Ball Bearing Selection Resource

[Erich_870]

Hey Guys,

I'm working on a retrofit project where I'm trying to replace an oil-lite brass bushing with a ball bearing.

I'm looking for a searchable resource to find a bearing that fits my design constraints.

I've searched Timken, NSK, and most of the other bearing manufactures and found their product catalogs, but the problem I'm having is with the PDF's they use are not search-able by ID/OD. Because of the way their organized, using headings for the columns and rows, I'm not able to search for the size I'm looking for without reviewing hundreds of pages.

Maybe someone knows of a bearing distributor who carries every bearing imaginable AND has a good search system on their website?

By the way, I'm looking for a ball bearing with an ID of 0.625" (5/8") and an OD of 25/32” to 27/32” (20-21mm).

Thanks for your help,

Erich

[RICHARD ZASTROW]

Most, not all, ball bearings are metric. Can your retro use metric sizes? That will make your search easier. 16mm is .6299", pretty close to your 5/8" (.625"/15.875mm).

I see 16mm is an odd-ball size. Also, you may either have to use larger OD or smaller ID to replace a bushing with a ball bearing.

Dick Z

[Erich_870]

Most, not all, ball bearings are metric. Can your retro use metric sizes? That will make your search easier. 16mm is .6299", pretty close to your 5/8" (.625"/15.875mm).

I see 16mm is an odd-ball size. Also, you may either have to use larger OD or smaller ID to replace a bushing with a ball bearing.

Dick Z

I agree it's an odd size, no doubt. The trouble is that I'm trying to replace a bronze bushing that rides on a gas engine's 5/8" shaft. I had thought it was a 15mm shaft, but I measured it to double check and it's the 5/8" model. It's a Honda engine, so some of the engines come with 15mm shafts and some with 5/8". The bushing is then pressed into the clutch drum, so I am limited with how large the OD can be. I'll enlarge the ID (OD for the bearing) of the clutch with a hand reamer up to 21mm. I can't go much larger due to he loss of material.

I found a 15mm x 21mm bearing that would have worked, dang it! So finding the 5/8" shaft was a bummer!

I really don't want to have to tear down the engine to remove the crank and then turn down the end of the shaft. If I can find the correct bearing, then this whole thing won't require permanently modifying the engine.

Erich