Hey gang!
I seem to have been bitten by the same bug as the rest of y'all. I came on a G44B a week ago from a collector of these beasts (he had 7!) and prevailed upon him to part with one in, from what I can tell, pretty much cherry condition.
I picked her up to restore for my own woodworking, and I've gotten her largely cleaned up, but I have a (few) question(s) about lubrication:
1. there are two ports I'm given to understand are "grease nipples" (don't laugh; before my time). I have a strong suspicion that they play a semi-vital role in the whole "not destroying the machine" thing. What sort of oil/grease/lubricant gets injected into these? How much? How frequently?
2. The ball bearings on her are exhibiting a good squeak. There's no grime on her, but I'm leery about removing the sliding table without hearing someone who knows these wonders saying it's safe to do so. My knee-jerk response is to lubricate said raceway, but, it dawns on me that an exposed bearing raceway with white lithium and sawdust is a recipe for a gummy mess. Any suggestions? Silicone? Graphite?
3. The motor on her is a 3ph 220. My shop is 1ph/110v. Am I better off:
3a. Replacing the motor?
3b. Converting her to 110v?
3c. Using a VFD/Rotary Phase Converter?
I can't wait to get this beast up to speed!
Thanks!
-Z-
Grease nipples, lubricant, and other SFW topics
Moderator: crzypete
Grease nipples, lubricant, and other SFW topics
Less is less, more is more, more is better, and twice as much is good, too. Not enough is bad, and too much is never enough... unless it's just about right.
Congrats on the saw!
Not sure what grease zerks you are seeing, perhaps on the motor?
DOn't grease the ways. Just makes a mess. My experience is cleaning and cleaning again is the best solution. The G4's are bit more finicky in terms of noise, possibly a tweaked ball retainer. Pretty easy to pull the table and get in there and see. Also, make sure you push the table to its extremes and bump it several times to align the balls. That is the best regular maintenance for the table.
You can't run a rotary converter off of 110v, need 220v.
I do believe there are VFD's that can go from 110v to 3 phase.
New motor is possible, but often quite a but of adapting as the frame is not a common one.
Pete
Not sure what grease zerks you are seeing, perhaps on the motor?
DOn't grease the ways. Just makes a mess. My experience is cleaning and cleaning again is the best solution. The G4's are bit more finicky in terms of noise, possibly a tweaked ball retainer. Pretty easy to pull the table and get in there and see. Also, make sure you push the table to its extremes and bump it several times to align the balls. That is the best regular maintenance for the table.
You can't run a rotary converter off of 110v, need 220v.
I do believe there are VFD's that can go from 110v to 3 phase.
New motor is possible, but often quite a but of adapting as the frame is not a common one.
Pete