I know spine finders have been beaten to death. That said, I picked up a pair of sealed ball bearing assemblies yesterday to make a spine finder. I figured why not.

Trying the method that someone suggested of using a Black and Decker Workmate, I chucked the bearings in the jaws and then put the blank in the bearings. It doesn't seem to do anything when I push down on the tip of the blank.

When I got the bearings, I degreased them with Simple Green and then steam cleaned them. They seem to move freely. Maybe not as freely as a rollerblade wheel but freely.

What am I doing wrong (other than worrying about finding the spine!)

Thanks

-John

I took my bearings and pressed them into a piece pipe about 8" long. Clamped pipe in workmate works fine. It is possible that you cannot align the bearings exactly perpendicular with out the pipe and that may be why its not working.

You have to degrease the bearing and make sure they turn freely.

I used cheap no sealed bearing from a local bearing supply house and a PVC "T". Mounted with pipe "C" clamps on side of workbench at about a 40* angle.

Lou

I guess it gets down to what people call "moving freely." Does it mean that if I stick the bearing on the end of my finger and twirl it, it runs and runs? OR does it mean that the inner and outer rings move independently of one another in a smooth fashion?

Should I try and pry off the metal covering the bearings so that I clean out the grease better?

Thanks

-John

If you stick your finger into the bearing and spin the outer sleeve it should spin freely. If it doesn't, the bearing itself is providing too much friction and will overcome the rod's desire to rotate when you press down on the blank section. Another consideration when you obtain industrial bearings is to run a Q-Tip around the inside fo the bearing to make sure there are no burrs that will scratch your blank.

Jeff Shafer

It has been my experience that the quality of the bearing probably has alot to do with the operation of the finder. I believe a very high quality bearing along with a very true alignment of the bearings may provide the roll over we expect to see. On the other hand I have used a hardware grade bearing mounted in a pvc tube and found that if I roll the blank with my fingers while it is flexed the blank will show me the spine. It's not automatic but I have no doubt that I have found the spine.

john been there!!! try cleaning out every bit of grease and removing the bearing protectors. careful after that as any dirt will get in there and clog them up. Then every time you use it just spray with wd 40 and use. I have a paper from the maker of my manufacturer some where that explains this as i wrote them with the same question and thats what they sent me. its a detailed description of basicly what i just said. If this makes no sence email me at broderick6@comcast.net and i will find it and email it to you good luck been there done that and the manufacturer said "it is made for heaveier rods and this will make it so it will do lighter rods" what a joke but it seems to work fine now

Soak the bearings in a jar or bottle with a few inches of paint thinner covering them for a few days...swirl them around a couple of times a day...you will be surprised how much lube is in them. When they are clean, soak them a few hours in Marvel or 3 in 1 oil then stand them on edge to drain.

You can pop the seals off easy enough then clean all the grease out. They will spin now. I cut the seal back from the inner and reinstalled. If you don't cut them back there is to much drag. you can also leave them off.
Jack

Thanks for the tips on how to improve the bearings I bought. I got them at an electric motor supply shop and I think they were made in Korea.

-John

When I pried off the covers, there was still a bunch of green grease in the bearings. I soaked them overnight in mineral spirits and scrubbed off any that was left. Then I washed them in Dawn grease cutting detergent and dried them with a hair dryer. I epoxied them into the pipe fitting and oiled them this morning. What a difference! I understand what spinning freely means now!

Thanks for all the help.

-John