Originally Posted by esmiller The skate bearing idea can be quite cheap if you watch E-bay too.. i just bought 100 bearings for about $28 w/ shipping. |
And, even cheaper if you hit the Goodwill stores in your area. I routinely pay between $.50 - $1 per pair for inline skates. 1 pair yields 16 bearings...2 per wheel. Just look for practically new ones...often someone's kid gets a pair, falls down, and never skates again. Or my personal favorite, someone overweight with a New Year's resolution...almost never used. (I can say this, because I've done it myself)
The bearings are easy to remove from the wheels, and the wheels make good bearing mounts.
Now I just need to locate a source for the pipe, and check prices on it.. |
Home Depot. Check the "scraps" next-to or underneath the pipe threading machine. They often just throw them out, or will price them so cheap that you can't refuse. Find someone who isn't afraid to get creative (a "closet" engineer) and chat them up...once you find a helpful person, tell them about your project, and they'll often find parts for you at minimal or no cost.
Lowes will behave similarly, but has certain company policies that don't allow quite as good a deal to be brokered, in my experience.
EXAMPLE: I paid $2 for a full sheet of MDF that had been improperly cut into 3 appropriately sized strips. 3 pieces of 16" x 96" x 3/4" MDF was quite useful to me.
Looking for info on drilling & tapping holes in MDF though, if anyone can help. I will also post this question as its own topic. |
Tapping MDF isn't a problem.
I know it sounds too simple, but just drill the appropriately sized hole, and tap it with a standard tap. The granular structure will crumble a little bit, but the threads will be just fine. A drop or two of cyanoacrylite glue (super glue) will penetrate into the threads and toughen them up, though it's not strictly necessary.
-- Chuck Knight