TIL my cutterhead bearings were shot for weeks before I noticed

Last Tuesday I was running a 12-inch cutterhead on a job near the Mississippi and it started making this grinding noise. Pulled it up and the bearings were so worn I could wiggle the shaft by hand. I had been brushing off the vibration as normal for at least a month before that. Swapped in a spare head and now I check those bearings every morning before I drop the ladder. Has anyone else had a bearing go bad without any warning signs until it was almost too late?

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2 Comments

rowan2622mo ago

What kind of grease you running in that cutterhead?

1

christopher_hunt2mo ago

Ha! Whatever's cheapest at the parts store, honestly. My cutterhead's probably held together with spite and stubborn grease at this point.

2