the current models on Daltons!!!!!