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Trying to restore bearing finish to manufacturers RA specs

July 16, 2009

Hello, my name is Charles and I work for a company that does modifications to bearings. We are often asked to clean up bearings that are stained, scratched and pitted due to corrosion/rust. We generally turn the bearing on a lathe and use flap wheels of several grits and finish with a fine grit emery cloth. This seems to do a fair job, yet we occasionally get a customer that is not satisfied with the final RA of the finish. Is there a way in which we can improve the RA on these parts without polishing for extended amounts of time.
Thank you,
Charles

Charles Eads
bearing company employee - Lexington, Kentucky

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Are you talking about the race, the balls, or the whole assembly? It sounds as if you are talking about the whole assembly, but if you are, I'm not sure how you can accomplish a uniform finish without taking the bearing apart.

AF Kenton
retired business owner - Hatboro, Pennsylvania
July 21, 2009

Not taking anything apart. Pretty much finishing the inner diameter and the cup running surface/race.

Charles Eads
- Lexington, KY, U.S.A.
August 3, 2009

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If you can get a flap wheel into the I.D. of the bearing, it sounds as if you are working with rather large bearings by hand held tools. I am a little concerned that that hand held tools are subjet to uneven pressure by the operator; therefore, if you can fixture and semi automate the process, you might get more consistent parts. You might also want to look into a non-woven wheel system to get better contact and control.

AF Kenton
retired business owner - Hatboro, Pennsylvania
August 6, 2009