Bicycle Mechanics - Homemade wheel cartridge bearing press?

Eventually, I'll need to replace the cartridge bearings in a set of Bontrager hubs. Has anyone ever made a home made bearing press? I don't want to hammer the bearing into place in, but would prefer a more steady force to insert the bearings.

I envision a pretty simple press, like a long threaded rod (old axle) with nuts on the ends. Tightening the nuts will force the bearings into the hub.

A few questions:

1. What part of the bearing should the tool press against. I assume the tool should contact and press against the outer race of the bearing. Any ideas on what to use for the part (properly sized washer or standard socket?)

2. Good source of bearings. I know I can get the proper bearing from the local Trek dealer, but I am assuming these are standard industrial bearings. If the bearing is adequately marked with diam, bore diam, type of seals, then I am okay. If not, any recommendations on the type of seals.

3. Any idea on what is the typical "interference fit" between the bearing and hub? In other words, how much larger should the outside diameter of the bearing be with respect to its mating diameter of the hub?

4. What is the best way to remove the old bearing?

Thanks!

-You can use the old bearings as part of your DIY press

-McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) has oddles of industrial bearings

-The bearing will typically have a code number on it. Match it up to the one you're buying

-Service: http://www.bbinstitute.com/BM5%20chap%2013.pdf

-You can use the old bearings as part of your DIY press

-McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) has oddles of industrial bearings

-The bearing will typically have a code number on it. Match it up to the one you're buying

-Service: http://www.bbinstitute.com/BM5%20chap%2013.pdf



Good idea about using the old bearing.

I thought about McMaster, but not sure if they'd entertain a 4 bearing purchase. I guess I could sneak them into a McMaster order at work.

A friend at work bought a set of bearings for the suspension pivots. I think he paid about $100 for the kit from Giant. I measured the bearing physical dimension and was able to make sense of the bearing code. I didn't want to tell him I could've probably got all the bearings for $20. But I had to in case he needed another set.

Simplest press would be a length of allthread through the hollow axle with appropriate washers and spacers, or old bearings for force application. A vice would work also.
Bearings pushed onto shafts should have force applied to the inner race only. Bearings pushed into housings should have force applied only to the outer race. The amount of force needed should not be very high. Removal of a bearing from a recess can be done by pushing on the axle and hence the inner race only, but the bearing will not necessarily survive the experience.
Steve

Sch, thanks for the advice and confirming what I thought about pushing on the housing for insertion into a recess. I thought about the vice, but not sure if I would be able to line everything up properly.

phil wood makes some super sweet bearings too, fyi. And using the old bearings works. I used old bearings and a hammer actually when I did my bottom bracket. Just tapped a little bit at a time and kept moving around and around.

Sch, thanks for the advice and confirming what I thought about pushing on the housing for insertion into a recess. I thought about the vice, but not sure if I would be able to line everything up properly.Vise works fine. Use some sockets of the proper diameter to line up with the outer race and press them in. :)

Also the grade of bearing makes a huge difference in how smooth it rolls. I'd recommend grade-10 or better. This has been an upgrade for skateboarders and inline-skates for decades. Just swapping out the cheapo stock bearings for higher-grade ones yields a measurable increase in speed.

Any decent bearing supply house should be able to get or have in stock the bearings you need. They have cross reference books and if all else fails mike up ID, OD, bearing height and find a match. A C-clamp can often be used to press bearings in also. McMaster depends on the unit quantity. Something like bearings I'm guessing could be an "each" item.

phil wood makes some super sweet bearings too, fyi.

Phil Wood doesn't actually makes any bearings, they (he?) just buy good quality bearings from one of the big manufacturers (SKF, Timkin, etc.) and have them private labeled. In fact, if you inspect the bearings closely, you may be able to find the OEM markings.

You can get the same thing for a lot less by going to a bearing supply house and matching the bearings you want to replace.

Try www.biketoolsetc.com if you can't find what you want elsewhere. These folks don't mind small orders, are reasonable, and provide excellent service.

Thanks all for the ideas, suggestions and websites!

MudPie

If you are going to make your own pressing tool you will want to use precision Acme threaded rod. It is available at McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) along with any bearings you could need. I have never had them refuse an order no matter how small.

On most of my hubs I simply use the skewer and spacers as the press.
Put it as together as you can, you may need other spacers to get the right ranges. Then put the skewer in and tighten it like its on the frame. Close the lever, open it and tighen the nut. Repeat. Envision a ratchet. You would be amazed how well it works for most hubsets. Simple and always available. Not to mention,
Cheap

World Wind is correct, McMaster is user friendly, has a great website, provided you have some idea of the industrial types call the doohickey, and is a tremendous resource. Unlike a lot of their competitors they don't have an unreasonable small order limit or rip off shipping prices and they ship at reasonable cost very rapidly. 2-3d turnarounds are typical.
Regarding acme threaded rod, this is gilding the lily for pressing bearings into bike grade equipment and precision acme threaded rod is like using a Litespeed Vortex for winter commuting in Toronto. It would make a nice machine, and if you added steppers and drivers, appropriate power supplies and a castoff 400mhz or better Pentium 4 computer and Mach 3 you could rig up a nice automatic bearing press.
I had in mind MBinPa's idea of threaded rod and nuts with vise to hold one end and a wrench on the other. If the skewer and spacers were of the right size, then the QR
skewer might do. Depending on your spacers it would be easy to have too long a spacer but if you had the right size the cam action might well be all you needed.
You could use the rear skewer on the front hub for its extra length. Same idea will work with headsets and bottom brackets with the right allthread and spacers.
Steve