Bad bearings

[trz]

Anytime Someone is looking at a used table saw the advice is to check bearings.

What would this entail? Noise, poor saw kerf, and the obvious , an arbor that has play. How much play? The tiniest little movement when you try and jiggle the arbor?

Anything else one should be aware of?

[dwacker]

You can check the arbor for slop, but really its more of having an experienced ear and  hand. Remove the belt and spin by hand. Try moving the arbor up and down by hand.

[Coastyboy]

good bearings should make no noise when rotating the blade at all, worn bearings will be whining and can change pitch while running

[Coop]

Nothing to do with bearings but, I talked a friend with less experience than me, out of buying a used ts because it was right tilt. I was to be his instructor and I would have cut off three fingers immediately!

[minorhero]

I restore a lot of machines. I think I am up to 13 or so now? Anyway, in my experience, if the machine is older then 20 years you should assume the bearings are bad and replace them. This means for a table saw you would replace 4 bearings. Two in the arbor and two in the motor. If its less than 20 years old they might be good, they might not. If its less then 10 they probably are good unless you see slop in the blade. Replacing bearings is regular maintenance for a machine, like getting oil changed on a car. If the saw was stored or used in non climate controlled environment, then that makes it more likely you need new bearings etc. You will not be able to tell if a bearing is bad without taking it completely off the saw unless its REALLY bad. If its gotten to the point you can look at it and see they are bad its gone really really far.

[trz]

Good to know Apple Wood. Will probably switch mine out soon.

[Coastyboy]

If you like, look up a Delta DJ-15 on youtube someone is selling (if its still there), he starts up the jointer and immediately you can hear the bearings whine, not the sound of the cutter head spinning, I really doubt its the motor bearings that are bad although the sound could be resonating  through the base. You dont have to pull the bearings out to tell if they are bad always in my experience.