ss-250 problems

[bronco]

I have a Delta ss-250, when I removed the pivot bolt from the upper
arm assembly it took some doing but was finally able to pull it out, I found
metal shavings on the shaft. I oiled the pivot bolts as recommended @ every 20 hrs. of use using 3 in one oil and cleaned all the shaving out. I have not used my saw since. When I put it back together I saturated these bolts with oil.
Does anyone have any suggestions to prevent this from happening again?
Bill

[jimp]

usewhite grease.

[bronco]

If you mean white lithium grease I have a tube. What does this grease
do differently from the 3 in 1 oil ?
Bill

[jttheclockman]

First the grease will stay on longer but correct me if you will, there is a maintenance thing with that saw and you are or were suppose to oil after so much use time. Some saws have sealed bearings like your more expensive saws and do not require this but that saw I believe does. Do you have the manual?? If not you can get it from the Delta web site.

Just reread your post and it seems you do this so no can help you sorry for that. I need to read more carefully.

[bronco]

John,
The manual says to apply machine oil,is this the same as 3in 1 oil?
Would the white grease be better than the oil?
Bill

[CanadianScroller]

Service

Every few years I send my saw in to the local Delta repair center. I get a tune up and things seem to run much better. The exploded diagram that is with the manual is really good and helps a lot but for some reason the Delta shop seems to make it run a little smoother than I do.
I think last time I spent $30 including parts. Not really that bad even for a cheapskate like me!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

lubrication

Any metal to metal problems I have in the shop, I wipe down the parts with Slick 50...works great!

[jttheclockman]

Yes machine oil and 3in 1 oil are the same and made for motor bearings. If you have it apart it would not hurt to put the white lithium grease on it.

[GrayBeard Phil]

A long winded reply

There are two types of 3-in-One oil. Standard with a red can and a version for electric motors, which is in a blue can. I believe the blue can is basically SAE 20 non-detergent motor oil.

From my experience with my Delta scroll-saw, which has a sleeve bearing pivot bolt also, you don't want to use the standard red can 3-in-One oil. It turns to gunk under the high speed rotation. The blue can, which is formulated for electric motors and high rotation speed, will not turn into solid gunk, or as some call it gum. If you are a penny wise type, a can of SAE 30 non-detergent at your consumer automotive store will last a life time, but is not as convenient to use as blue can 3-in-One.

When you remove the pivot bolts, you must be sure to clean the bolt and sleeve metal very smooth and free of gunk and gum deposits before lubrication and re-installing. All the gunk and hardened gum deposit spots must be removed. (Mineral Sprits and cloth like part of old T shirt, nothing more abrasive than a green Scotch Bright pad from the kitchen.)

I am concerned about your comment about metal shavings. That is not good. The design of the rotating shaft requires that the fit between the parts of the sleeve bearing be with in a range of tolerances. If you are producing a lot of metal shavings, your saw may end up exceeding the tolerances for normal operation. As I said if you have a LOT of metal shavings, you will wear out your saw prematurely.

Just a guess on my part, but if your wear out your pivot bearing sleeve and bolt, your saw is trashed. I doubt you can get a replacement for the arm assembly or the bolts.

If your saw has less than a few hundred hours of use, I would not be concerned unless it continues to produce metal shavings over the next few times you clean and re-oil your pivot bolts. New saws may produce some metal shavings as they "wear-in" on the first, and may be the second, cleaning and oiling. Sorry, but until you know if your pivot bolts continues to produce metal shavings, you will need to keep to Delta's 16 to 20 hours of cleaning and re-oiling. Look closely for metal shavings.

I'm sorry for the long post, but I get long winded sometimes.

Aside: You don't need to saturate the bolts with oil; you can over oil the pivot sleeve bearing. It is more important the entire mating surface of the pivot bolt be oiled.

Phil

[bronco]

Thanks everyone for the advice, it looks like I need to be sure and clean
all metal shavings very well before applying grease or oil. Phil my saw has less than 200 hrs. on it I bought it last fall,I was just cooncerned that I could not
pull out the pivit bolt very easily. The metal shavings that I found were not
really too much but I just want to prevent this from happening again. I'll
put it back together as stated above and check it more frequently for a
while.
Bill