RCBearings.co.uk - a ball bearing supplier

[Adrian]

Following the recent MRJ article on ball bearing axleboxes by Mr Reynalds I thought I'd try it for my next loco.

 

Searching for a supplier of the bearings I came across www.RCBearings.co.uk . They have an excellent website with online ordering. I placed my order late on Sunday and they arrived in todays post.

 

The prices are very good too, the article mentions paying about £2 a bearing for the FR156ZZ, this seems to be the going rate on ebay as well. RCBearings they're priced at £1.25 per bearing.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Adrian

[iak]

This is a 4mm scale axle suitable one which you list a link for Adrian?

Mr Reynalds article was for his wonderful 7mm beasties of course.

Sorry but engineering stuff like this is a bit much for a humble laboratory manager

[Horsetan]

That looks like fun! Another possible way to a low-friction 4mm chassis. You could put suitable ones in the drivetrain as well, just as Brimalm/DynaDrive do.

 

Now if the Japanese "T-gauge" creators could come up with microscopic ball bearings, we could have "roller bearings" for crankpins ....

[richard_t]

Arc Euro Trade also supply ball bearings as well - no link with the company other than drooling over their catalogue.

 

Have you tried the Hobby holidays unit's - it's all pretty similar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bertiedog]

The firm on, www.RCBearings.co.uk , are very competitively priced indeed and they list 1.5mm,2mm,3mm,1/8th,etc., which cover most 00/H0 needs for motors, axles and flywheels. Only 3/32 is not listed, but you can sleeve 3mm etc.

 

Other suppliers are more expensive by quite a margin, ball races have always been difficult to source in small quantities.

 

Thanks for posting the reference.

 

Stephen.

[Adrian]

This is a 4mm scale axle suitable one which you list a link for Adrian?

Mr Reynalds article was for his wonderful 7mm beasties of course.

 

The link I posted was for a bearing sized to fit a 3/16" axle which is a common 7mm size. They do smaller ones so what axle size are you using in 4mm?

Adrian

[bertiedog]

The common size on 00/H0 is 1/8th or 3mm for axles, with 2mm used on some diesels, both covered in the listing. 1.5mm and 2mm are common for motors shafts.

[iak]

Thanks for this gents.

It appears a valid way forward in 4mm then worthy of further exploration

[craigwelsh]

For 4mm:

 

3/6/2.5 (inner/outer/width) http://www.rcbearings.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_10&products_id=197

 

1/8"x5/16"x9/64" http://www.rcbearings.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_48&products_id=635

 

They seemed bigger than normal bearings when I started looking at this but I don't have sizes on a normal one for now.

[iak]

A pair of these in the fixed axle on a High Level Jinty chassis has great appeal.

As well as any compensated chassis with a fixed axle of course by maximizing that power output totally.

A very interesting concept methinks; however, how practical it will be to use them on a fully spring chassis....?

[bertiedog]

A pair of these in the fixed axle on a High Level Jinty chassis has great appeal.

As well as any compensated chassis with a fixed axle of course by maximizing that power output totally.

A very interesting concept methinks; however, how practical it will be to use them on a fully spring chassis....?

Best on fully sprung, the low rolling resistance is a great bonus, add a ballraced motor and flywheel......makes a world of difference.

[Horsetan]

---->Someone's had a go

[buffalo]

---->Someone's had a go

 

Yes, I've looked at that page before and been tempted to try ball bearings in a sprung chassis. One thing I did wonder about, however, was that if there is sufficient freedom for the bearing to move vertically, how do you prevent the outer cage from rotating? Having seen the effects of this on car wheel bearings, it worries me, though I doubt if the heat generation would be quite so bad

 

Nick

[bertiedog]

Yes, I've looked at that page before and been tempted to try ball bearings in a sprung chassis. One thing I did wonder about, however, was that if there is sufficient freedom for the bearing to move vertically, how do you prevent the outer cage from rotating? Having seen the effects of this on car wheel bearings, it worries me, though I doubt if the heat generation would be quite so bad

 

Nick

 

There hardly any need to stop the ball race cage rotating in the tender housings, but a simple thin paper strip, (cigarette paper), wrapped around the outer case, with a thin coat of epoxy would suffice to hold it in place, and heat can be totally disregarded on a tender bearings, as it can in all 4mm size bearings, far too low to measure or bother to measure.

 

Heat does not build up in small ballraces, correctly fitted, on OO/HO motors either, again far too low to measure. The heating comes from the commutator and field losses in the motor coils, not from friction in ballraces.

 

Stephen.

[craigwelsh]

Might be better off putting the roller bearing in a traditional square bearing that slides in the hornblock and has the usual springing tab on top. Probably could glue it in in fact to be sure it would stay still..

[buffalo]

There hardly any need to stop the ball race cage rotating in the tender housings, but a simple thin paper strip, (cigarette paper), wrapped around the outer case, with a thin coat of epoxy would suffice to hold it in place, and heat can be totally disregarded on a tender bearings, as it can in all 4mm size bearings, far too low to measure or bother to measure...

 

Maybe no need to stop it rotating, but it just strikes me as sloppy engineering to allow it to do so. If the outer cage rotates, what's the point of the bearing? With the Ted Scannell set up in pic 3 onwards (1 and 2 are not the same) you can't fix the outer race in any way as it needs to have vertical movement for the springing. Craig's suggestion seems a reasonable approach to me, though I suspect you might need to make your own horn guides/blocks as the bearing outer diameters are probably it bit too large to fit the usual bearing blocks. I'd probably go for a tight fit and/or some loctite.

 

btw my comment about heat was just a little tongue in cheek, but we don't seem to have the right emoticon

 

Nick

[bertiedog]

The Clag page is a bit odd, it starts showing the soldered on boxes to have drilled holes with a wire fed through to retain the bearing in place, as without the restraint the wheels are going to fall out of this chassis as it stands in the illustrations.

 

Adding the extra wire would stop any outer bearing rotation, and act as retainer, but as with most CSB suspension, where are the adjustments going to come from?

The top plastic piece and the handrail knob can be completly dropped, just cut a groove across the top and allow the wire to run on the ballrace case, much easier.

 

Personally I do not find handrail knobs strong enough, use ordinary BA screws in threaded holes, and add a spring to the end of the wires to adjust things.

 

 

The lower wire would have the ends bent over as tabs, the upper CSB wire runs through a sawn slot, bearing direct to casing of race. Far simpler and robust.

 

Stephen.

[bertiedog]

My comment on stopping rotation did not really refer to this use, just stopping ordinary mounting.

 

Where the bearing must move, the friction of the wire or his plastic block would stop rotation. The friction of the bearing is so low the case will not rotate.

 

Stephen.

[buffalo]

Where the bearing must move, the friction of the wire or his plastic block would stop rotation. The friction of the bearing is so low the case will not rotate.

 

Thanks, Stephen, that really answers my original concern Your wire in groove is so much simpler and, I suspect, more effective. I would expect that even a very shallow groove in the outer race of the bearing should be more effective in stopping rotation than the piece of plastic, because the wire is bearing on a flat rather than a curved surface.

 

Nick

[iak]

This stuff is fascinating - bravo...

I had forgotten all about Ted and his efforts.

I may try these bearings on the High Level Pug I have - anything to help the thing pull.....

[bertiedog]

Thanks, Stephen, that really answers my original concern Your wire in groove is so much simpler and, I suspect, more effective. I would expect that even a very shallow groove in the outer race of the bearing should be more effective in stopping rotation than the piece of plastic, because the wire is bearing on a flat rather than a curved surface.

 

Nick

I would not try to groove or flat the ball bearing case, they are hardened to very high degree, requiring grinding, a file will not touch it at all. The simple weight of the chassis will stop the case rotating. The groove is only in the brass rectangular tube.

 

Stephen

[buffalo]

I would not try to groove or flat the ball bearing case, they are hardened to very high degree, requiring grinding, a file will not touch it at all. The simple weight of the chassis will stop the case rotating. The groove is only in the brass rectangular tube.

 

Aha :icon_idea: I must be really dozy this evening, but finally I think I understand...:icon_rolleyes:

[Ruston]

I'm considering fitting ball bearings to the axles on my next loco build. I've looked at the link in the OP and the bearings are all in millimetres. Can someone please tell me what three sixteenths of an inch is in millimetres?

 

Also, there are three measurements listed on each bearing on that site. e.g. 3x6x2. Am I right in thinking that the first figure is the diameter of the hole, the second the outer diameter and the third the depth?

[Pugsley]

3/16 inch is 4.763mm, but I'm not sure about the order of the measurements.

[Ruston]

Thanks, Pugsley.