Ball Bearings

[DonaldStott]

Currently restoring a Garrard Model 210 auto-changer and wondered why the turntable platter was sticking!

Assuming it was the usual hardened grease I carefully disassembled the spindle from it's housing to clean the assembly and re-lubricate - guess what I found:-



That's right, two metal washers, a plastic washer, the plastic cage for the ball race but unfortunately no ball bearings. In case anyone asks, they didn't fall out during disassembly!

I've looked online but can only find metric sizes but I need five ball bearings, 3/32" diameter.

Anyone know a reliable source?

[TonyDuell]

How critical is the diameter, assuming all the balls are the same?

3/32" is a little under 2.4mm. Could you use 5 off 2.5mm ball bearings if, perhaps you opened up the holes in the plastic cage a little?

A quick google search produces many companies that may have 3/32" balls. The first one I tried, 'Simply Bearings'. has them in packs of 1000 for about £6 +VAT + postage.

[paulsherwin]

Bike shop?

[ajgriff]

You could try 10 of these for £2.99 including postage:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281011307...Bk9SR-b8yNXeYQ

Alan

[60 oldjohn]

Ebay ? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134173628...3ABFBM5p311d5h


Crossed with Alan, His seem better value if you need 10 or less.

John

[DonaldStott]

Thanks to everyone for their quick and helpful suggestions.

Must improve my online searching skills!

[DonaldStott]

Replacement ball bearings have now arrived.

I've done a number of Dansette record players with BSR auto-changers and have always re-lubricated the spindle shaft and ball race with some grease.

The Service Sheet for this Garrard 210 auto-changer states, however, on page 15 'Clean the fixed spindle and the bearings in the revolving spindle with a clean rag and lubricate with thin machine oil before reassembly'.

To oil or grease, that is the question?

[Hartley118]

ISTR a lecture on ball bearings years ago where I was taught that, because no sliding of surfaces is involved, the key function of a lubricant is to protect against rust. So I guess that the main requirement is for a fluid which clings to the surfaces. Whether that be a grease or light oil may not matter much.

Certainly the stresses on an autochanger bearing wouldn’t seem great compared with those in say a bicycle.

Martin

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

Bike shop?

You could try, but being a keen cyclist myself I know that loose ball bearings haven't been used in any applications on a bike for many years now. But.. a long standing bike shop may still hold some in stock, so worth a try.

Edit: I missed that the ball bearings had now arrived, nonetheless I think what I wrote above may be useful info.

[woodchips]

A possible alternative are model engineering suppliers, use rustless balls in safety valves.

[kalee20]

If it's the platter spindle, it'll be fairly slow turning (78rpm max).

Grease would appear to be the lubricant of choice, it won't be flicked out, except that Garrard say otherwise (why? Maybe torque is an issue - which I can't believe).

You could try good-quality soft grease and see what happens - if the world ends suddenly, we'll all know why. Or you could try clock oil, which although expensive, works well. It's designed to stay put and not spread and creep!

[Uncle Bulgaria]

Originally Posted by stevehertz

You could try, but being a keen cyclist myself I know that loose ball bearings haven't been used in any applications on a bike for many years now. But.. a long standing bike shop may still hold some in stock, so worth a try.

Edit: I missed that the ball bearings had now arrived, nonetheless I think what I wrote above may be useful info.

Yes a proper old bike shop should have them - my local one is happy to disassemble and service cup and cone wheel bearings and bottom brackets, and are also helpful with various old caliper brakes. It's a general problem that modern bicycles are becoming like electronics, and so expensive and complex they're not as repairable as their mechanical nature would suggest!

[Nickthedentist]

I ride 1940s-70s pushbikes, and all the bits you could possibly need to maintain them, including ball bearings, can be readily found on eBay.

[Uncle Bulgaria]

Well, yes, but for me at least it's nice to be able to still get things in person when in town on errands, and not have a project delayed by awaiting another delivery. Especially if it's something like the bearings in this case which can be tested in the shop against the actual part! In general though eBay is miraculous (though wading through hundreds of duplicate Chinesium listings gets harder and harder).

[G6Tanuki]

For lubricant, I would suggest the 'semi-fluid grease' - containing Molybdenum Disulphide - that has been used for 40 or 50 years to lubricate constant-velocity-joints in FWD cars.

It's good because it's thixotropic - meaning it's gloopy enough to ensure it stays in-place but when subjected to a bit of shear it becomes fluid and so doesn't impose significant operating drag.

I use it on things like AR88 tuning-gearboxes.

[Nickthedentist]

Could you give us an example, G6, please?

[Uncle Bulgaria]

I thought moly grease was specifically for sliding surfaces under high pressure as the molybdenum disulphide works well in shear, as said above. Hartley118's lecture in #8 has the ring of truth - I can see how ball bearings are supposed to have no surface movement relative to the bearing plane as the two parts are stationary when in contact.

I guess what's put on matters very little as the application is so low in intensity compared to the properties of the materials involved.

[initialsbb]

As a bike shop owner I can confirm that imperial bearing sizes (mostly 3/16" and 1/4") are still very much used in modern bicycles and stocked by any reputable workshop.
I think 3/32" are the teeny ones from pedals that are futile to try and service but we stock them anyway, just in case!

[DonaldStott]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful responses.

I've ordered up some Liqui Moly which should help keep the ball bearings in place while the spindle assembly is reassembled - they keep dropping out!