Chestnut Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 So my jointer has been making an odd noise for a while now. Not even sure when it started but it's been at least 3 months. Today it seemed like it got worse. It functions wonderfully other than the noise it's making. If any one has any ideas let me know. My trouble shooting thus far was to remove the belt and spin the cutter head. There was no cogging or resistance that would indicate a bad bearing. The cutter head spins butter smooth and doesn't make a peep with the belt off though i can't spin it up much to check. Nothing is in the belt or making contact with the belt. The pulley on both the motor and cutter head are no loose to a hand inspection. The belt doesn't have any signs of increased wear or really any signs of wear at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 I don’t know if it’s similar but I had this problem earlier in the year. The technician from the place that sold it came and checked it out. He replaced the starting capacitor (or something like that). It still starts with a big thunk and then runs normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 Nut, does the sound occur if you run the motor with the belt off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 9 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: Nut, does the sound occur if you run the motor with the belt off? No i did try that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 Sounds like bearings to me. If no loose motion, just run it for a while, and see if it gets worse. Still cut smoothly? If the motor runs silently by itself, and winds down smoothly, it's probably cutterhead bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 According to our Predictive Maintenance guy at work, bearings can produce audible (or even inaudible) indications of coming failure, even though the irregularty that caused the sound vibration can not be felt or heard at lower speeds. I'm betting on a bearing that will eventually get worse, but may last a long time, according to your particular usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 Mechanics have tools like stethoscopes that they can rest against bearings to see if they can pinpoint the bearing when bearings are close together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, Tom King said: Sounds like bearings to me. If no loose motion, just run it for a while, and see if it gets worse. Still cut smoothly? Yeah cuts smooth as well a HH head jointer can cut i suppose. If i take slower passes it's smoother than my planer which is quite smooth. 2 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said: According to our Predictive Maintenance guy at work, bearings can produce audible (or even inaudible) indications of coming failure, even though the irregularty that caused the sound vibration can not be felt or heard at lower speeds. I'm betting on a bearing that will eventually get worse, but may last a long time, according to your particular usage. Interesting. Well if it's just a bearing i'm wondering if i shouldn't call PM the machine is just over a year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 Drew, my PM 60C has growled like that as it winds down since I uncrated it just under year ago. Because it did it from the start I assumed it was normal. I wonder if for some reason you just started to notice it, kind of like hearing noises in the car because the radio is off. I would be interested in what Powermatic has to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 If you talk to PM, ask if their design uses cylindrical roller bearings, or ball bearings. Cylindrical rollers are the proper type for the side loading caused by belt tension, but a lot of small machines use ball bearings, because they are less expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 Is the click upon spin down what you are hearing? To me that sounds like a mag switch coming off which should be totally normal, except you just started hearing it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 It's the sound most pronounced on spin down but it's contentious not a single click. Maybe it is just a typical noise like chet said but i'm not sure. It sounds like the pulley on the cutterhead is rocking back and forth making a knock 2 times per rotation. But i checked and the pulley isn't loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 Ok got it. I can't really pick it out then. Like others have said before, you can use a stethoscope or even a metal rod. Firm contact with different parts will make a resonance in the rod. Your finger tip feel is usually good enough to pick it up and at least isolate the where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2018 Now the odd part is it went away suddenly.... see if i can grab a video of it for comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2018 If you listen to them back to back you can tell the difference. The noise is most obvious on the wind down towards the end. Also the start has a lot less of a clang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Mark Posted December 5, 2018 Report Share Posted December 5, 2018 I have the exact model, and mine does not make that sound, yours sounds like the drive belt slapping against the cover. Does not sound like a bad bearing to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted December 5, 2018 Report Share Posted December 5, 2018 Or our prognostications of fixes has knocked that sassy girl into shape... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2018 9 hours ago, Virginia Mark said: I have the exact model, and mine does not make that sound, yours sounds like the drive belt slapping against the cover. Does not sound like a bad bearing to me. Yeah i thought taht too so i ran it with the cover off and watched the belt and that was not the case.... I'm going to check the set screws on the drive pulley and see if it's loose or something. There can't be that many parts to look at besides the motor there are 2 bearings 2 pulleys and a belt. These machines are really simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 5, 2018 Report Share Posted December 5, 2018 First video sounded like a missing ball or roller in a bearing. I suppose losing a race would also allow the freedom of movement it sounds like. The balls/rollers slapping together in the slop has that kind of sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2018 Sent an email to powermatic with the 2 videos and a good description we'll see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2018 Got an email telling me to call customer service ... . Not even ask for a specific person just call our main number. Thanks for having a useless feature in your business. I can't describe the sound it's making and i can't send you a link to a video over the phone... I have not ever had good luck with JPW's service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted December 6, 2018 Report Share Posted December 6, 2018 On 12/4/2018 at 6:08 PM, Chestnut said: Now the odd part is it went away suddenly.... see if i can grab a video of it for comparison. OK, now that's just freaky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted December 6, 2018 Report Share Posted December 6, 2018 It is possible that they only have 1-2 customer service reps, and that they did watch the videos but want to discuss the next steps via phone rather than email. In any case, they should have been more informative in their response. Not off to a good start. Hopefully they can turn it around and make it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2018 1 hour ago, JohnG said: It is possible that they only have 1-2 customer service reps, and that they did watch the videos but want to discuss the next steps via phone rather than email. In any case, they should have been more informative in their response. Not off to a good start. Hopefully they can turn it around and make it right. It is possible but why not just call my phone number i included in the message.... I sent the email because i didn't want to sit on hold for 30 min to get a tech guy that will say "Oh it's making a sound hum i'd have to hear that." Maybe I'll call if i get time. I hate making personal calls at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted December 6, 2018 Report Share Posted December 6, 2018 13 minutes ago, Chestnut said: It is possible but why not just call my phone number i included in the message.... I sent the email because i didn't want to sit on hold for 30 min to get a tech guy that will say "Oh it's making a sound hum i'd have to hear that." Maybe I'll call if i get time. I hate making personal calls at work. Ah, didn’t realize you provided your number. That is really annoying. I always assumed powermatic would have better service than this. Not much of a “gold standard.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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