I’ve got an old bandsaw, and I’m sure the motor (1/2 hp) isn’t original. Anyway, I was looking at it this morning, and I noticed there are little lubrication “spouts”.
Does anyone know what kind of oil to use and how much to put in? It was sitting in an unheated shop for about 8 years before I got it. I’ve used it a little over the last six months (less than an hour total), and now it’s starting to squeak a little. That’s got me a little concerned.
Here’s some pictures:
Replies
The first thing I would do is to carefully remove the press fit caps on the motor end bells and inspect the wicking felts. My furnace blower motor has the same set up as your motor and I found the oil holding foam all disintegrated which I replaced with new foam cut to fit the housing. I flushed out the bushing with WD40 and by hand rolled the motor by hand till the WD40 stayed clean. Added just enough 3 in 1 oil to soak the foam and replaced the press fit cap on the end bell. I could barely turn the motor when I started and now it spins freely.
Be very careful removing those caps, they are just thin metal. !!!!!
Lube with 3 in 1 sparingly(3-5 drops) every few months.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bruce,
Thanks for the response.
Pardon my ignorance, but is this the press fit cap you are talking about?
If so, what's the best way to remove it?
Before making a much bigger process out of this than is needed, just put half a dozen drops of 3 in 1 oil in each cup and run the motor. It is quite possible that the squeaking you are hearing is from the starter switch and not the bearings and it isn't a cause for concern. If the motor turns smoothly without a noise that is distinctly coming from the bearings it will be fine. You can also just put a drop or two of oil on the motor's shafts to get some oil into the bearings directly.
John White
Edited 12/12/2007 4:29 pm ET by JohnWW
John,
My impression about 3-1 oil (and I might be incorrect about this) is that it's fine to use for motors of less than 1/3 or 1/4 horse or so. But larger motors need a heavier grade of "electric motor oil." I think it's thicker and able to withstand the heavier loads on the larger shaft of a bigger motor.
Zolton * Some people say I have a problem because I drink hydraulic brake fluid. But I can stop any time I want.
Don't underestimate 5 and 10 weight oils. I retired out of a power house and those two oils did the greater bulk of all lubrication. From 200HP pump and fan motors to the rotor shafts of 25magawatt turbo generators with babbitt bearings. Some of the toughest lubrication(your auto engine) is done with either 5 or 10 weight oil.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Yes to the yellow circle. About every 2-3 years I do preventive maintenance to my motors and open them up and do a thorough cleaning, including the centrifugal start winding switch, flush bearings and bushings. And the last furnace blower motor check revealed the shot oil wick and stiff bushing.
That press fit cap can be removed by carefully slipping a sharp knife or old beater chisel under the lip and working around the circumference with 1/64" pry ups and spaced about 1/4" apart.
As John said, Try a little oil first but If maint. has been neglected for awhile I would dig into it. Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bruce,
Well, I tried John's advice, and just oiled it a bunch. The shaft turns a lot more easily now, but it still sticks if it sits for more than a day or so (but not so badly that you can't get it turning freely by hand again).
So, maybe I'll open the endcaps and take a gander at the oil-wicking felt. BTW, where do you buy the wicking material? I am assuming I will need some.
Even with the wicking gone or deteriorated, oil put in the cups will reach the inner part of the bearing, have you put oil in the cups?
John W.
Yes, maybe a quarter of a "little" bottle (3 oz?), distributed pretty evenly between the front and rear cups.
The squeaking is gone, and the motor can be turned by hand (it couldn't before), but if it sits for a while, it "sticks," but not so bad that I can't get it turning again by hand.
If it gets sticky over time, that's a pretty good sign that there's a lot of dirt and gunk in there, and the fresh new oil is redissolving some of it. Keep oiling, turning, oiling, turning...eventually, you should get it cleaned out reasonably well.
You can try cleaning it out by flooding it with a very light oil to "rinse" the insides of the bearing surfaces, but there's always a risk when you do that, because when it comes time to relubricate with a normal weight of oil, you can't be sure that it will displace the remaining light stuff.
-Steve
That's plenty of oil, if the motor is still sticking, it probably needs to be taken apart to be really cleaned up and lubricated.
John W.
tm, if you do the clean out, clean up job don't use the red can of 3 in 1 oil as it will get rancid due to (purely hearsay) the possibility of some of that formula having vegetable oil in it. Look for their fractional hp. motor oil in the blue can or another brand that states that it is a petroleum product. Paddy
Some oils do get gummy over an extended period of time. Go for the open heart surgery and do the thorough cleaning. The wicking that was in my motor was foam rubber, like pillow stuffing.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
If you are trying to lubricate ball bearings, then the oil viscosity is a function of speed of the inner ring and the operating temperature. For general purpose applications such as fractional horsepower motors a straight 5 or 10 weight oil will be adequate. (5w-30 multi weight oils are notrecommended) A few drops will last for a long time.
I'm not really sure what I'm trying to lubricate. I just noticed lube ports, and I know that they aren't just there for show. It's a small 1/3 hp motor (not 1/2 hp as I said in the original post). Speed is standard 1735 rpm (120V).
I'm going to pick up some 3-in-1 on the way home tonight. I hope to be able to goof around with it tomorrow.
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