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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Willunga, Adelaide, South Australia
    Posts
    196

    Default Replacing Spindle Bearings

    Hi Guys.

    Decided to start a new thread for this, rather than just dump it in my build post.

    This is my second air-cooled spindle in three years, and both have run their bearings.

    Unfortunately, it is impossible to get information from the suppliers as to who actually manufacures these spindles, and therefore, cannot get and schematics for the machines.

    I attempted to replace the bearings in my first spindle, but it had a great deal of plastic parts, and unfortunately, several pieces had suffered from heat stress and were broken.

    Super glue put them back together, but the spindle was never the same after that.
    I then bit the bullet and purchased my second spindle.

    Both spindles were sourced from Aaron Bai at 'Love-Happy' as Chai did not appear to have air-cooled spindles available at the time. I was quite happy with Aaron's service, and delivery was quite prompt, with everything well-packed.

    My first spindle worked well for about 70 hours, and i have used the second spindle for about the same amount of time. However, the second one cut a lot of aluminium for my second machine, and has probably worked harder than the first.

    Anyway - on with the saga.

    After my recent prolonged break, I had forgotten the sequence in which all the parts of the spindles went together - i:e: which washer went where, etc, so decided to photograph each stage, and hope this might help others with similar problems.

    I have attached some of the photos below to show the spindle and the sequence of dis-assembly.

    When I got everything apart, there appearred to be sufficient grease in the bearings, but they were all quite 'rumply' when I spun them by hand.

    So - I guess I now have two options
    1. Clean, regrease, and replace the existing bearings.
    2. New bearings - have to check out the prices - ???

    One other thing - looked up 'Love-Happy's' sight on Ebay, and noticed that he says there is a two year warranty on his spindles, so - ever the optomist - I have sent him an email asking if he will honour this warranty for my second spindle.
    (How's that for a laugh, and for supreme optimism???)

    OK - will close now and post again later when I have sorted out the bearings.

    Cheers
    Noel

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    988

    Default

    Thanks for the pictures

    Were any of the bearings pressed to the shaft? Also what brand were they?

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Willunga, Adelaide, South Australia
    Posts
    196

    Default

    Chris
    No - the bearings were simply a firm fit to the shaft - definitely not press-fit, but no real sign that they were spinning or anything.

    Also - no name - just a few numbers.

    Interestingly, they were open race bearings, where those in my fisrt spindle were sealed bearings - don't really know whether this would make any difference or not - maybe someone smarter than me could comment.

    Also not sure about the discolouration on the rotor shaft (you can see it on thew shot of the shaft) - wondering if it was 'wobbling'about while turning?

    Cheers
    Noel

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Oxley, Brisbane
    Age
    79
    Posts
    3,041

    Default

    Hi Noel
    Your local bearings place should be able to easily identify the bearings for you, and from the looks of them they are cheap and nasties.
    Better bearings that are mounted with Loctite 641 bearing mount would be the way to go.
    Apart from that, there doesn't seem to be much in the spindles to go wrong.

    Bob
    Bob Willson
    The term 'grammar nazi' was invented to make people, who don't know their grammar, feel OK about being uneducated.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Cockatoo Vic
    Posts
    996

    Default

    Bit hard to tell just looking at those bearings.

    My "LoveHappy" air cooled spindle looks identical and I believe it has ceramic balls in the bearings.

    Bearing supplies should be able to identify them. How about a google on the number and dimensions?

    Looks like the preload is done with shims.

    Greg

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Willunga, Adelaide, South Australia
    Posts
    196

    Default

    Greg

    'Googled the bearings and they are 'plain steel'bearings out of China.'

    Looks like I was 'dudded'. I will re-email Aaron and ask him about his claim about 'good German bearings'.

    Meanwhile, I will price replacement bearings, butIi am not hopeful. I bought some similar bearings a while back from SKF, and they were around $100 each. With three bearings to each spindle, and a new spindle about A$300.00, it doesn't seem to make much sense to replace the bearings. Cheaper to get another new spindle as you suggested.

    Oh well - on we go.

    Cheers
    Noel

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    988

    Default

    If the locals are too expensive try VXB.com from personal experience the more expensive bearings are pretty damn good for the price.

    24K RPM should be no issue for the bearings they stock and they might even have some high quality Made in Japan bearings.


    Its good to know they are easy to replace when they go.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Oxley, Brisbane
    Age
    79
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    3,041

    Default

    Oh dear

    From Wikipedia


    Lifespan

    The calculated life for a bearing is based on the load it carries and its operating speed. The industry standard usable bearing lifespan is inversely proportional to the bearing load cubed . Nominal maximum load of a bearing (as specified for example in SKF datasheets), is for a lifespan of 1 million rotations, which at 50 Hz (i.e., 3000 RPM) is a lifespan of 5.5 working hours. 90% of bearings of that type have at least that lifespan, and 50% of bearings have a lifespan at least 5 times as long.[3]
    Bob Willson
    The term 'grammar nazi' was invented to make people, who don't know their grammar, feel OK about being uneducated.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Willunga, Adelaide, South Australia
    Posts
    196

    Default

    Bob

    Are you saying that the expected life of the bearings in these Chinese spindle would be in the order of 5.5 to <25 hours?

    if that is correct, then 50 to 100 hours of cutting aluminium and hard timbers is excellent?

    cheers

    Noel

  11. #10
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Perth WA
    Posts
    3,784

    Default

    Bob,
    If it is not much of an issue pulling the bearings then I would be getting a couple of sets of the VXB bearing and some extra shims and make it a part of a maintenence schedule to replace them when they get noisy.

    Would it require re-balancing if the bearings are replaced??
    Cheers,
    Rod

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Willunga, Adelaide, South Australia
    Posts
    196

    Default

    Rod

    I'm not too sure about regular maintenance/replacing the bearings in these spindles. The metal threads are only threaded into aluminium housings and are very prone to stripping - even when being very careful about it. i also wouldn't want to be over-tightening these screws either - the whole assembly is quite fragile and there are too many plastic parts for my liking.

    I guess that with care it is OK to change the bearings once, but I would think it too risky to adopt as a regular procedure.

    however, I might just be too cautious.

    Cheers
    Noel

  13. #12
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Geelong
    Posts
    264

    Default

    Excellent thread Noel. I've the same spindle so please keep posting the details as I'm sure I'll be using this thread as a reference some time in the future. But hopefully not too soon.

    Brad.

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Oxley, Brisbane
    Age
    79
    Posts
    3,041

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by PsychoPig7 View Post
    Bob

    Are you saying that the expected life of the bearings in these Chinese spindle would be in the order of 5.5 to <25 hours?

    if that is correct, then 50 to 100 hours of cutting aluminium and hard timbers is excellent?

    cheers

    Noel
    I'm not saying that Noel; Wikipedia is. I really find it difficult to believe that bearings would only last that long. I have run drills and many other machines that use bearings that have exceeded those expectations by many factors. However, one must place some credence in their claims as no one has seen fit to dispute it on that page.

    I do know that the designed life of your average lawnmower is in the region of about 6 hours and that anything over that is bonus. Talk about built in obsolescence.

    If the build has some parts that look to be of dubious quality, maybe we can have a go at re manufacturing our own replacement parts using the originals as templates.

    Bob
    Bob Willson
    The term 'grammar nazi' was invented to make people, who don't know their grammar, feel OK about being uneducated.

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Willunga, Adelaide, South Australia
    Posts
    196

    Default

    Brad
    Glad you find it of use.

    I will keep posting as things progress.

    How long have you had your spindle/ - and how many hours use has it done?

    i actually think that when they are running, these air-cooled spindles are very good.

    Cheers

    Noel

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    49

    Default

    This appeared on the zone a few months ago. Looks like someone tracked down where the "German" bearings really come from.

    Chinese Spindle, "Germany" bearing mystery solved! - CNCzone.com-The Largest Machinist Community on the net!

    Keep us updated with the outcome of new bearings.

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