wood bearings

[bushhog bob]

Is anyone familiar with wooden bearings for old cultipacker? They are 3 1/2" wide, 5 1/2" high and 1 3/4" thick. The hole for axle is 1 3/4" diameter. It has (2) two 3/8" bolt holes. The old bearings are rotten and busted apart.

 

[Z-Michigan]

This is a very old style, but the idea is that they are easy to replace because you can make your own replacements with basic woodworking tools. I think the wood would most likely be oak or hickory and you would oil or wax the bearing surface.

 

[Ford850]

Yep, White Oak or Hickory are the common ones to use.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Is anyone familiar with wooden bearings for old cultipacker? They are 3 1/2" wide, 5 1/2" high and 1 3/4" thick. The hole for axle is 1 3/4" diameter. It has (2) two 3/8" bolt holes. The old bearings are rotten and busted apart.

They used to be very common. A friend has a Dearborn (Ford) disc that has wooden boxings (bearings) Dad used to like elm, beech, or hickory when replacing them. They actually held up fairly well even compared to iron.

 

[Egon]

I too can remember wooden bearings.

I'd use whatever high density wood you have available.

 

[art]

For the non-wood working people we have often just changed them out to pillow block bearings. Oak, hickory and ash were used as well as the strongest is an african wood that is red in color.

 

[OldMcDonald]

There is a good article (which I saved but regret do not have the technological brain to direct link anyone else to it) from the Schumacher Centre -www.practicalaction.org abouth Oil Soaked Wood Bearings giving the how and why about making your own. Old McDonald.

 

[cp1969]

For the non-wood working people we have often just changed them out to pillow block bearings. Oak, hickory and ash were used as well as the strongest is an african wood that is red in color.

I have heard of a wood called lignum vitae used as bearings.
Lignum vitae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[diyDave]

Lignum Vitae is good, but expensive. Better and cheaper is Black Locust, you can even drill it and tap it for a grease fitting.

 

[SFish]

I have a chunk of Lignum vitae that was pulled from a worn propeller shaft bearing on an old steam ship. I cut off a piece, drilled, tapped, and turned it on a metal lathe to make a gearshift knob. It was very dense and nice looking.

Steve

 

[ToadHill]

I've replaced old wood bearings with a product called Delrin. It machines well and I even used it to replace a worn out brass bearing on am old hay wagon.

We used to use this product to make bushings for sway bars on race cars.

 

[art]

It was an african heart wood much the same as the others mentioned and it was used for ship bearings for the oiling abiltity.

 

[RonMar]

There are probably still some ships at sea that use wood bearings along their prop shaft, cooled/lubricaed by seawater.

 

[billbill1]

In a plant that I worked in we used a wood bearing called "arguito" I believe and I always thought that was the brand or type of tree that the wood came from. UMHW or nylatron would be my choice for a replacement material though. Nylatron has a lubricant added in the manufacturing process making it more suitable that wood. It wears very well and is available from McMaster Carr.

 

[sandman2234]

Here is the link mentioned by OldMcDonald.

Oil-soaked Wood Bearings - Practical Answers

David from jax

 

[bushhog bob]

Really appreciate all the great replies and infor on replacing the wood bearings. I just keep on getting great ideas on the forums.