Good Bearing Sources????

[Dick Strauss]

Well,
A friend was nice enough to give me his old 60's cast iron C-man 113.29410 RAS after I helped him get another one in better shape. Unfortunately it was squealing when he gave it to me. I left in out in the cold garage for a few months. The bearings were almost completely frozen but I managed to free them temporarily. It has what I'm assuming are the original bearings (Hoover 77204s~0.780" ID/1.850" OD).

What is a good brand of bearings for replacement purposes and what should I expect to pay for them? I'd prefer to spend a little extra to get better bearings so that I don't have to worry about it again.

Where is the best place type of shop to buy the bearings (an electric motor repair shop, etc)? Do most shops press them on for you at a nominal cost?

Thanks in advance,
Dick

[Joe Chritz]

I generally get stuff like that from MSC direct but you can often find them locally.

I don't know if there is a big difference from one brand to another or not. If you measure the thickness, ID and OD and if they are shielded or sealed a repair shop should be able to supply them for you.

I think I got bearings for the Byrd head I installed on the jointer at a local hardware. They were about $8 each or so if I remember correctly.

Joe

[Bob Johnson2]

Around here we use Bay State Bearing (860) 953-0055, all they do is bearings. Where Bay State serves Ma. and Ct. there must be similiar where you are. I imagine you could always call Bay State and given the info Joe mentioned you could order over the phone. You do need to be exact in your specs. Don't know if they deal with individuals. You could always stop by a machine shop and ask them to get them for you, I did this once for my old Shopsmith. The owner called them in, told them I'd be stopping by, and I picked them up paying when I did. If you go that route, the machine shop will get the right specs for you as long as you bring the the bearing.

[Fred Belknap]

I had pretty good luck with NAPA (auto parts), just take the old bearing in and let them measure it.

[Kyle Kraft]

Try Applied Industrial. I buy my bearings and seals from them 'cuz they are right on the way home and give me good service.

No, I don't work for them.

[Alex Shanku]

Accurate Bearing.

http://www.accuratebearing.com/

Ask for Lynne. This is the preferred bearing supplier of OWWM.org. She carries all common bearings, cheaper than any retailer I know of and ships quick. They also carry hard to find bearings like the 88505's I needed in my lathe restoration.

[Mike Wellner]

SKF, they have an catalog

[Karl Brogger]

I had pretty good luck with NAPA (auto parts), just take the old bearing in and let them measure it.

I'll second NAPA

[Steve Rozmiarek]

There is a HUGE difference in bearing quality between manufacturers. As a really broad general rule, buy American. There are a few Japanese companies that are good too. Avoid Chinese or Eastern European. Timmken is a good reliable brand.

The best places to buy bearings that I know of are tractor dealers. Farmers don't have time for crappy bearings, and we by the best. Case IH dealers generally carry Timmken, John Deere dealers carry a good Japanese brand. Around here anyhow. NAPA is ok, but there are better.

We also have dedicated bearing supply stores here. Bay States Bearings, or Accurate Bearings are a good bet for a more national store. You get what you pay for.

That all being said, your saw is a pretty low intensity machine for the bearings, so even a cheapie bearing will last years.

[Alex Shanku]

There is a HUGE difference in bearing quality between manufacturers. As a really broad general rule, buy American. There are a few Japanese companies that are good too. Avoid Chinese or Eastern European. Timmken is a good reliable brand.

The best places to buy bearings that I know of are tractor dealers. Farmers don't have time for crappy bearings, and we by the best. Case IH dealers generally carry Timmken, John Deere dealers carry a good Japanese brand. Around here anyhow. NAPA is ok, but there are better.

We also have dedicated bearing supply stores here. Bay States Bearings, or Accurate Bearings are a good bet for a more national store. You get what you pay for.

That all being said, your saw is a pretty low intensity machine for the bearings, so even a cheapie bearing will last years.


I agree with your post, but for those that dont know, good bearings (arguably some of the best) like Timken, for example, are made in Romania. At least some of their bearings are. I also think they manufacture in a few other countries.

I generally use Nachi for my tools.

[Dick Strauss]

Thanks for all of the replies. I just didn't want to buy junk bearings only to have to replace them in a few years. The original bearings lasted almost 50 years so it seems C-man knew how to build a good RAS back then.

Thanks again,
Dick

[Scott Myers]

We could go on about ABEC ratings, precision, country of origin, etc., for a long time. Working in the industrial sales world for years, I'll just jump in with a few tips.

1 - Don't buy a bearing that doesn't have a number on it and/or manufacturer name. If it's a "no name", its a "no quality". No name bearings are those that didn't make the grade at the manufacturer and were dumped at low prices, so they didn't get the manufacturer's name imprinted on them.
2 - Stay with known manufacturers. Timken, SKF, FAG, Fafnir-Torrington are a few of the well known names associated with quality.
3 - German & Swiss bearings tend to be extremely high quality and have prices that match.
4 - Buy a bearing with a brass cage, not a nylon/plastic cage. Plastic cages have become all too popular these days and they just don't last near as long.
5 - Buy (or at least study) your bearings from people that deal with bearings in the industrial world and understand bearings. If they can't speak the lingo about ABEC ratings, loading, speed, etc., then go somewhere else. Motion Industrial, Advanced Industrial, etc. type companies is where to turn. Call their application engineering and discuss it with them.
6 - Once you know what bearing brand/part number you want, you could buy an "old" bearing. Bearings actually have a shelf life. Once that shelf life is exceeded, they are sold off pretty cheaply. These old bearings can often be found on the internet. But frankly, for the cost of two bearigns, that is a lot of trouble to go through to save a few bucks, unless saving $50 is worth spending 2-3 hourse searching to you.

I guess the question come in we have to ask is "What is overkill/over thinking?" For me (being an engineer and hence, overly critical), I'd just go buy Timken's or SKF's with at least an ABEC 5 rating (or higher) and be done with it, knowing that I won't have to worry about it again in my lifetime. However, it will probably be easier (and cheaper) to find an ABEC 3 rated bearing, which should be plenty good.

But I think what you are going to find is you have to get what is available for the odd dimension you have given. (You didn't mention a width.) I took a quick look at some sources for bearings that I have used and could not find that dimension you gave. I did find something close at MSC Industral and Motion Industries supply in metric. While this isn't the exact dimension you gave, if you follow the link below you will get an idea on the WIDE variance in prices, which ARE an indicator of the quality. Notice on MSC's site you've got an unknown import fo a bit over $7.00 and a SKF for just under $90. Obviously, those bearings may fit in the same place, but they are by no means equivalent. I'd guess the $7 bearing doesn't have an ABEC rating while the $90 bearing should be at least an ABEC 3.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVSM?PACACHE=000000079187560

https://www.motionindustries.com/motion3/jsp/mi/motion.jsp

Happy hunting!

[Matt Meiser]

Another recommendation for Accurate Bearing. They are out of Chicago. I used the Nachi bearings on my sander I just restored. They were very helpful and shipped my order fast.

But I also just recently learned that Applied Industrial Technologies has a location on Benore, just north of Alexis in Toledo. If their prices are even remotely close to Accurate, I'll probably buy from there next time.

[Paul Atkins]

Shelf-life? Would you want a bearing that wore out just sitting there? Do the get stale?

[Scott Myers]

I know. It does seem weird. Apparently the issue is twofold. The first is the sheild/seal. They oxidize. The second is the issue of the package "breathing", so the concern is pitting/rust due to breathing in moisture over time. So they do have a shelf life, according to some manufacturers.

Of course, once it is installed, it just going to be worse. So what's the big deal really?

With the big expensive bearings they spend a bunch more money packaging them, so this shelf life issue doesn't really exist. But on these "commodity" level bearings, it does.


Shelf-life? Would you want a bearing that wore out just sitting there? Do the get stale?

[Lee Schierer]

I agree with Scott, go with good bearings, it will be cheaper in the long run. Old bearings tend to develop a varnish like substance on the races adjacent to hte balls that makes them feel rough. Usually degreasing and relubricating will take care of this, but isn't easy to do on sealed or shielded bearings. Most Bearing supply houses have local distributors and they have a walk up counter. Take your old bearings and they will match them for you. Be sure to know the rpm of your motor so they can get the speed rating right.

[Eric Commarato]

Accurate Bearing.

http://www.accuratebearing.com/

Ask for Lynne. This is the preferred bearing supplier of OWWM.org. She carries all common bearings, cheaper than any retailer I know of and ships quick. They also carry hard to find bearings like the 88505's I needed in my lathe restoration.

I second Alex, this company is a joy to buy bearings from. Really a company that deals with electric motor bearings, but Lynne is always helpful to folks who work on woodworking machinery, and somewhere she usually finds the bearing you need. And the prices are very competitive.

Eric

[Dick Strauss]

I found a local electric motor rebuilding shop that helped me out...they sold me some good bearings (from one of John Deere's bearing suppliers) for $15 and pressed them on free of charge. The guy also gave me a tour and explained how they rebuild massive 1000+ hp motors from time to time.

I re-assembled the RAS and I'm in business. I'll try to take some pics once I get the saw and table aligned.


Thanks again,
Dick

[Larry Edgerton]

I use Applied Industrial as well, used to be Detroit Ball Bearing. Great service and they do know their stuff.