WEN in doubt, change the bearings!

[munzieb]

I have had a few belt sander over the years, Craftsman (burnedup) Central Machinery (gave away) and recently a WEN. It has given me good service until recently. After running a minute or 2, it would start squeeling like a banchee. I started with a good vacuum cleaning. It looked better but was still noisy. I took the belt off the aft roller on the back side and noise went away so that told me it was probably a bearing. I looked it up in the parts break down sheet and it said it was discontinued! I decided to dissasemble it to see if there was a P/N, 6001-2RS and measured the dimensions. Found several on Amazon and bought 2 for $5 and change and they came the next day. I went on Youtube to see if anyone had posted a video and I found one that had the same problem. He stumbled through the dissassembly and had to use a wheel puller to remove the  bearings but mine just slid off with no problem. He did all the right things on the reassembly. (tip- the screw for the belted tooth gear cover is a reverse thread. I had to use an impact tool to loosen the 3 screws on the base to get the toothed belt off. There is a small hole in the base case to push the housing with a screwdriver to tighten the belt again. There are also 2 screws above the switch on the cover plate that are under the belt direction label. The belt is very quiet now. After checking out several of the same models, the only difference is the color and label. WEN, HD, HF, Grizzley, Rikon, Ryobi and Skil are all the same and the bearing is the same also. (6001-2RS) The video was helpful and somewhat humorous and worth watching if you have the same problem.

Ryobi bench top sander repair, bearings replacement (FIX for loud noise)

 

[Scrappile]

I think I need a bearing change on my Delta Mini lathe.  The bearings were still available the last time I looked, but I remember reading somewhere on some forum that there were much better bearings out there in the bearing world.  I can not longer find where I read that, but if I remove my bearings and see a number, I can probably find better ones.  But do I need better ones?  My lathe is in its teens, and the bearings have lasted that long.  A new set of the same will probably outlast me.  

[munzieb]

Spot on Paul. I'll probably never replace the bearings again and $5 on bearings or $100+ for a new sander with a little bit labor, is an easy choice . It was fun, I lke doing puzzles (with tools).

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 hour ago, Scrappile said:

I think I need a bearing change on my Delta Mini lathe.  The bearings were still available the last time I looked, but I remember reading somewhere on some forum that there were much better bearings out there in the bearing world.  I can not longer find where I read that, but if I remove my bearings and see a number, I can probably find better ones.  But do I need better ones?  My lathe is in its teens, and the bearings have lasted that long.  A new set of the same will probably outlast me.  

What is the model number on that lathe? Basically all these type lathes use the same size bearings. 

[kmmcrafts]

The numbers on the bearing will tell you what sizes and type of bearing to get.. from there you can go cheap or a middle or high end bearing.. My experience for the "cheap" ones was that the ball bearings or the part they sit in had looser tolerance than the little better bearing.. probably the material it's made from is different too? I don't know.. I just remember buying some cheap bearings that were more loose and worn feeling than the ones I was going to replace, LOL.. 

I don't remember for sure but I think VBX bearing online is where I ordered from and you had the cheap, better, and best options to choose from.