bearings suck! (hollowing tool update) and question

[curtis rosche]

so i am continuing my quest to make a set of hollowing tools. i had tog et a bigger peice of steel to hold the tool bit to the steel bar. and i found that peice of steel on another peice of metal i had, it was the "axel" to a chair lift i had taken apart a while ago. the stupid thing wouldnt come off, so i had to drill out the bolts. then the stupid bearing wouldnt come off. and they are 3 inch bearing. i eventually stuck it on the outside of my Kurt milling vise, and hit the handle hit a mallet till one poped off. then i tried and tried to get the other one off, but it wouldnt move. i tried to saw it, dulled the blade, i tried to cut it with bolt cutters, nicked the cutters only scratched the bearing casing. ( i took off the out side cover first, then pushed the balls to one side)

then i found the little "inlets where the bearing had been squeezed in. so i poped them out one by one. i put a plastic container under it to catch them, but it shot the ball bearing through the container.

after i got it off i drilled out both ends of the axel. i forgot to take pictures of the bearing as i took it off, but i have a picture of what it looks like finished.

is there another way to get bearing off?

[Nick Amandus]

Curtis, set the piece in a vise such that the bearing race is resting on the jaws but the jaws are not tightened on flat stock. Only heat the bearing race with the mapp gas, then drive the flat stock out of the race with something smaller than the inner diameter than the bearing race. Usually works every time. Don't waste time trying to cut that race with hand saws, never get through something hardened. If the heat doesn't do the trick and you are good enough with a cutting torch, you could cut it off that way.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Curtis...... sounds like the only thing missing was the funny music and 3 guys running around yelling 'Hey Moe, Hey Moe'

Have to agree with Nick and his vise suggestion. Make sure you wear eye protection! Hope to hear you had success real soon!

[curtis rosche]

well, all i need to do is hope that we have a 5/8 drill bit at school and i will have the first tool done.

[curtis rosche]

i thought about the torch, but the only cutting torches i have acces to are the oxy/acyt and plasma we have at school, and i would have to wait a month or so, because i have to get all the required welding stuff done first before personal stuff

[Dale Miner]

A bit time comsuming approach....

Grind one area of the bearing race until it is nearly ground thru (should be able to do this with a bench grinder, or better yet a 4" angle grinder).

Once the race is nearly cut thru, wrap it with a rag, lay it on a hard surface, and give it a whack with a largish brass hammer. It should crack in the area that has been ground thin. This will relieve the press fit, and the race should tap off fairly easy.

Alternately, the grinding could be performed on two places on opposite sides of the race. The hammer blow may not be needed in this case. The thinner the race is ground, the more it will relieve the press of the fit, and the easier it will be to remove.

Later,
Dale M

[Jim Underwood]

When trying to get stubborn bearing races off of shafts, I have had good luck with a die grinder and an abrasive cutoff wheel. You have to be very careful not to nick the shaft, and you cut the race at an angle across the bearing to avoid the shoulders

Once you get close to cutting through, even if you're not all the way through, you can then take a stout chisel (not a woodworking chisel!), place it in the groove you've cut and hit it smartly with a good hammer. It usually splits the race, and you can then just slide it off by hand.

This is a variation on the grinding scenario, but lot's quicker.

[Dennis Peacock]

Curtis...... sounds like the only thing missing was the funny music and 3 guys running around yelling 'Hey Moe, Hey Moe'

Now that's funny right there..!!!!!

[Jeff Nicol]

Curtis, I really am confused at what you are trying to make and wonder if you know yourself. I made hollowing tools yesterday for a fellow SMC member and I had them done in about an hour or so from start to finish. I made a gooseneck tool with a cutter and a Oland tool using my reground drill bits for the cutters. Sometimes it is easier to buy the right stuff to get the job done or ask for more help to get the job done. Please post a picture of what you are intending and what you have so far so we can really see where you are at. I am not sure what you are doing with the bearing race and the axel??? It sounds like to me you are making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Just trying to figure you out,

Jeff

[Bill Mitchel]

Curtis

I came across this the other day. I have not seen much about it on the forums but thought I would give it a try. It's a hollowing tools set that comes with quite a bit for only $79 shipped.
http://sitekreator.com/sherrillwoodw..._tool_set.html
It arrived the other day and it looks to be pretty good. I still have to turn with them (I'll post when I have).
I know everyone is on a budget and people say , myself included, buy the best you can afford. When I was in school that meant make it or save up. It might be less frustrating to purchase something for around $80. That being said, some folks are either on a tight budget or just like to make their own tools. I know there is a lot of pride when you make your own tools. Just trying to help.

Good Luck
Bill

[Dennis Puskar]

Jeff,
Could you post a pic would like to see what you made.

Dennis

[curtis rosche]

Bill, besides being cheaper, the tools i am making fit into my oneway handle, and are ajustable length, and because i made it, i know how to fix it when i break it.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hi Curtis, you learn by doing, and yes it can be way cheaper, I don't know if you can get away with this at school, but an electric welder can cut that bearing race of quite easily, just set the amperage high and pull a long arc, that will melt and blow the metal away, you just have to be ready to stop when you're through.
When I was a kid I would get the balls from larger bearings by just hitting the outer race of the bearing, I'd do that when nobody was around, (big sledge) I did get in trouble when they found out that I busted some large bearings, and was made aware they were worth a lot of money, so that was the end of that, only bad bearings were to be used, and most of those were fairly small :-((
Oh I wasn't saying you should do it that way, you can get hurt by flying pieces of steel, it is just what I have done, as a bad boy ;-))

[Jeff Nicol]

Hi Curtis, you learn by doing, and yes it can be way cheaper, I don't know if you can get away with this at school, but an electric welder can cut that bearing race of quite easily, just set the amperage high and pull a long arc, that will melt and blow the metal away, you just have to be ready to stop when you're through.
When I was a kid I would get the balls from larger bearings by just hitting the outer race of the bearing, I'd do that when nobody was around, (big sledge) I did get in trouble when they found out that I busted some large bearings, and was made aware they were worth a lot of money, so that was the end of that, only bad bearings were to be used, and most of those were fairly small :-((
Oh I wasn't saying you should do it that way, you can get hurt by flying pieces of steel, it is just what I have done, as a bad boy ;-))

Leo, You sound like me when I was a boy! If it could be taken apart or had something inside I wanted I would find away to do it! But the day Dad came home and my brother and I had climbed the TV antennae tower and got on the garage roof then proceeded to tear off shigles and throw them like frisbees.......well it was hard to sit for a while! Lesson learned.

Jeff