I'm in the ending stages of a restoration of a Powermatic 81, a 20" bandsaw. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=86269. This has taken longer than I'd hoped - not because of problems, but just limited time - but I'm near the end.
After getting a lot of input, I decided to go ahead and replace the bearings, which I got around to tackling today. Although I picked up the new bearings a few months ago, I hadn't really looked at them until today. When I pulled them out of the boxes today, I found something interesting.
When I bought them a few months ago, I went to the local bearing supplier with the intent of purchasing 4 SKF, U.S. made bearings (6206's). The guy at the bearing supplier must have saw me gulp at the quoted price -- $30 each. I was willing to pay the $30 each for good bearings, but he suggested I try a set of Napa bearings instead. He mentioned that they might be made in China, but that Chinese bearings, in his experience, had increased significantly in quality the past 5 years, and that "name brand" Chinese bearings like Napa were comprable to Japanese or American bearings. "It's all in the specs," he said, "the Chinese can make outstanding bearings when they are paid to do so." And the price was much better, at $8 each, so I picked up 4. I figured I couldn't lose, as the dealer promised to take them back if they didn't work.
I remember when I picked them up that I glanced at one of the boxes where it said "Made in China." Today, though, as I unboxed them and got ready to mount them, I noticed something. On the outside race of one of the bearings was printed "NTN Made in the USA." What????
Sure enough, 1 of the bearings were marked as NTN, U.S.-made bearings. The other 3 were marked "FIT - China". I grabbed the boxes and read a bit closer. On all the boxes, it was noted that the bearings were distributed by SKF. 3 of the boxes were marked "Made in China" and, sure enough, one was marked "Made in the USA."
All of the bearings spec'ed out the same, and I'll finish mounting them all this weekend. By all indications, they are all of similar quality.
So, I bought 4 bearings. Sold by a local dealer under the Napa brand. Distributed by SKF. Three were made by FIT in China, one by NTN in the U.S.
Talk about a global economy!