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Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bearing replacement

2/23/16       
door shop guy

Anyone here done this? Obviously i will also be calling Powermatic to see if they have a service guide but wanted to see if anyone else has done a spindle bearing replacement on the 2700 series shapers.

All of a sudden the shaper started vibrating intermittently...smooth for 5 seconds then vibrates for 5 seconds then smmoth then vibrate. Spindle has noticeable play just by grabbing spindle back and forth with my hand.

Everything seems tight.

2/23/16       #2: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
John Langley

Door shop guy here's the picture of the inch and a quarter spindle my machine machine is model 27 mine does not have an inner changeable spindle when my bearings went out change The whole spindle unit


View higher quality, full size image (2592 X 1936)

2/23/16       #3: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
door shop guy

Thanks for the reply John, however the model 2700 shaper is quite a bit diffirent than the old 27. I just need to know the process. I have the diagram but just am not sure the order in which things need to be done.

2/23/16       #4: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
JeffD

I don't know if they redesigned the quill for the 2700 when they changed from the 26/27's design or not? The bearings on the 27 were pretty easy to change, (assuming basic mechanical aptitude). Which was good as unfortunately they use really small bearings, which means any moderately heavy work leads to short being life!

Now as far as the spindle having "noticeable play".....that doesn't sound right. When bearings go you can tell by the quality of cut going south. If you can really notice play in the spindle your bearings likely went south a LONG time ago. Or there's something else amiss with your machine. I'd check to see that the quill assembly is properly secured first.

good luck,
JeffD

2/23/16       #5: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
door shop guy

Thanks for joining Jeff. Yea it is weird...I have had this shaper for around 5 years and smooth as can be until tonite. It is used only as a cope shaper. I also have 3 more 2700 shapers that are used more heavily than this one and no problem with them. Everything i checked seems tight but the spindle does move when i grab it back and forth...like a clicking sound.
Never had to replace any bearings ever so this is a new experience for me.

Hmmm so usually you can tell for a while that bearings are going bad? Makes me wonder if i am missing something?

2/23/16       #6: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
door shop guy

I removed drawbar and spindle...they were tight. The spindle housing was tight around the quill. The spindle holder still has play when i grab it back and forth seems like about 1/64".

Maybe some dust or chips inbetween the quill and the spindle holder?
Maybe take it apart and blow it out?

To take it apart i just need to know how the spindle lock assembly needs to be disassembled. Im guessing just use a wrench on the connector part # 37 and unscrew it? Then loosen the spindle housing and drop everything out the bottom.?

2/24/16       #7: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
David R Sochar Member

I am not sure what the 2700 is like for quill movement, but I had a Powermatic for about 6 years (1992 model year) that had the whole quill travel up and down in dovetail ways that could not be greased or lubricated. They wore like crazy and the spindle could be moved by hand, but the bearings were fine. The spindle moved front to back, not much side to side. Cut quality was bad, of course.

The ways can be adjusted by means of lock nuts and set screws, but the wear was all in the center of travel and therefore uneven. If you tightened the ways so the spindle would not move at the center of travel, then you could not lower or raise it without the ways binding. A terrible design, same as in their bench top hollow chisel mortiser.

The fix was to remove everything, re-machine all the contacts flat and reassemble. Then try to lube it once a month by dripping oil and cranking all the way up and down. Or fix it and sell it.

2/24/16       #8: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
MarcP

Check this out...

http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/swmf.pl?read=768261

It's not really a hard job, just need to pay attention to what you're doing. I remember the last time I did it, it was a pain to get the wave washer compressed enough so I could get the snap ring re-installed on the top side to hold the assembly together.

BTW, I never did have the machine shop build be a new assembly.

You figured out how to disassemble it in post #6.

2/24/16       #9: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
Ed

Hello, These guys rebuilt an old delta spindle for me and did an excellent job,
artisans.homeunix.com:443
A&E Tool E. Store
Might be worth a call.
Ed

2/24/16       #10: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
door shop guy

Update-Called Powermatic and Bobby (who has been there a long time) said replace the entire quill complete assembly $325.00. He said dont try to change out parts or just replace bearings. Well...whatever. He also said you do not need to remove the spindle lock...he is wrong.

So i removed spindle lock and quill assembly...pretty easy actually. Still play in the spindle holder. So i went to local bearing supply and got two new bearings $140 and went to a recomended shop to have the new bearing installed for $40. Bring it back and install it in the shaper and it is smooth now. The bottom bearing near the pulleys is the one that was the worst. So i saved some money and learned some things. I really could not understand replacing the entire quill assembly. I dont know...time will tell i guess but it is good to go now. I just hope they did not booger up the new bearings.

David the 2700 is better then the old 27 shapers. This turned out not to be quill movement.

2/25/16       #11: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
door shop guy

One thing i forgot to mention..the belt on this shaper was tighter than the 3 other 2700 shapers i have so im thinking that probably had a lot to do with the premature bottom bearing wear? The belt also shows more wear than the others.

MarcP..Looks like your bearing inner race was grinding into the spindle holder shaft?
You must have prior experience and proper equipment for removing and pressing shaft bearings? It is something i would not even try myself. Hopefully the guy that did mine did not booger it up.

2/26/16       #12: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
JeffD

Replacing bearings, especially on smaller machines, is pretty straightforward and certainly a good thing to know how to do. The larger machines can be a bit more involved, but still manageable with a little thought and care. Having said all that there are plenty of guys who "know" how to change bearings that can bugger them up installing. That's why I prefer to do my own.

Sounds like you have inexpensive labor in your area so may not be a priority, but you may want to consider doing a little homework and learning to do your own. Over time you'll save yourself some money and keep machinery up and running. From smaller tools like routers and vacuums to your table saws and shapers....there are a LOT of bearings in the average woodworking shop.

good luck,
JeffD

2/26/16       #13: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
Larry

It really is worth learning how to fix your own tools. Not all that hard. For starters, use your digital camera for each step as you disassmble. Get good closeups. Watch out for bearing orientation when doing higher quality spindle work. Most will have matched pairs and preloading. One end of the shaft will have two bearings with races that are made to take some thrust in one direction. If you see cone washers when your take it apart, that is your preload. The bearing @ the other end is designed to float on the shaft or housing to accomodate heating expansion. Just look carefully as you take it apart. Bearings deigned for preloading will have marks to indicate the deeper groove direction.

2/26/16       #14: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
door shop guy

Im not sure i really understand what preload is and why it is needed.

I would really like to be able to myself but i dont have a press or special tools if needed to be able to not to mention experience. I did the bearings on my planer arbor when i changed to a Byrd head but that was very simple...lot simpler than a quill.
Maybe i did not look good enough but i did not find much info out there for diy. I do have a couple books about shapers...didnt even think about looking in those. Need to read them just never seem to have time...life.

I also have a big Casadei shaper that i am sure blows the Powermatic away.

In over 10 years with most of my equipment and daily use i have been lucky as this is the first major problem i have had.

2/27/16       #15: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
JeffD

Yeah the Casadei is an industrial machine meant to get some work done. The Powermatic is an entry level machine more geared towards the small shop/serious hobbyists.

The Powermatic, (unless they radically changed the quill), is very simple to work on and swap bearings. I think mine took under an hour and that was the first shot without much help. Probably do it in 15 minutes if I had to again. No worries about any special cone washers or matched bearings or anything like that, very simple and straightforward.

OWWM.org is a great place to learn about this type of stuff. While they won't talk about your specific machine, (too new and too Asian), bearing replacement in general has been covered to death.

good luck,
JeffD

2/27/16       #16: Powermatic 2700 shaper spindle bear ...
Larry

Pre-load is designed to take all the end play out of an assembly. Production level machines almost all use it. Powermatic uses a cheaper light duty system. Dead simple to replace bearings on. Go to an industrial supply house and get some better bearings than what PM will sell you. Motion Industries can get you almost any bearing your can think of, usually next day if the local store doesn't happen to have them in stock. Look up bearings on line. The bearing # will have the tolerance as the last two characters. Get the same clearance that came on the machine. There needs to be a bit of clearance for thermal expansion.


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