On "zinging" bearings with an air jet

A certain amount of spinning is required to make sure a bearing's clean, but I try to avoid really turning them up. A guy up the street lost an eye when a ball bearing exploded.

GTO(John)

I did that once with a tapered wheel bearing when I worked as a mechanic's helper. Outer race with rollers intact lifted straight up flew about 3 feet, hit floor sparks flying and fell into a shallow floor drain about 20 feet away. It's still kinda fun to do with old bearings never considered it dangerous but it sure could be. Guess I've been lucky

"1 eye'ed bearing zingers & the women who love them" next on geraldo

When I worked gas turbine engines n the USAF they were pretty darn fussy on how a bearing was handled. Bearings were routinely inspected and cleaned and reused, and it was common practice to insert a small nylon tie through the bearings balls or rollers to keep it from spinning. Last step was removing the nylon tie, and clean up that area, and then place bearngs n a ultrasonic cleaner. Just manual rotation of the bearing was permissable.

Old bearings were another story and many a bearing went off in a shower of sparks accross shop floors with a boost from a air hose.

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foundry and general metal working and lots of related projects. Regards Roy aka Chipmaker // Foxeye Opinions are strictly those of my wife....I have had no input whatsoever. Remove capital A from chipmAkr for correct email address

I saw a fella Zing a bearing years ago. I can guarantee that was the last one he ever did that way. The outer race let go and we all heard a clang as part of the race went thru the shop ceiling ! We were all lucky that no one was hurt. The shrapnel is like a speeding bullet and can KILL YOU !

I routinely blow out bearings with 175 PSI air. I hold the outer race and blow the air thru in the direction that the axle goes. Get them clean and dry that way. The race doesn't move, either.

If you want to Zing a bearing, hold the outer race and direct the air at the balls and let the inner race go to town. If it starts to expand (break apart), the friction will immediately stop it and you will have lost nothing except a bearing, without endangering anyone.

Roger

Yikes! So tell me, which is better, to have it grenade while on your finger, or sieze? ;)

Tim

-- In the immortal words of Ned Flanders: "No foot longs!" Website @

or timing chain sprockets.....

The smaller of the two timing chain sprockets for american V-8's are more fun and less dangerous. I used to put one on a piece of pipe or very large screw driver. Rev it up as fast as it would go with the air and then ease the end of pipe down so the sprocket would slip off onto the pavement. It would sit there and spin for a fraction of a second before it got some traction and then go like hell across the parking lot. You've just got to be sure of nothing in the way for it to smash into. If it still had enough energy when it did hit something it would take off into another unknown direction.

Lane

Helluva a choice, but I think, having done neither, that I'd go with the grenade thing, based solely on the fact that if it goes BOOM, the shrapnel goes OUT away from my fingers. rather than twist the finger off.

But I've been wrong once or twice before...

Mike