Ceramic thrust bearing on bandsaw?
forestgirl
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
Anyone out there use a ceramic thrust bearing on their bandsaw? (Not the guides, but the rear bearing). I just ran across them in a catalog — are they significantly better than a spinning bearing?
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Another proud member of the “I Rocked With ToolDoc Club” …. :>)
Replies
The thrust bearings and guides on my bandsaw are ceramic. They have been in use for approximately 4 years with no problems.
For now, I would just replace the thrust bearing. I hear there are no problems, but do you feel there's an advantage?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
The only advantage I see to the ceramic thrust bearing is that there are no moving parts to gum up like there are with a roller bearing. I have never had a problem with this on a roller bearing and my primary purpose for upgrading was to get the side blocks of ceramic. The thrust bearing just happened to be part of the package. I can't honestly say that the ceramic thrust bearing is an "improvement" from a performance perspective. If you are happy with the performance of your existing thrust bearing, I would continue using it, if not change.
Steve
Rolling friction as in a ball bearing is always less than sliding friction so I would believe that there is more heat gererated and power loss with the ceramic bearing, however this may be in consequential in the big picture. I have used a ball bearing thrust bearing for 33 years an still had the original bearing when I sold my bandsaw a month ago.
"I have used a ball bearing thrust bearing for 33 years an still had the original bearing when I sold my bandsaw a month ago." That's encouraging! :-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Hmm, I was just researching ceramic bearings for my bicycle, so it was interesting to see this discussion here. MrBird90's conclusions about the durability of ceramics is frankly, incorrect as far as I can tell. Take a look at this page: http://www.ceramicspeed.com/index.php?14The biggest drawback really is the cost, which is out of sight for some things.Here is an industrial case study from the same site:http://www.ceramicspeed.com/index.php?10I hope this information is of interest and helps to clarify things.
You are looking at a ball bearing with silicon nitride balls as opposed to a solid block of silicon carbide (ceramic). You are comparing rolling friction to rolling friction for different materials. The guides I saw were solid ceramic. The solid ceramic thrust bearing has no moving parts. sorry.
Edited 10/4/2005 10:48 pm ET by mrbird90
Edited 10/4/2005 10:50 pm ET by mrbird90
Hi MrBird90,you're right - I was comparing apples to oranges it would appear, so my apologies. I was unclear on the fact that a thrust bearing had no moving parts, and was thinking strictly in terms of a regular cassette-style bearing, and not bearing guide blocks/thrust bearings. Still, those ceramic bearings are fascinating, huh?
Are you sure though that a ceramic thrust bearing would have more friction? I was under the impression that ceramic was still slipperier than steel, but in the case of solid bearings/bushings the difference was not so huge. Anyway, I really have no idea, but if you have more information you'd like to share I'm all ears.Thanks!
was unclear on the fact that a thrust bearing had no moving parts???Damn I thought they rotated?
Yeah, me too. I'm confused! MrBird90 sounded like he knew what he was talking about, so I went with his explanation.Googling on the term 'thrust bearing' led me too the following site: http://www.bearings.machinedesign.com/guiEdits/Content/BDE_6_4/bdemech6_27.aspxWell, it seems like thrust bearings indeed do have moving parts. Now a search of "solid thrust bearing" as MrBird90 mentions, yields no exact matches, so, hmm.....
I imagined with ForestGirl's original post that the bearings in question supported either the bandsaw main wheels or were part of the blade support mechanism. In either case, I imagined that they were cassette-syle ball bearings of some sort. I realized that rubbing blocks to locate the blade are one standard system, and I think ceramic guide blocks could be used there, so I googled on "ceramic thrust bearings bandsaw" and came to the following:http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11206So, these ceramic thrust bearings ARE for supporting the blade and in fact have NO moving parts, other than the 'bearing' itself which presumably revolves. That clears that up for me at least.Here is a review of the product:http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/saceramicguideblocks.htmUnlike the link I provided earlier, which is for complete ceramic roller bearings, these ceramic thrust bearings and rubbing blocks are cheap. They sould like a good idea when it comes time to changing existing blocks, or for improving the bandsaw you do have. My bandsaw is a hulking Hitachi resaw, which has some sort of phenolic-looking rubbing blocks and a rear metal thrust bearing that is sprung, so this product, as currently offered, won't help me any.
In a bearing (ball bearing) having balls, an inner ring , outer ring and a cage (separates balls so they do not rub) there is theroetically no sliding friction only rolling friction which is always less than sliding friction under the same load, it might be a toss up against teflon for very light loads.
Hi FG,
They're standard equipment on the Laguna bandsaws we have at school, as are ceramic side guides. No problems and no maintenance other than occasional alignment. The first time I used one, It was disconcerting to see sparks, but I was told they're inconsequential, and we have had no overheating or other problems.
The last time I checked, a set of Carter roller bearings (side & thrust) ran about $150.
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
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