Land Roller Wooden Bearings

[acorn]

Concrete is approx 2.4 times heavier than water.

 

[tinman]

asking google the volume of a 2' diameter cylinder 8' long is approx 25 cubic foot, and 25 cubic foot is approx 700 ltrs of water, and last time i checked 1 ltr of water wis 1kg.
so id say one could safely say she id be 680-700kgs necked plus the weight of the frame and drums which id be a few hundred kg's.

Fleming list their 8' roller with a 12mm x 885mm drum as just under 2.5 ton laden

well a 885mm x 2400mm cylinder can only hold 1460 ltrs odd of water so unless they lined her with lead the frame sure as hell dosent weigh a tonne.
a case of paper never refuses ink id say unless there is an axle hanging off her.

 

[tinman]

Oak is corrosive to steel because of its tannin content. That is why oak furniture should be assembled with brass screws

i have a home made walter watson one here so to speak, the timbers done 10 odd years but they rotted out before they wore out.
i ended up putting two nylon bearings in her, its a kit they do, just throw off the old setup and bolt these in place, they only need short bolts as its just a metal boss welded onto a flat plate and the nylon pressed into it.
iirc they werent silly money.

or what say the op went and got himself a lth of 6x3 imported timber from the hardware , mowed two holes in them with a hole saw, greased them up and a coat of cresote and off ya go.
i am a fan of the right thing but i honestly cant see any reason of it not doing just as good a job, they arent hard to change even if they go a few yrs sooner.
or maybe im missing something here...

iirc its keruing or mahogany they would use for the real mc coy.

 

[jamj]

Watsons use a 'hardwood' which cost £30 to buy. They don't specify what wood it is, but 2 blocks pre drilled at that money, why bother making yourself?

 

[Chippy]

The ones I get for my Fleming 18 foot rollers last a season sometimes 2. Are Fleming using crap wood do you think?

 

[tinman]

The ones I get for my Fleming 18 foot rollers last a season sometimes 2. Are Fleming using crap wood do you think?

Flemming's were never known to use quality in anything so your assumption wouldnt be far out, unless the dealer is doing his own thing...

mostly its built to a price that suits some people.
id say at the time you might of priced a few others when you were buying yours and wondered why the rest were fleecing you when flemming's price was way less..
There be reasons...

 

[Old McDonald]

Interesting paper here for folk wishing to make their own, but I notice they don't mention Maple as a good wood but do mention Oak despite it's corrosive characteristics .
https://practicalaction.org/docs/technical_information_service/oil_soaked_wood_bearings.pdf

I have had this bookmarked for quite some time. They have some other useful ideas too for those who like to "mess about" with an idea.

If they can be bought, either in wood or plastics, and I only needed two then I would be inclined to buy. It will take a fair bit of time to make wooden ones, but there are still plenty of ancient carts around here running on wooden wheels so they last. I would guess the wood is holm oak as it is the most common hardwood. Plenty of eucalypt now, but softer ones for pulp.

 

[joe soapy]

I have had this bookmarked for quite some time. They have some other useful ideas too for those who like to "mess about" with an idea.

If they can be bought, either in wood or plastics, and I only needed two then I would be inclined to buy. It will take a fair bit of time to make wooden ones, but there are still plenty of ancient carts around here running on wooden wheels so they last. I would guess the wood is holm oak as it is the most common hardwood. Plenty of eucalypt now, but softer ones for pulp.

Most of the wooden wheels here had iron hubs inserted into the boss, they were later fitted with handles to serve as tampers when putting gate posts in

 

[farmideas]

Most designs have grease nipple on the top like my Grays. Useless. After about 5 years I swapped the nipple to the lower plate so grease went into the gap below the shaft, and it was the first time the bearing had a decent greasing. Wrote letter to Grays who thanked me for my interest. But did nothing.

 

[Larel]

I usually put a bottle jack below the end of the frame and take the weight so the grease will get through and around the axle. Always wonder when the axle will wear through the tube going through the middle of the barrels leading to a leak, as there is no real way to get grease or lube in there.

 

[Zebbedee]

I usually put a bottle jack below the end of the frame and take the weight so the grease will get through and around the axle. Always wonder when the axle will wear through the tube going through the middle of the barrels leading to a leak, as there is no real way to get grease or lube in there.

It will wear through and that's when most people fill them with concrete

 

[michael N123]

The ones I get for my Fleming 18 foot rollers last a season sometimes 2. Are Fleming using crap wood do you think?

Must be crap wood the bearings in my 10 foot roller have lasted 5 year and thats been butchered and filled with concrete but i do grease every field

 

[kennythetractor]

Just made two bearings yesterday packed full of grease but 15 acres in and new bearing getting chewed up already any ideas to keep them centred

 

[Old McDonald]

This is the new link to the article @Muck Spreader gave above https://answers.practicalaction.org/our-resources/item/oil-soaked-wood-bearings

The Practical Action site is interesting but needs mamny clicks to get to where you want to be unless you can find it through their search facility.

 

[dudders]

For what it's worth, I reckon oak should be OK to use because if it's soaked in oil as the Practical Action link shows, and then kept well-greased, that should be enough of a barrier to prevent a reaction between steel and tannins. Well-seasoned heartwood only, none of that crappy sapwood that's about as soft as balsa!

Apart from not greasing, there are two bad habits which quickly wear out wooden bushes: going too fast (rolling's a slow job), and loading the roller with extra weights on top to make it heavier. If you want a heavier tool, buy a heavier tool...

 

[davidroberts30]

Just made two bearings yesterday packed full of grease but 15 acres in and new bearing getting chewed up already any ideas to keep them centred

Getting chewed where?in the hole or the sides of the roller cutting in sideways?
When I redid mine I put a big washer on the shaft bit the washer was gripping the barrel and started cutting into the block so put a second washer and they have lasted years now

 

[rick_vandal]

Older combine straw walker crankshafts had wooden (beech) bearings that lasted decades and failed safe.