lathe bearings

[jim Brandt]

Hello all,
I am a newbie to this forum and needing some help. I have a HF #65345 lathe and been using it for over a year now. It does all that I need for now but I am looking at the Laguna lathe. In the mean time on my HF lathe the bearing are starting to make noise. I want to go ahead and replace them so I can sell it later or keep it as a spare. Trouble is that I can't find the bearings anywhere. Didn't want to tear it down right now to get bearing numbers. Have several projects I need to do first. Any suggestions on where to find the correct bearings? Any help would be appreciated.

[John Keeton]

Joe, here is the link to the manual - https://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/65000-65999/65345.pdf

The bearings are shown as 202. Perhaps a call to Harbor Freight might be a starting point, at least to find out a compatible replacement number. The manual says for technical questions call 1-800-444-3353.

[Alex Zeller]

If HF can't help you (I wouldn't buy their bearings as I'm sure they are the cheapest bearings made) then you are stuck pulling it apart. There should be a number on the outer race. Now might be a good time to look into if there are any bearing specialty shops close by. If so they may have the bearings in stock so you aren't waiting to put it back together.

[roger wiegand]

Either get the numbers off the bearings or from the manual or customer service or take careful measurements of your inner and outer dimensions and width and then go to (well, call or otherwise remotely contact) a local bearing shop and get what they recommend. Good bearings aren't that much more expensive and will last ten times longer.

[jim Brandt]

Thanks John. I have called and they don't carry those parts. I have looked on Bearing Direct with the 202 number and it give a large number of bearings there. 202 is not descriptive enough to make a decision. Looks like I am destine for a tear down.

[jim Brandt]

Looks like that's what I have to do. Thanks

[Jon McElwain]

It was a different machine, but years ago I had a Grizzly table saw that needed replacement arbor bearings. I ended up taking them out and on a whim took them to Napa Auto to see if they had replacements. I ended up with a $12 set of sealed bearings that worked perfectly. That was 10+ years ago and the table saw is still in service in another shop. Anyway, that won't help you with your trying to get bearings before you take it all apart, but if you do end up taking them out, try a local source for the bearings - maybe you can have it back up a running in a day without waiting for shipping.

Jon

[jim Brandt]

Great idea. I have been looking on Bearings Direct website. Think I might have found some that will work. I dive bombed a set that I think will work. They were only like $5.00 each. Napa would have been faster. Thanks for your input.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks John. I have called and they don't carry those parts. I have looked on Bearing Direct with the 202 number and it give a large number of bearings there. 202 is not descriptive enough to make a decision. Looks like I am destine for a tear down.

If you can get a mirror and light in there you might be able to read the bearing number from the side. All the bearings I've ever dealt with have the number stamped somewhere on the side followed by code which describea the type of shield.

[jim Brandt]

I just want to say thanks to all who helped me out. THANKS. I ended up just taking the balance wheel off and was able to get a bearing number. Of coarse it was different from the manual (which I ordered prematurely) and finally got the correct bearings on order. FYI in case anyone needs the INCORRECT set of bearings I have a set (CHEAP) LOL. Once again thanks everyone. This forum is awesome.