Worn-Out Bearings Remade On Deere Disk

Worn-Out Bearings Remade On Deere Disk TILLAGE EUIPMENT Disks (18) 25-6-39 Denis Seewald, Mustang, Okla.: "The bearings were worn out in my late '40s or early '50s vintage John Deere 8 ft. tandem disk. When I took it apart, I found there was dirt in the bearings and that had worn out the cages that hold the ball bearings. The races and the balls were still good. I priced parts for it and found those bearings cost $42 apiece -there are eight of them. New seals for each bearing were $10. Replacing all the bearings would have cost more than $400. Since I only use it a few hours a year, I decided to try to remake the cages with lead. "To do this, I laid the bearing flat with one old seal in place on the bottom side. I spaced the balls equidistant around the race and covered everything well with grease. Then I poured melted lead into the bearing, making sure the lead was bridged across every ball. Since the lead won't stick to grease, when it hardened, the balls rolled freely in the new lead cage. "I've used the disk about 15 hours since I did this and it's still running fine. I don't think I'd try it on a newer, more expensive piece of machinery, but if it's an older machine that gets only a little use, it doesn't take much longer than replacing the bearings and it's a lot less expensive."

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