2017 - Volume #41, Issue #1, Page #34
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He Replaced Wooden Disk Bearings With PVC Pipe
The disk’s axle housing is built in 5-in. long sections that bolt together around the axle. Wickey unbolted the sections and replaced the wooden bearings inside them with ones that he made from 2 different sizes of electrical conduit pvc pipe. One pipe (white) was 2 in. in dia. and the other (grey) was 3 1/2 in. He used a chop saw to cut the 2-in. pipe lengthwise and then cut the halves into 4-in. long sections that fit together in pairs around the axle. The sections are spaced 1/2 in. apart inside the axle housing, in order to make room for a series of metal ribs built into the axle that held the original bearings in place. He also drilled a hole in each section to make room for a grease zerk.
He cut up the 3 1/2-in. dia. pipe to make a layer of shims that are glued together and fill the gap between the 3-in. pipe and the axle housing.
“I made the pvc pipe bearings last fall. My friend uses the disk on his 1-acre property so it doesn’t get a lot of use. But electrical conduit pvc is as hard as wood, and as long as the bearings are kept greased they work as good as new,” says Wickey.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Willard Wickey, 913 170th Ave., Hersey, Mich. 49639 (ph 231 832-1123).
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