Thread: Timber for Bearings

Trend timbers may have some. Trend Timbers A little far away I know but......

Try looking for some old Bowls balls as they were made from Lignum Vitae

Even here in the UK we look out for Bowls for the wood. However another source can be boat restoration yards. Lignum was used as a water-seal bearing for the propshaft of old boats.

You will find that most of the suppliers are overseas. These days its not used much in this country for bearings, plus its not so common as it used to be.

Heres a post from a previous discussion, about an Australian equivalent
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/lignum-vitae-187/
Vitex lignum-vitae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lignum-Vitae-Bearings



Genuine Lignum Vitae (guiacum officinale from Griffin Exotic Wood
Exotic Hard Woods | Specialist Timber - Lignum Vitae - Palo Santo wood
Lignum Vitae Timber Suppliers - UK Hardwood Timber Merchants
Lignum Vitae : Ockenden Timber, Specialist Woodturning & Carving Suppliers

Thanks guys for all the help.
Once I have sorted out my application, I will post the results here.
The alternative to timber is some sort of plastic, but I am keen to try the traditional approach.

,
Trend Timbers is about 30 minutes away, I will definitely check them out, they may have a 'good enough' equivalent.

John.

In the US oil soaked maple is used.

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Originally Posted by

Trend timbers may have some. Trend Timbers A little far away I know but......

I 2nd that Trend had stock last Saturday.

Lignum Vitae is one of the legendary species of timbers. It's properties are indisputable for hardness and it's self oiling capability the two of which have led to it's use as a bearing material particularly in marine applications.

I noticed from hughie's very informative post of references that it is quoted as being the densest of timbers. That is not quite true. The author of that comment probably doesn't know that the island of Australia was discovered a few years back and has a number of more dense timbers .

Gidgee, for example, has an ADD of 1330Kg/m3 compared to Lignum Vitae at 1200Kg/m3. Cooktown Ironwood is another heavier species, although only just.

I did find a reference to Crows Ash and Forest Red Gum being alternative timbers for bearing use, but it did say for use in lightly stressed situation and no mention of marine application. Clearly Lignum Vitae is a stand out material for bearings.

John

I have never used LV but I did notice in my research that it splits easily tangentially but is resistant radially. I suspect with modern turning tool steels it will turn beautifully. I will be interested to hear what happens.

Regards
Paul

When we bought the place that we are on I inherited a number of machines with low speed shafts running in jarrah bearings. The shafts had a fair bit of weight on them (almond screens). Some of them must have been there for 30+ years. Worked well and easy to get.

Regards

Ian

Trend Timbers usually have some LV, but I've only see very small pieces there recently - no bigger sections. Its on one of the tables with all the other timber #### like ebony.

Just wait until you see what it costs......

I was thinking of buying some thinner pieces for the sole of a timber plane a while ago, but when I saw the price I retreaded rapidly with my wallet between my legs (so to speak)

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Trend Timbers usually have some LV, but I've only see very small pieces there recently - no bigger sections. Its on one of the tables with all the other timber #### like ebony.

Just wait until you see what it costs......

I was thinking of buying some thinner pieces for the sole of a timber plane a while ago, but when I saw the price I retreaded rapidly with my wallet between my legs (so to speak)

Likely story John.


Nope there was a nice piece there about the size of 6 house bricks yes somewhere in the price range of $300

I have often wondered about the suitability of Leopard Tree - Caesalpinia ferrea for bearing stock. It seems to have the sought after characteristics.

I built a wooden chuck for turning elliptical shapes. For the bearing surfaces I used cooktown ironwood that had liberal coatings of lanolin grease. It worked well but did wear a bit, but then it was exposed to shock loads not regular consistent loads. The first attempt was with spotted gum bearing surfaces, also coated with lanolin grease. they didn't wear as well as the cooktown ironwood.
Jim

50x50x50? Millimetres or centimetres? If mm, look for an old Comet windmill. They had wooden bearings in the head. At least ours did 40 years ago! Probably best if it is on the ground though.

Instead of the old "Hope this is of use to you", I am confident this did not add much to the discussion at all.

"A".