Articulating arms, bearing sources, FREE gauges! A three-fer!

[Toolmaker51]

Or a Thread Hack?
From latest Tool Of The Week;

I have regularly used my articulating arm and noticed no degradation of clamping force over time. The mating surfaces between the ball bearings and the side brackets do wear with use but due to pressure rather than by rubbing together.
In use the clamp is kept loose until the correct position is found when it's then tightened very firmly. Adjustment whilst tightened isn't necessary so wear isn't an issue.
Wear with use would increase the surface area of the mating parts and allow greater friction between them anyway.
I used 10mm thick steel for the brackets and therefore didn't need to bend up the sides for added rigidity.
Use the largest ball bearings you can find, (mine are 25mm) and rusty (but wire brushed clean) is best.
A good source of free used large bearings is your local Caterpillar or heavy machinery dealer. Mine came from the main bearings allowing rotation between the body and tracks of a large excavator. The bearing was 400mm in diameter before I destroyed it to remove the balls themselves.
Also the plastic knob to tighten the assembly needs to be heavy duty, large in diameter and with a sturdy steel or brass insert for the thread. I used a 75mm diameter knob with an M12 thread. You need to screw it down tightly so movement is almost impossible.
The end result is extremely robust indeed.

Bearing disassembly tip.
Destruction is a common route, most use thin high speed parting wheel to section outer race, extract balls.

Late last year, helped out in a shop that services water pumps. Not automotive, these feed cooling towers, giant laundry machines, fire suppression, flood ice rinks, fountains, flood basins [run off, after all its only California], more than I can name.
Approved by different vendors to perform warranty work, tearing down several every week. Part entails diagnosing bearing failure, like reading spark plugs.

Oh yeah, promised a tip.......harvest your balls while you have them.

Lay bearing down flat, pull out rubber or metallic seals. Remove enough grease to work inside.
Identify which side of retainer/ separator rivets are headed [usually flat]. Secure bearing in milling vise, that side up. C-clamp inner to outer race.
Spot drill or mill the rivets so they'll punch through.
Remove clamping, drop out the retainer/ separators. Wash out more grease if needed, unnecessary to be spotless.
Stand bearing up on the outer race, push the balls to lower side, crowding them together. Lift inner race up and out; some have a pair of notches making this easier yet.

Why? How well are bearings made? Cutting them up often throws away perfectly good ring and plug gauges.

Bearing Diagnosis Charts should sell bearings. Have no insight why they are hidden away, or ask insane prices; though many are likely to buy one before advertising a designer label T shirt for the same price... They google readily enough.

https://mmsallaboutmetallurgy.com/20...poster-timken/

[Frank S]

Or a Thread Hack?
From latest Tool Of The Week;



Bearing disassembly tip.
Destruction is a common route, most use thin high speed parting wheel to section outer race, extract balls.

Late last year, helped out in a shop that services water pumps. Not automotive, these feed cooling towers, giant laundry machines, fire suppression, flood ice rinks, fountains, flood basins [run off, after all its only California], more than I can name.
Approved by different vendors to perform warranty work, tearing down several every week. Part entails diagnosing bearing failure, like reading spark plugs.

Oh yeah, promised a tip.......harvest your balls while you have them.

Lay bearing down flat, pull out rubber or metallic seals. Remove enough grease to work inside.
Identify which side of retainer/ separator rivets are headed [usually flat]. Secure bearing in milling vise, that side up. C-clamp inner to outer race.
Spot drill or mill the rivets so they'll punch through.
Remove clamping, drop out the retainer/ separators. Wash out more grease if needed, unnecessary to be spotless.
Stand bearing up on the outer race, push the balls to lower side, crowding them together. Lift inner race up and out; some have a pair of notches making this easier yet.

Why? How well are bearings made? Cutting them up often throws away perfectly good ring and plug gauges.

Bearing Diagnosis Charts should sell bearings. Have no insight why they are hidden away, or ask insane prices; though many are likely to buy one before advertising a designer label T shirt for the same price... They google readily enough.

https://mmsallaboutmetallurgy.com/20...poster-timken/

A good tip though you know me I have a tendency to use a less surgical approach, by firing up the old Victor mill and burning the cage out in bits with a good solid blast of heat and oxy. May sacrifice 1 ball in the doings, since many of them are going to be FUBARED from having failed in the first place

[Toolmaker51]

Sure do, and glad to say I do know you. We've had some good times, no? The torch method is their practice too; as when lots of pumps lose a mechanical seal or packing, cavitation eats impellers, volutes and housings, lock up bearings etc. The housing is most important to save, next impeller, lastly the shaft. rest of parts almost over the counter. Turned new ones quite a few times there, including the one we took to Hawaii. All we had for reference was the thrashed rotating assembly of a split case centrifugal. Those bearings disassembled themselves; neither surgical or simple approach.

[DIYSwede]

-Amen to that, TM 51!
I scored some 45 lbs of worn-out bearings from the work dumpster, as the A/C fan & pump overhaul progressed a few years back.
getting a few dozens of 12 mm balls at HRC 64 provides my lifetime's need of feet for my surface plate DIY measuring tools,
and the races are useful for precision clamping and parallels or even providing the hardened convex for a DIYed surface gauge...

Some tips: -Are you lacking balls or missing races? - Meccano Gallery
Grinding the feets (yuk, yuk) - Meccano Gallery

2 cents
Cheers
Johan

[Philip Davies]

-Amen to that, TM 51!
I scored some 45 lbs of worn-out bearings from the work dumpster, as the A/C fan & pump overhaul progressed a few years back.
getting a few dozens of 12 mm balls at HRC 64 provides my lifetime's need of feet for my surface plate DIY measuring tools,
and the races are useful for precision clamping and parallels or even providing the hardened convex for a DIYed surface gauge...

Some tips: -Are you lacking balls or missing races? - Meccano Gallery
Grinding the feets (yuk, yuk) - Meccano Gallery

2 cents
Cheers
Johan

I have only removed a bearing very rarely. I can see how the races make parallels, but how do you use 12mm bearings, to test flatness of a surface gauge? How does the convex profile make a surface gauge? Kind regards.

[Toolmaker51]

I have only removed a bearing very rarely. I can see how the races make parallels, but how do you use 12mm bearings, to test flatness of a surface gauge? How does the convex profile make a surface gauge? Kind regards.

Phillip and I await conversion of convex to surface gauge. (what? no emoji for drumming fingers? an outrage!). Yet despite entirely different timezones, we consume popcorn in precise synchronization.

Meanwhile a couple handfuls of same size balls are just two pieces of flat plate short of rolling parallels, just the ticket for rough material on a bandsaw. Drill barely over ball diameter all the way through or partially, drop one in place lightly stake the circumference. Occasionally, the craftsperson will affix a cover plate to one [up] side. They can also be made that way with BB size spheres, the holder plate sandwiched twixt 2 plates with small holes, but rather tedious.
And then tedium interferes with posting on HMT.net........

Balls also figure in surface flatness readers, providing 3, low friction, minimum contact feet distributed beyond indicator tip. A few posted herein.
Printers use these to get a machine table [such as a paper cutter] dead flat with infeed and outfeed tables. Just zero on one table, adjust other into plane per readings of the 'indicator slide'.

[DIYSwede]

I can see how the races make parallels, but how do you use 12mm bearings, to test flatness of a surface gauge? How does the convex profile make a surface gauge? Kind regards.

By pressing the bearing balls into holes in the meter base, then grind away most of the sphere so you'll get a flat, small <1 mm protrusion,
becoming the hardened (@ 60-ish HRC)3 feet as in the post: Repeat Reading Gage - DIYSwede's "Cheap-O-Meter"
For more on the grind elsewhere: Grinding the feets (yuk, yuk) - Meccano Gallery &
on honing them: Diamond honing the feet - Meccano Gallery

You don't need to use bearings for feet on a surface plate tool, you could for instance epoxy old carbide inserts and grind/ hone theose too.
I wanted to get flat, dead sharp feet that plows away any small particles as the meter gets shoved across the surface plate.

Hope this explains my cheap "design considerations".
Cheers
Johan

[Toolmaker51]

I strained to recall that clever name to no avail. HITH does one forget "Cheap-O-Meter"?
If that's not a theft-proof name, what is?

[Philip Davies]

Phillip and I await conversion of convex to surface gauge. (what? no emoji for drumming fingers? an outrage!). Yet despite entirely different timezones, we consume popcorn in precise synchronization.

Meanwhile a couple handfuls of same size balls are just two pieces of flat plate short of rolling parallels, just the ticket for rough material on a bandsaw. Drill barely over ball diameter all the way through or partially, drop one in place lightly stake the circumference. Occasionally, the craftsperson will affix a cover plate to one [up] side. They can also be made that way with BB size spheres, the holder plate sandwiched twixt 2 plates with small holes, but rather tedious.
And then tedium interferes with posting on HMT.net........

Balls also figure in surface flatness readers, providing 3, low friction, minimum contact feet distributed beyond indicator tip. A few posted herein.
Printers use these to get a machine table [such as a paper cutter] dead flat with infeed and outfeed tables. Just zero on one table, adjust other into plane per readings of the 'indicator slide'.

Popcorn? I have no appetite for popcorn, nor any use for emojis as an aid to communication. Thank you. The links you provide below are helpful, however. I have a surface plate, it’s probably very worn, the late owner’s rule was perceptibly hollow from use.