Wadkin BTS planer head bearing

[nathandavies]

I'm sorting out my wadkin p/t. after looking at the manual and finding which bearing I need, I had a search on-line. and I found skf sealed bearings at less than £10 each from bearingboys. now i'm not complaining, but that seems incredibly cheap, I was expecting them to cost way way more. are skf about as good as bearings get? if I should be getting something else that costs more i'd rather spalash the cash now as I have the machine apart.
these are sealed units, and reading a blurb about different types of bearings, it says that sealed are not suitable for high speed applications. but this is what is in the manual.

should I just stfu and make the most of having a nice surprise as far as price is concerned?

nathan

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi

I would definitely go with what the manual says as Wadkin are known for fitting above spec bearings (for example the bearings on my RS lathe are designed to run at 6000 rpm, but top speed is 2400 rpm) just make sure you get the codes right and the size right. I'd be surprised if they are sealed as usually they need grease.

Just looked on the Wadkin site and can't find the spec of the required bearing...

Richard

 

[AES]

@nathandavies:

Apart from Wadkin's reputation as a maker of 1st class machinery (so they would be most unlikely to under-specify anything, inc bearings) you may care to know that SKF stands for Schweinfurt Kugellager Fabrik (literally, that's "Schweinfurt Ball Bearing Factory").

Now I'm not just saying that because it's German it must be good, but remember that exactly that original factory, in what was E. Germany after WWII was the target of some very daring low level bombing raids during WWII (mainly by the USAF by the way) because they were considered critical to the German's war effort.

As well as all that, since those days SKF have built factories in several other countries but have always applied their own very high QC standards. Today it is quite common to see SKF bearings of all sizes fitted in all sorts of high-quality and high-tech gear, including the aircraft you fly away on holiday in.

If SKF (or Skefco as they're sometimes also known) do not make the best ball bearings in the world then they do come pretty close to it.

I would have no qualms about fitting SKF bearings to anything - subject to getting the size, type, and code right, as the previous poster has already said.

Hope that allays any doubts you may have had.

AES

 

[wallace]

When you look at the schematic of the head it shows a sealed bearing, which like you say is unusual for a planer head. But the BTS is not that old and maybe by then machines were made at a price. One of the bearings on my planer from the 20's is gone and if I want the original spec it would cost £200 for one. I understand *** bearings are very good.

 

[Andy RV]

Are there any grease nipples on your machine? If not then sealed bearings are probably your best bet. I wouldn't have any concern what so ever over fitting SKF's.

 

[Green]

Yep I fitted SKF's to my Wadkin restoration. Didn't cost much either, I remember being surprised at how little they cost.