Bicycle Mechanics - ball bearings from Mcmaster

Going to do a rear and front hub servicing and wanted to know if mcmaster has compatible ball bearings...
let me know if these are the same as grade 25 bearings from JENSONUSA
here are the sizes available ...

Diameter
1/16" | 5/64" | 1/12" | 3/32" | 7/64" | 1/8" | 9/64" | 5/32" | 11/64" | 3/16" | 7/32" | 1/4" | 17/64" | 9/32" | 5/16" | 11/32" | 3/8" | 13/32" | 7/16" | 15/32" | 1/2" | 17/32" | 9/16" | 19/32" | 5/8" | 21/32" | 11/16" | 23/32" | 3/4" | 25/32" | 13/16" | 7/8" | 15/16" | 1" | 1 mm | 1.5 mm | 2 mm | 2.5 mm | 3 mm | 3.5 mm | 4 mm | 4.5 mm | 5 mm | 5.5 mm | 6 mm | 6.5 mm | 7 mm | 8 mm | 9 mm | 10 mm | 12 mm | 13 mm | 14 mm | 15 mm | 16 mm | 18 mm | 24 mm

EX. pack of 100 is $4.70 (1/4") =? 9 1/4" grade 25?

E52100 Alloy Steel: Bearing-quality chrome-finished steel balls are through-hardened. Rockwell hardness is C60-C67

The only ball bearings I could find are Gr25. Mcmaster part no. 9528K15 for 1/4". As far as I know they should be just the same as what you buy from JensonUSA, and they probably come from the same place anyway!

jenson charges more and for only 25 pieces...didnt see the grade 25 description...will look up further...tnx

yea I found the description...grade 25 AFFIRMATIVE...ill just order that from them...plus

btw...
there is also
GRADE 24 (lower the better?)
Ball Material> Type 440C Stainless Steel

I dunno about this but it cost $12.40 for a pack of 50...eh Ill just get the 100 pack of 1/4" and 3/16" for repacking hubs...nice to know though

This assorted loose bearing kit from www.loosescrews.com (http://www.loosescrews.com) turned out to be a good buy for me:

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi?c=Bearings&sc=Loose%20Ball%20Kit&id=863550110113

This assorted loose bearing kit from www.loosescrews.com (http://www.loosescrews.com) turned out to be a good buy for me:

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi?c=Bearings&sc=Loose%20Ball%20Kit&id=863550110113

yea that is good buy too...how much was shipping though?
coz your buying 5 sets of 100 packs for $24...
thanks for the contribution...although I dont need all those other sizes and might get free shipping here at work when I add it on to the order...

Yes, lower grade is better. The grade number equates to tolerance and smaller tolerance is better.

Btw, don't mix batches, even from the same supplier. Uniformity of size between bearings is much more critical than absolute size. Ball bearings are spec'd for close uniformity within the same batch, and different batches may be significantly different in size.

I'd pick up 2 packs of them, in hopes of getting the same batch#. Of course, I just use new bearings when I repack. With my bad eyes, it's just much simpler than trying to clean and then inspect them with a magnifying glass.

I do kind of wonder how much "worse" the higher numbers actually are. They can't be too bad without grinding things down, considering that the ARE BALL BEARINGS!

Btw, don't mix batches, even from the same supplier. Uniformity of size between bearings is much more critical than absolute size. Ball bearings are spec'd for close uniformity within the same batch, and different batches may be significantly different in size.

Have you ever seen a bearing manufacturing operation? There is no batch, it's a continuous operation. You can take a bearing for each day over a 30 day period and be pretty well assured that they'll function as advertised.

Have you ever seen a bearing manufacturing operation? There is no batch, it's a continuous operation. You can take a bearing for each day over a 30 day period and be pretty well assured that they'll function as advertised.

it may be a continuous operation but over time the machinery will start to produce a larger (or smaller) bearings. small things like expansion due to temperature and big things like machines wearing out and needing to the replaced, will eventually add up. If you compare 2 bearings made at the same time to 2 bearings made a months later you will see the difference (small but it matters). now you might get lucky and get your balls from the perfect factory or the perfect run, but if you dont you will be putting undue stress on the bearings. only the biggest balls will carry the load, Id rather not gamble on my Chinese bearings to precisely match the ones they made earlier.

that whole argument assumes the bearings are made in the same factory, a supplier may have gotten bearings from several different manufacturers over any given period of time.

Just a word of caution, McMaster products are rarely brand specific or consistently sourced from the same supplier from one batch to the next. There are sometimes minor compatibility issues when items come from two different lots as they were purchased from the "flavor of the month" supplier. I have seen this on some occasions and avoid non branded products most of the time for this reason. For what it's worth, I've always felt that the savings are often a false economy in these situations. I don't mind paying a little more for predictable and repeatable quality. YMMV

That said, they are the single best mail order house I've ever used for anything, ever.

www.mscdirect.com (http://www.mscdirect.com)