Hi all

Does anyone have any info on how durable, etc the different ABEC standard of skate bearings are?

There appears to ABEC 1 to ABEC 7. 1 is cheap and 7 is more expensive. I think ABEC 7 is sealed against water which isn't a problem in my workshop :)

What standard of bearing should I use and why?

Thanks

Andy

The ABEC specs have nothing to do with durability or sealing. You can find sealed ABEC1 bearings, and ABEC7 bearings that are not sealed. The ABEC ratings only specify the tolerances of the bearings. It all depends on how accurate you want your machine, but since even ABEC1 bearings have runouts less than .01mm or .0004 in, just about any of them would work for most machines. Keeping water out may not be a problem, but I can assure you that keeping dust and dirt out is important, so I would look for sealed bearings. For your reference, this page lists the tolerances for the different ABEC ratings.

http://www.orbitbearings.com/standardization.htm

You can get sealed ABEC 7 bearings on Ebay for pretty cheap prices. Check there before buying anywhere else.

I bought and am using skate bearings that I bought off of ebay 100 for 15 bucks. They will work perfect in my application because they will be loaded. I don't see any reason not to use them, but your application will be the determining factor as already stated.