"Frozen" bearings on steady rest--need advice

I have been looking for a steady rest for my Leblond lathe and yesterday a machinist friend gave me an old steady rest. It fit my Leblond just fine and is in excellent shape except for the bearings. The roller bearings were "frozen" after sitting for 20 plus years. What are your suggestions for freeing-up these bearings or would you just replace them if I can find a match? The writing on the bearings is not legible. I could, only, get one of the three off and plan on soaking it in Kroil tomorrow.

Heat a little bit and dip in oil then try to rotate them. Wiggle them back and forth to break up rust particles and dirt and keep applying oil to flush bits out.

You may find you can get them spinning but when you start to use them they scream a lot because the balls and races are all pitted.

Hdpg:
I scraped and found the bearings are Fafnir but I cannot tell what the numbers are. Rough measurments are OD 1.195 - ID 27/64 and 1/2" thick. If I can get the number off the other two bearing tomorrow--might just replace them.

stuball48 said:

--might just replace them.

Click to expand...

That is the best approach.

steady bearings are a fairly critical part of turning, and the same as the diameter their running on. the diameter your turning near the steady will only be as round as the condition of the bearings, and bearing surface. The bearing surface more so.

If you will be machining parts for jet engine turbines or balance shafts for wrist watches you are going to need to replace the bearings. I'd just take the old bearings into a place like "Bearing Warehouse" or some other bearing supply house that is close to you and have them match it up.

Now, if you want the challenge of just cleaning this one up and then see how well it works before you decide to throw money at it, I'd suggest either the electrolytic method of cleaning the corrosion or else use a paintbrush and Naval Jelly.

Electrolytic way is to put a gallon of water in a plastic bucket, mix in a tablespoon or 2 of baking soda, then hook up a battery charger- Negative to the item and positive to an old stainless steel spoon or something. If your charger has a variable charge rate just do a rate that lets bubbles form. Let it work overnight and try it in the morning. I've used this a number of times freeing up tools that are frozen solid, typically the bucket of rusted tools you can get at a barn sale for $1.00 and I have never had this method fail on the most rusted up crescent wrenches even, you can even get the thumbscrews free with time.

If you google up "electrolytic derusting" you can get a ton of hits with all sorts of power supply choices and recipes so feel free to get complicated with it but if you just want something simple and on-hand that works just use a plastic bucket, battery charger, baking soda, and a chunk of stainless.

Replace the bearings with as heavy duty replacement that will fit. The bearings carry a big load so keep them clean and replace as needed.

It may be a good idea to buy an extra set. If you don't have a spare the bearing will fail during a rush job and if you have a spare it may never fail. That's what Murphy told me the other day and he ought to know.

My thoughts would be change all three bearings. Still a very cheap steady. On the electrolytic rust removal, do a little research before you make a dicision. I have found some information that tells you to use stainless steel and other info that stainless makes a hazardous byproduct. I have a set up going as we speak and I just have a metal half barrel with a rubber carpet on the bottom of the barrel to prevent contact on the bottom. This process will evetually eat holes in the barrel and cause leaks. I just got done derusting a 7' lathe bed in a larger tank. You could also use a coffee can? Kenny

Had them soak in mineral spirits all Friday night and late yesterday, I have all three turning with "rough spots" on each revolution. I can turn with my hand. The local auto supply place had bearing that would fit but the thickness of the replacement bearings was not the same. OD and ID the same but i/8" thinner. Will this make a big difference? If so, I will be in Nashville in the next two weeks and should be able to find an exact match.

5gal. plastic bucket works fine as a tank. Use plain scrap steel for the electrodes, not stainless steel. Or better yet, graphite electrodes (scrap from an EDM shop), no red residue in the tank.

Can you just turn out some spacers to fill in the 1/8" gap?

gwilson:
I could do that if I could convince myself the smaller ones will take the load? Will they take the pressure? I will not need the steady rest on a daily basis -- just occasionally.

I suggest you call Accurate Bearing Company, 800-323-6548 and ask for Lynne Scott. She works a lot with the Old Woodworking Machine guys and she is OUTSTANDING at matching bearings by measurements and will tell you where they are made. I just ordered some from her 2 weeks ago, got them in 2 days by priority mail (Illinois to Utah) and the price with shipping was about 1/3 what I was quoted locally. I've dealt with Lynne for over a year and have always been happy.

Good luck.

captf71:
Thanks for the phone number and advice on whom to ask for. I will try and get her tomorrow.

captf71:
I called Accurate Bearing Company today and Lynne was on vacation this week. I talked to a gentleman and he was very helpful---helpful enough that I have three bearings on the way to Dickson. Thanks

Mr. Stuball48,

Outstanding! Hope they work out for you.

Rog