Spindle bearing gave out on my Haas VF-2 last Tuesday at 3pm

Was running a heavy steel job and heard that telltale grind, pulled the part and found .008 runout on the toolholder. Had to tear it down myself to save the $1200 service call, anyone else keep spare angular contact bearings on hand?

3 comments

3 Comments

williamb2925d ago

My dumb self thought I was being clever buying a cheap set of knockoff angular contacts off eBay once. Ran them for about three hours before they started sounding like a coffee grinder full of gravel. Had to do the whole tear down twice in one week because I was too cheap to buy the real Haas ones. Now I keep a set in the toolbox labeled "STUPID TAX" so I remember the lesson. At least when the VF-2 went down I didn't have to explain to the boss why I was pulling an all-nighter again.

eva_adams6824d agoMost Upvoted

Gotta push back a little here. Running cheap eBay bearings in a VF-2 is asking for trouble, sure, but I've had pretty good luck with some budget angular contacts from a local rebuilder. It's all about who's making them and how they're matched, not just the brand name on the box. To your point @charles442, having spares on hand is the real key no matter what brand you go with. I've seen name brand stuff fail just as fast when it gets installed wrong or the machine's coolant is eating the seals. The lesson isn't always "buy Haas" it's "test your sources and keep backups." You got burned once, I get it, but I've saved hundreds by finding a reliable third party supplier who publishes actual runout specs. Your mileage may totally vary though.

charles44225d ago

Yeah that's why I keep a full set of the back to back pairs for our VF-3 in a drawer... pulled a dumb move once and didn't have them on a Friday afternoon. Took me all weekend to get them from Haas.

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