Need advice on roller bearings for drum sander.

[7milesup]

About 32 years ago, I built a drum sander for woodworking. It has served me well over the years and sanded a lot of wood, but it needed some maintenance done on it. One of the maintenance items that need attention is the pillow block bearings. They are starting to get noisy and should be replaced.
The bearings are pillow block Browning Bearings with PB220 on the casting and A108 on the bearing itself. It also has an "N - D" on the bearing, which I am unsure if that is relevant. The shaft diameter is 1.5". I would like to just replace the bearing insert so that I can maintain the centerline of the drum in relation to the bed, although a small variance could be dealt with.
Since I purchased them at a "Fleet Farm", I know that these were "agricultural" bearings. Should I step up to a better bearing, and if so, how do I find an insert bearing that I know will fit? I know that there are sources out there to cross reference, but the Browning bearing company was swallowed up by Regal Rexnord I believe. I should point out that Regal bearings are not cheap apparently and yes, cost is a consideration. I would also like to find a solution that does not require modification to the sander. I have a lot of house trim to sand and cannot afford the time to re-engineer the machine.
I did spend some time today truing up the drum in my lathe. I am excited to get it back up and running.
TIA

 

[matthewsx]

I would take them to your local bearing supplier if you have one. If not you could try to find NOS bearings on eBay.

It might also be worthwhile taking a trip to your local farm store and comparing why they have now. Might still be a match.

John

 

[Ischgl99]

Your best bet is to take it to a bearing distributor and have them do an interchange. These kinds of bearings had standard dimensions, so you can usually easily switch between manufacturers, the hard part is deciphering the nomenclature when a company goes out of business. A108 is the size and nomenclature the brand New Departure used, they are long gone, and I haven’t found interchanges for them, but 108 is the standard for a 1.5” bore insert bearing and the different brands should have the same dimensions. They come in spherical and cylindrical outer ring styles, so you will want to see which one you have, it will most likely be the spherical style, but you can also get different clamping styles for the inner ring, set screws, eccentric collar, etc.

Expect to pay $50-100 each for them. You can find a big selection of different styles at BDI Express, and McMaster-Carr also sells the inserts.

PB220 is an old series number for the pillow block by Browning, it should have a common center height and bolt hole dimensions that is compatible with current offerings in that size, you might need to measure it yourself instead of being able to look it up, but I would expect you to be able to find a drop in replacement. If you go to the BDI website, you can select the different dimensions for what you have and see what the new numbers are.

 

[Iceberg86300]

Looks like a New Depature Hyatt bearing in a Browning pillow block.

Based on the grease port = relube & the assumption that the eccentric locking ring is missing in your photo, and that outer race is spherical, it looks like a New Depature Hyatt RGTA108.

Website with several NDH catalogs (and specifically the one I used):
https://help.bdsbearing.com/new-departure-hyatt/ball-bearing-bb-1

And cross referenced into a cheapy Chinese bearing @ $21.25
https://www.bearings.parts/sa208-24g-insert-bearing

Or @ $19.99 on flea bay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/293045283720

And of course you can spend 2, 3, 4x as much with a timken, skf, John Deere, etc, etc.

Best bet to make sure you get the correct cross is taking it to a local supplier, but it'll definitely run you that 3-4x for a quality part. But that premium will include knowledge that makes sure you get the correct part.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[Iceberg86300]

Your best bet is to take it to a bearing distributor and have them do an interchange. These kinds of bearings had standard dimensions, so you can usually easily switch between manufacturers, the hard part is deciphering the nomenclature when .

Dang it. I really need to refresh the page to check for responses before diving down the rabbit hole!!

LoL


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[Ischgl99]

Good find on the catalog. On page 54 it states the A before the 108 means "Adapter bearing, no seals, industry standard widths, eccentric locking collar." That should be very easy to interchange.

 

[rabler]

Side note, I'd be interested to a link if you had a build thread, or more pictures of the overall machine. I have a light duty drum sander (1HP), but have thought of making my own based on 3HP motor as the 1HP is really underpowered for wider boards.

 

[7milesup]

Side note, I'd be interested to a link if you had a build thread, or more pictures of the overall machine. I have a light duty drum sander (1HP), but have thought of making my own based on 3HP motor as the 1HP is really underpowered for wider boards.

@rabler I am afraid I do not have a build thread anywhere since I built this before the internet existed (jeepers I feel old saying that). However, I would be glad to take pictures, get dimensions and any other info that you might need. I have a 5hp motor on mine and it is way overkill, so your 3hp would be great.
Let me know how you would like to communicate...

 

[cathead]

I find it amazing that in that kind of service it needs replacement.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

If the first set of bearings lasted 32 years, I, personally, would opt to replace the bearings with the same as original.