Time for my 1023’s annual break down, clean up and tune up. This year I noticed that the belt drive wheel on the arbor assembly (see attached pic) is a little loose. The arbor itself does not move in the arbor housing (except to rotate, of course).
The looseness of the belt drive wheel probably contributes to some of the noise and vibration I get on the saw. But in my initial look at the piece, I cannot see how the wheel might be tightened up. [My next step is to pull the bearing visible in the photo].
Anyone have suggestions about getting the wheel to fit better?
Or is this a “leave-it-alone” kind of thing (pardon these technical terms)?
Thanks
Paul
Recommending the use of “Hide Signatures” option under “My Preferences” since 2005
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Are you talking about the pulleys? There is a key way on that shaft which probably means there is a set screw in the pulley. Rotate it around and look in the grooves for an allen head set screw. If there is no roughness or side to side play in the shaft, I would not pull the bearings.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I guess you could call it a pulley. It's the round thing with three slots for the drive belts. I didn't see a set screw anywhere on it, but I'll look again.
The pulley/wheel/thingie is loose on the shaft--it doesn't just slide along the shaft, it is not secured tight to the shaft and can pull away from the shaft. A little side to side motion I could live with, but this looseness is going to cause excessive vibration.
I'll give Grizzly a call, but I though I'd try the forum, too.
BTW - it seems every year I still find some of the original shipping gunk that covered the saw. I suggest it be renamed "meconium"--as in the #### that covers your baby when it is delivered....Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
That wheel thing is a pulley and from your description of the looseness it might mean it's damaged. Possibly could mean replacement of the arbor and pulley if it's like the saws I worked on as a tech. The pulley should not be loose at all.
Are you saying the pulley the is sloppy. Worked on a lot of Unisaws and they are made pretty much the same. If the pulley is loose and sloppy on the arbor it means you need a new pulley and arbor. On the saws I serviced if the set screw on the pulley got loose it would eventually cause the pulley to wear on the keyway and arbor gradually distorting the whole assembley.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "tightening the wheel up"? Is the pulley sloppy side to side or is it loose in some other way. If loose side to side there should be a collar that tightens on the bearing. It should be in the picture where the lower arrow is pointing at the rear end of the arbor.
I think if you take it apart it should be fairly obvious and you might give Grizzly a call. Their technical department seems pretty good. We bought the spindle sander for our shop and the first day the internal taper got galled and they sent me a new spindle that day. Of course I had to put it in myself but no big deal
Paul,
Is taking it apart and cleaning something that needs to be done annually? I relaize that's relative but I'm coming up on 2 1/2 years and all I've ever done is clean out the sawdust. Taking the top off has got to be a bear, especially with a drop down outfeed attached, ugh!
Paul,
The Grizzly parts sheet for a model 1023 shows two set screws in the grooves of the pulley, if they were loose, the pulley would have a bit of play in and quite possibly create noise and vibration. I would start out by just tightening the set screws, possibly with a little low strength Loctite on the threads to keep them from coming loose too easily again.
If the pulley has been running loose for a long time, it is possible that the key and the keyways have been damaged, but I wouldn't tear the arbor down without first trying the saw out after just tightening the set screws. While you are at it, be sure to also tighten the set screws on the motor pulley.
Drive belts are a common source of vibration. While you have the saw apart you might replace the belts, I would recommend using link belts rather than conventional v belts for the replacement.
John W.
Thanks to all who have responded.
My saw is from ca. 1991 and that version of the 1023 does not have the set screws. I did call Grizzly tech help, and their suggestion was that I have a worn arbor and need to replace the arbor and pulley. $50 for the new parts, and I'll replace the bearings while I'm at it (getting sealed ones this time, not cheaper shielded ones). Maybe replace the v-belts with link belts, and the set screws for the collars that I've stripped over the years. Plus those annoying brass "bullets" that they use for tightening the hand cranks.
BG - I got into the habit of doing an annual break down and tune up when I found that the collar that holds the blade adjustment shaft in place was loose. This resulted in the shaft sliding back and forth 1 cm or so, changing the blade angle while it slid. NOT GOOD! So now I go over the beast and check all the parts, looking for wear or bad adjustment. Had I not done this, I would not have found the loose pulley and worn arbor. Might explain why my TS performance has left something to be desired lately.
A well-tuned saw is a pleasure to use. One out of tune causes frequent outbursts of four letter words.
Just one last note -- Grizzly tech service was indeed helpful, and I felt like I was talking to someone who knew more than me about the product. How often does that happen with other companies??Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
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