Help Finding Atlas 73 Bearings

There are a few others who do the same. Buy from auction or overstocked cribs.
I would compare prices to be safe.

I buy from these companies

http://www.bakerbearing.com/products/
http://www.mmbbearings.net/

Plus I buy brand new bearings (not an overstocked or auction source) from

https://www.bearingsinc.net/ They generally sell at wholesale price of major brands to the general public.

Many of the industrial supply bearing stores buy from these companies at wholesale. Be sure when you order from any of those companies to specify you want bearings that are in original packaging. Many will buy reconditioned bearings and they are shopped in a generic plane box. With-out the OEM logo's on them. If someone sells you one like that send it back.
 
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Pull it apart making sure to take digital pictures of all, put the parts in a plastic bag, plastic pail or tin can, not cardboard box .The bearings will have a number on them.

Then look for industrial grade bearing distributor in San Fran area and buy there and not at some auto parts store. If you need some help I have a friend in Berkeley who does machine repair and he is very good. Message me and I'll give you his info.

Many of the OEM machine builders do not stock bearings for their old machines and if you order a part or bearing they buy them from another vendor and mark it up 100% or more. Bearing for that drill will be a common bearing and simple to source. So don't worry about buying them. You may want to buy a shielded or sealed bearing if they are now open. That way you won't have to oil or grease them
 
The really cheap Chinese bearings on eBay and other sites are often terrible, not even close to a decent bearing. Stay away from those or you will soon be doing the job over again. There are also some imposter bearings out there, posing as quality parts. If the price looks too good, watch out!
 
As mentioned the numbers and most likely the manufacturers name will be stamped on the bearing race. For a machine this old I doubt it has metric bearings. The reason the numbers are not in the manual is that the manufacturer wanted the business of selling replacement parts. They applied their own part number. In reality there were probably a dozen different manufacturers used to supply bearings. The number on the bearing would be a standard number for that exact bearing regardless of the manufacturer. While the number is unique to that specific combination of materials, seals, and size bearing there are probably many others with different seals and different tolerances that would be interchangeable. I would get the numbers and manufacturer and cross reference them using the IBI (International Bearing Interchange) books. Until the advent of ISO this organization was the primary source for bearing identification and cross referencing.

If you don't want to go through the hassle of trying to cross reference them yourself you can give Locate Ball Bearings a call or drop them an e mail. They specialize in hard to find and obsolete bearings. They are not your typical bearing distributor. They buy out bankrupt distributors and manufacturers, as well as buying obsolete, slow moving, and hard to find stock. I used them to find bearings for my 1960 Sheldon lathe.

Here's some information:

Locate Ball Bearings
Eric Leimkuhler
75090 St. Charles Place
Suite B
Palm Desert, CA 92211
United States
Phone: 800-409-3632
eric@locateballbearings.com
www.locateballbearings.com
Thanks Projectnut!
 
The really cheap Chinese bearings on eBay and other sites are often terrible, not even close to a decent bearing. Stay away from those or you will soon be doing the job over again. There are also some imposter bearings out there, posing as quality parts. If the price looks too good, watch out!
Thanks for the warning. I appreciate it :)
 
Hi, I have a craftsman 15in benchtop, but it is just a rebranded atlas as you may know and they head is identical between the atlas, craftsman, floor and bench models. There are 4 bearings total in these presses 2 identical on the spline shaft and 2 in the spindle. Your diagrams show the ones in the spindle and I havent been able to dig that far myself but the two at the top are 6205-2RS. Here are some pics and aprox od and id. I emphasize APROX. If you do make it inside the spindle and find those bearings let me know! I've been wondering the same thing!!!
 

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Hi, I have a craftsman 15in benchtop, but it is just a rebranded atlas as you may know and they head is identical between the atlas, craftsman, floor and bench models. There are 4 bearings total in these presses 2 identical on the spline shaft and 2 in the spindle. Your diagrams show the ones in the spindle and I havent been able to dig that far myself but the two at the top are 6205-2RS. Here are some pics and aprox od and id. I emphasize APROX. If you do make it inside the spindle and find those bearings let me know! I've been wondering the same thing!!!
Ok, I will let you know. -- once I finally get to opening it up. It may be quite awhile since it is it line with all my other "to do" projects :)
 
Ok, I will let you know. -- once I finally get to opening it up. It may be quite awhile since it is it line with all my other "to do" projects :)
Haha I know how that goes my bearings actually are in great condition it was just chuck run out so I ended up not digging further. They used some real high quality USA bearings, so unless there was a whole ton of use they might be in good shape.
 
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