Re: Moving and Restoring a Unisaw by myself

[Steve in Ayr]

Don't buy the princess ones. Do a favour to older you and spend the money on good bearings. Looks like you have a Canadian Bearings in Sarnia.

[cstephens2]

I got the arbor apart today and was happy to discover the bearings are very common 6203. I could buy some from Princess for $5 each, but I'll see if I can find some better quality at a bearing supplier.

I also powered up the motor and everything seems fine with it. So it shouldn't take much more to get the saw up and running again.

Go out of your way to find a industrial bearing supplier and dont chance on the PA bearings.

[streetcore [OP]]

Wasn't really serious about buying the Princess Auto bearings. Just mentioned that to show how common they are. I've bought from Canadian Bearings before and they usually have a pretty good selection of SKF on the shelf.

[streetcore [OP]]

I just called Canadian Bearings here in Sarnia to confirm stock on 6203 bearings and was told they no longer do cash sales with the general public I just bought some bearings there last month, so maybe it depends who's working the desk, but I don't want to waste my time driving there just to be told they don't want my money.

Anyone here familiar with the BL (Bearings Limited) brand bearings sold at Grainger? I was going to order a couple other things from them, so might buy the bearings there too, but I've never heard of them. Not sure they'd be any better than Princess Auto.

https://www.grainger.ca/en/product/R...RS/p/WWG35JA17

[bender]

You can get Timken bearings on Amazon.ca. I got some for the band saw.

[streetcore [OP]]

You can get Timken bearings on Amazon.ca. I got some for the band saw.

Timken 6203 are $17.38 each on Amazon plus $40 shipping from US. So I won't be ordering those. I can get NTN (same brand that was in the saw) from Motion Industries for about $7 each, but they have to special order the sealed ones. I'll probably do that on Monday unless I hear something good about the BL bearings at Grainger this weekend.

[streetcore [OP]]

Getting a matched set of belts can be cheaply done through a bearing pulley supplier. Just try to get three belts in consecutive numbering

What kind of "numbering" would I be looking for?Is it like consecutive serial numbers? I was looking at belts at Canadian Tire this weekend and their belts only have the size numbers on them. Eg: 24A. Do only certain manufacturers put these types of numbers on their belts?

I was also searching the web and some people on other forums seem to think modern manufacturing tolerances make purchasing "matched" belts unnecessary, since three belts from the same manufacturer should be close enough in size.

[Matt Matt]

What kind of "numbering" would I be looking for?Is it like consecutive serial numbers? I was looking at belts at Canadian Tire this weekend and their belts only have the size numbers on them. Eg: 24A. Do only certain manufacturers put these types of numbers on their belts?

I was also searching the web and some people on other forums seem to think modern manufacturing tolerances make purchasing "matched" belts unnecessary, since three belts from the same manufacturer should be close enough in size.

Canadian tire would be the worst place to look for matched set belts. If you're really interested go to a bearing house. Here's a thread I did a few years ago

https://forum.canadianwoodworking.co...or-drive-belts

[streetcore [OP]]

Canadian tire would be the worst place to look for matched set belts. If you're really interested go to a bearing house. Here's a thread I did a few years ago

https://forum.canadianwoodworking.co...or-drive-belts

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out. I was at Crappy Tire for something else and was just looking at the belts to see what kind of numbers were on them. Trying to understand how to recognize a matched set.

[Don Burch]

What kind of "numbering" would I be looking for?Is it like consecutive serial numbers? I was looking at belts at Canadian Tire this weekend and their belts only have the size numbers on them. Eg: 24A. Do only certain manufacturers put these types of numbers on their belts?

I was also searching the web and some people on other forums seem to think modern manufacturing tolerances make purchasing "matched" belts unnecessary, since three belts from the same manufacturer should be close enough in size.

What kind of "numbering" would I be looking for?Is it like consecutive serial numbers? I was looking at belts at Canadian Tire this weekend and their belts only have the size numbers on them. Eg: 24A. Do only certain manufacturers put these types of numbers on their belts?

I was also searching the web and some people on other forums seem to think modern manufacturing tolerances make purchasing "matched" belts unnecessary, since three belts from the same manufacturer should be close enough in size.

Most quality V belts are manufactured to very tight tolerances. Gates produce a V80 series that are all in tolerance. Many industrial maintenance warehouse use to keep sets of belts for each equipment, multiple instances of the same belt. Now they have one rack for each size. Advances in manufacturing over the last 30 years has all but eliminated the concept of matched belts, especially in applications like this. You have advice ranging from matched set to link belt. I have some link belt applications, but think it would not be a good idea in this service, not the cheap ones. There is a link belt with a metal tab that is quite a bit better.
My saw is circa 1974 and, as far as I know, has the original drive belts.
Any Gates distributor can calculate exactly what you need if you are unsure.

Don

[streetcore [OP]]

Most quality V belts are manufactured to very tight tolerances. Gates produce a V80 series that are all in tolerance. Many industrial maintenance warehouse use to keep sets of belts for each equipment, multiple instances of the same belt. Now they have one rack for each size. Advances in manufacturing over the last 30 years has all but eliminated the concept of matched belts, especially in applications like this....
Any Gates distributor can calculate exactly what you need if you are unsure.

Thanks for the tip Don. Looks like Motion Canada sells the Gates belt below which I believe is part of the V80 series. I'm going to order the bearings from them and will ask about these belts too.

https://www.motioncanada.ca/products/sku/00677516

I also found the page below about V80 belts. It includes this information regarding belt matching: "...manufacturers originally used complex numbering systems to label matched belts. Unfortunately, these systems often meant belt users had to search through massive inventories to find the belts they needed. Gates eliminated this cumbersome process in 1980 when it introduced the V80® belt matching system. The V80 belt matching system from Gates makes it easy to find matched belts. That’s because all V80 belts meet and exceed RMA tolerance requirements."


https://ww2.gates.com/common/printth...s&global=Gates

[streetcore [OP]]

Got deeper into the restoration than I was expecting this week. The cabinet must have been sitting in water or a very damp area for awhile. There was pretty extensive rust at the bottom front of the the cabinet. First time I've had to do body work on a woodworking machine.

[Egon]

Ahh, time for sandblasting, applying phosphoric acid, adding some flat steel for strength and painting. And the bondo which is always a fun product to spread. It’s frustrating as there are only a few minutes between mix and setting up. Always a fun part of restoration.

My trailer and external body panels on my truck have taken up a lot of my time.

[streetcore [OP]]

Making some progress on the Unisaw. It's back together in the basement with new belts, bearings, and paint. I wired up the original Cutler-Hammer switch without the Square D box that was on there when I bought it. I like the look, but think a magnetic switch will definitely be safer and easier to access. Soak-n-fused has one for me, I just have to find time to get to London to pick it up.

I'm also trying to source some bolts and spacers for the rear fence rail. That's really all I need now to get it working. I'll be making a dust door until I can find an original for a reasonable price.

[Soak-N-Fused]

Andy,
LOOKING GOOD!!
Keep us posted.
Mike