Bearings for platen wheel

[Alden Cole]

I need to replace the bearing on one of my tracking wheels. Found these, look to be the same as KMG's but are ten times cheaper. Am I missing anything, or are these the type needed?

R8 Bearing - Beaumont Metal Works

R8-2RS deep groove radial ball bearing used in the following wheels: 2X2 Idler wheels on the Platen attachment, Slack belt attachment and Rotary platen attachment 35X25 Tension and tracking wheel

beaumontmetalworks.com

R8-2RS Ball Bearing - C3 Clearance - 1/2"x1-1/8"x5/16" – PGN

R8-2RS Bearing - Premium quality deep groove ball bearing. Experience smooth performance. Buy now from PGN Bearings.

pgnbearings.com

 

[52 Ford]

I need to replace the bearing on one of my tracking wheels. Found these, look to be the same as KMG's but are ten times cheaper. Am I missing anything, or are these the type needed?

R8 Bearing - Beaumont Metal Works

R8-2RS deep groove radial ball bearing used in the following wheels: 2X2 Idler wheels on the Platen attachment, Slack belt attachment and Rotary platen attachment 35X25 Tension and tracking wheel

beaumontmetalworks.com

R8-2RS Ball Bearing - C3 Clearance - 1/2"x1-1/8"x5/16" – PGN

R8-2RS Bearing - Premium quality deep groove ball bearing. Experience smooth performance. Buy now from PGN Bearings.

pgnbearings.com

With bearings, you get what you pay for. $10/per is a fair price. McMaster wants $10 for a grease lubed R8-2RS, and $16 for the permanently lubed variant.

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[52 Ford]

In other words, I'd rather have 2 10 dollar bearings. They'll last substantially longer and likely hold a tighter tolerance out of the box. Plus they're gonna be packed with better grease and have gone through better QC

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[KenH]

It would be an interesting experiment to install one $10 bearing and a $1 bearing in same small wheel and see how they held up. I've always used the el cheapo ebay bearings with decent luck. BUT - I'm just a hobby maker and my grinders get less use in a month than a commercial shop would in a day. It's a lot like buying a SnapOn wrench vs a harbor freight wrench.

 

[Alden Cole]

Thanks for the replies! If I do end up experimenting with both a 10 and 1 dollar bearing, I will try to remember to post findings.

 

[MTBob]

With bearings, you get what you pay for

X2 what he said

 

[bladegrinder]

I use the cheap bearings in my small wheel set up's and they seem to last pretty good given the rpm's their running.
when they give up the ghost I just pop them out and pop another set in.
I'd be curious where the $10 bearings are made, could be China like a lot of others, just marked up.
I've been running import bearings in my 14" contact wheel for a pretty long time now and their still good.

 

[52 Ford]

The $10 (actually $9.08) one from McMaster-Carr is made in Japan.


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