Shopsmith Forums

Hopefully I am not violating a forum rule but I have a question. I just ordered tow Drive Sheave Assembly bearings from MSC. I paid over $30 a piece. Did I get ripped off? Where do most of y'all source your bearings? Duckman

Duckman wrote: Sun Nov 24, 2024 5:25 pm Hopefully I am not violating a forum rule but I have a question. I just ordered tow Drive Sheave Assembly bearings from MSC. I paid over $30 a piece. Did I get ripped off? Where do most of y'all source your bearings? Duckman

Depends upon just what you purchased. There are different grades of bearings. There are cheaper sources of lesser quality bearings.

VXB comes to mind.

$30 each for Drive Sheave Assembly bearings isn’t terrible, depending on the size and brand. MSC tends to be on the pricier side, though. I usually check local suppliers or online places like Motion Industries, Grainger, or even Amazon for common bearings. If you’re not in a rush, eBay sometimes has good deals too.

What bearings did you get? Do you have pictures? I think $30 is way too much.

You can get cheaper bearings but that is what you likely get! Cheaper.!!!

Good morning all. In your experiences, is there a particular brand that stands out? I notice that Jacob Anderson used NTN. I'm thinking NTN, Timken , or SKF sealed bearings. Would you use the metal sealed or just use rubber sealed? Thank you.

These are all reputable brands in my opinion. I have a Timken bias and a sealed bearing bias, I buy them when possible. Most size bearings are available shielded (metal shields) or sealed (rubber seals), or neither. Both shielded and sealed are considered permanently lubricated. When I was using an over the counter bearing supplier they told me that sealed was preferred for dusty/dirty environments except in some high RPM applications. So I always use sealed (usually denoted by RS in the PN) on woodworking equipment when possible regardless of what the OEM chose. I've had considerably more failures of shielded bearings than sealed, so I'm happy with the advice that sealed is preferred. I include running dry as failures even if the bearing did not actually fail after losing lubrication, because it should be replaced at this point.

- David

How does one determine if dry? - Spins too freely?

JPG wrote: Sat Jan 04, 2025 1:39 pm How does one determine if dry? - Spins too freely?

Yes, that's what I go by. PowerPro Idler bearings (shielded) seem particularly prone to this. Leading me to think heat is a factor in loss of lubrication.(?)

- David

I gotta wonder what heat does to the rubber seals.