Turns out "maintenance" actually means "rebuilding". Well, almost. Part way into the alignment procedure we noticed there was a lot of play in some of the bearings, which of course affects the alignment. It didn't make sense to carry on with the full alignment if we were still going to have variations afterward.
 
Instead of doing a half-way job, I decided to bench the old girl for awhile longer and order all new bearings, which I've just received.
 
Replacing the main drive bearing is a bit of a chore. That one may take awhile. I'm also replacing all of the carriage bearings (cam followers) as a couple of those were nearly seized up and they mostly all showed signs of wear. These new ones should make the carriage movement a lot smoother, resulting in smoother cuts too.
 
Also on the list are the blade guide bearings, guide blocks, and all the belts. In for a penny, in for a pound, my mother always used to say. Of course with inflation, it's a fair bit more than that!
 
Oh well, at least we'll know that we've done everything we can do to produce the finest quality custom cuts with the greatest accuracy possible from this machine. The only down side is we won't be able to blame the sawmill if there is any deviation - it all rides on our own shoulders now!
 
Once all these parts are replaced and we've completed a full alignment it should be "Jus-Rite" and good to go. We're taking orders now, but with the current white stuff on the ground (and a planned week in the sun) I don't expect we'll be back cutting until sometime in February. If you have logs to mill up, contact us now so you're in the queue.
See you again soon!