- Joined
- Feb 18, 2016
- Messages
- 451
I wasn't sure where to post this. I was going to post in "Can you help me find something?" but that seemed to be more about parts for machines. I was also thinking about posting this in "Stirling Engines" because that's one application I'll be using these bearings for. But I'll be using them in other projects as well.
What I'm looking for is a place to buy really cheap tiny bearings. They don't need to be good bearings. Sloppy bearings will do. Low cost is key.
I'm looking for bearings anywhere from about 3/8" to 3/4" O.D. And with a shaft hole diameter anywhere from 1/8" to 1/4". No measurments are critical and metric is just fine too. I'm just giving ball-park figures here to give an idea of about the size I'm looking for.
Thus far I found, and purchased, the following. These bearings are 10 cents each. Actually sold 10 for $1.00. I bought 100 of them for $10. But these are impossibly small. They have a shaft hole of 1mm and an O.D. of only 3mm.
I do have projects that I'll be using these on, so these are ok for those projects. But I would really like to find something a bit larger for similar cost. I mean, don't necessarily expect to pay 10 cents for a larger bearing. But I would like to get them for under a buck a piece if possible. The cheaper the better obviously.
They won't be carrying any load to speak off. Precision is not required. Just basically want some bearings to reduce friction. Sloppy bearings would actually be good.
So I just thought I'd toss this out here in case someone knows where to buy cheap bearings in bulk. I can easily find bearings I want for a few bucks a piece. But at the price things add up quite quickly. Also, as strange as it may seem, bearings of really high quality and precision can sometimes be sluggish to turn for something as weak as a Stirling engine, for example. A really good snug-fitting bearing can sometime require quite a bit of force just to get its oil moving. For a powerful motor that's not a problem. But for a Stirling engine that can be the difference between life and death.
So anyone know where I can buy super cheap bearings from about 3/8" to 3/4" in diameter?
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By the way, I can buy 1000 1/8" chrome precision bearing balls on eBay for $7.95 and free shipping. I'm currently thinking of going this route. Of course this would then require that I make the races to use them. But I'm thinking this might be the most cost effective way to go in the long haul.
Another option are these bicycle ring bearing cages. In bulk they come out to be about $0.50 a piece which is still a lot, but not too bad. The problem with these is that they are huge in diameter. Something I could work around, but not truly attractive. Plus I would still need to make the races for these too. May as well just go for the naked balls above at that point.
Anyway, I'm just toying with different ideas. I'm thinking about making a lot of Stirling Engines to sell and I'm trying to keep the cost as minimal as possible. I'm making other things that could use bearings too.
As a last resort I could do away with bearings entirely and just used the old-fashioned pointed end shafts as the bearings. That's on the table too.
I want to be able to sell these finished products at reasonable prices. So I don't want to end up putting $10 or $15 into the bearings alone. I'd have to tack that onto the finished price.
So I'm open to ideas for cheap bearings, or cheap bearing "work-a-rounds".
What I'm looking for is a place to buy really cheap tiny bearings. They don't need to be good bearings. Sloppy bearings will do. Low cost is key.
I'm looking for bearings anywhere from about 3/8" to 3/4" O.D. And with a shaft hole diameter anywhere from 1/8" to 1/4". No measurments are critical and metric is just fine too. I'm just giving ball-park figures here to give an idea of about the size I'm looking for.
Thus far I found, and purchased, the following. These bearings are 10 cents each. Actually sold 10 for $1.00. I bought 100 of them for $10. But these are impossibly small. They have a shaft hole of 1mm and an O.D. of only 3mm.
I do have projects that I'll be using these on, so these are ok for those projects. But I would really like to find something a bit larger for similar cost. I mean, don't necessarily expect to pay 10 cents for a larger bearing. But I would like to get them for under a buck a piece if possible. The cheaper the better obviously.
They won't be carrying any load to speak off. Precision is not required. Just basically want some bearings to reduce friction. Sloppy bearings would actually be good.
So I just thought I'd toss this out here in case someone knows where to buy cheap bearings in bulk. I can easily find bearings I want for a few bucks a piece. But at the price things add up quite quickly. Also, as strange as it may seem, bearings of really high quality and precision can sometimes be sluggish to turn for something as weak as a Stirling engine, for example. A really good snug-fitting bearing can sometime require quite a bit of force just to get its oil moving. For a powerful motor that's not a problem. But for a Stirling engine that can be the difference between life and death.
So anyone know where I can buy super cheap bearings from about 3/8" to 3/4" in diameter?
~~~~
By the way, I can buy 1000 1/8" chrome precision bearing balls on eBay for $7.95 and free shipping. I'm currently thinking of going this route. Of course this would then require that I make the races to use them. But I'm thinking this might be the most cost effective way to go in the long haul.
Another option are these bicycle ring bearing cages. In bulk they come out to be about $0.50 a piece which is still a lot, but not too bad. The problem with these is that they are huge in diameter. Something I could work around, but not truly attractive. Plus I would still need to make the races for these too. May as well just go for the naked balls above at that point.
Anyway, I'm just toying with different ideas. I'm thinking about making a lot of Stirling Engines to sell and I'm trying to keep the cost as minimal as possible. I'm making other things that could use bearings too.
As a last resort I could do away with bearings entirely and just used the old-fashioned pointed end shafts as the bearings. That's on the table too.
I want to be able to sell these finished products at reasonable prices. So I don't want to end up putting $10 or $15 into the bearings alone. I'd have to tack that onto the finished price.
So I'm open to ideas for cheap bearings, or cheap bearing "work-a-rounds".