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I have a fairly small ball bearing and am wanting to secure the inner ring to a wooden frame. The inner ring has a diameter of 5mm, although I'm unsure the best way to secure this. I could glue a small dowel to the frame and then perhaps lightly hammer the bearing onto the dowel, but I'm not sure if this is the best way. Perhaps somebody knows of a more reliable method?

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StayOnTarget
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R4D4
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2 Answers2

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Since wood glues tend to be stronger than wood itself in my experience anyway, gluing the dowel to the board sounds like a solid plan to me with one exception...

I'd suggest reversing the order. Secure the dowel in the bearing first, since that step will put more potential strain on both parts. Particularly if the dowel breaks, you don't want it to be permanently affixed to the board when it does.

Compared to the force necessary to wedge the dowel into the bearing, the insertion into a hole in the board with glue in it will be trivial amounts of pressure.

The Evil Greebo
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Why do you need the dowel? just drill a hole for a bolt in the wood, put the bolt through the bearing, and lock it down with a nut. No need for a washer since the inner race doesn't move.

jamesson
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    Again, the inner race doesn't turn. No motion=no wear. As long as you make sure to get the right size bolt and nut, you will not contact any moving parts. You don't have to go all the way through the work, unless the work is really thin. Even if it is, and you do go through it, you can just cut the end of the bolt off with a dremel. The real trick is drilling a perfectly vertical hole. You need a drill press or really steady hands. – jamesson Dec 09 '11 at 15:06
  • I shall have a little look at that then. Thank you. Btw, it seems I've accidentally deleted my previous comment... :S – R4D4 Dec 09 '11 at 15:08
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    Yes, I would definitely go with the bolt. As a general rule wood and machine parts don't really mix to well - if you look at any wheel assembly, even, say, a handtruck, wood hasn't been used for axles since the middle ages :). – jamesson Dec 09 '11 at 15:16
  • I shall, although I'll give the dowel a go first, it's not holding any sort of load, so that shouldn't be an issue. – R4D4 Dec 09 '11 at 15:46