diemai Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 (edited) Hi , I'd like to post this little describtion in here , since in the thread "source for ccw prop blades" , opened by tc-lures , some interest in my homemade prop bearings came up . So I went down to my shop and made sucha bearing for this little essay , unfortunately not all of the pics , that I took , turned out well , I apologize for that , but I'm sure , that the working proccess is still understandable . Since I do not have a metal lathe in my shop , I have tried to make smaller round metal parts out of round brass dowels simply by chucking them in my drillpress and working on them by filing against the rotating workpiece , which worked out to my satisfaction . I have made these prop bearings that way , but also inline-spinner bodies , bullet weights for worm rigs and weights for weighted floats are possible to furnish in the same manner . Only by now I have wood lathe , that has a chuck as well , so I am nowadays doing such work in that one , since it is more powerful and it is also more convinient to work on a horizontally chucked workpiece . But for this describtion I did it in my drillpress for once more . Allright , here we go : First , cut off a piece of that brass dowel , approx. 1" long . In this case , the dowel is 6mm in diameter . I can buy these brass rods in local tool marts , but also RC-model shops carry them . After file the two ends smooth and plane and slightly break the edges . This is only done for better eyeballing to mark the center hole position with a 90° center punch . If the indention should be out of center , one can "move" it a bit by setting the punch at about 45° and gently hammer it into proper direction , after make it a bit deeper with the punch . Mark either side of the workpiece this way . Edited January 9, 2009 by diemai text addition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Now drill from either side just big enough for your chosen prop's shaft(screweye or wire shaft)to pass well without binding . The two holes do not to have to meet in the middle of the dowel piece , I work down ONE bearing from EITHER side of it , the remainder is waste . I fix the dowel piece on one side of the vise , this way I can eyeball the vises edge aligned with the dowel for a perfect vertical position . You must also extend the center hole of your prop blade according to your desired bearing diameter , in this case here I chose 3,5 millimetres , the center bore of the bearing is 2,0 mm . After break the edges of the hole in the prop . Sorry , forgot pics ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Sorry again , here they are : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Now chuck the dowel piece firmly and take a bigger coarse file to work down the dowel to desired bearing OUTER diameter and bearing length , smoothen with a smaller fine file . The files teeth would get smeared with brass chips after a while , clean the up with a steel bristle brush or a special file brush to retain sharpness again . After that you need to furnish the smaller bearing diameter , that must SNUGLY fit into the prop blades center bore , it should only potrude only about 1/10" in it's length over the blade's thickness when assembled . This part requires some accuracy , but its not that hard to do , remember to take fine files for the finishing touch . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 After perfect fit , diameter and length of bearing is done , take a triangular file and make a groove at where you want to separate your finished bearing from the dowel . After take a metal saw blade and cut it off . It is better not to cut all way through since you might loose the tiny bearing in all the dirt and debris in your shop(at least in mine , lol:huh:) as it falls down , better cut halfway only and break off by hand ! Break all edges of the bearing and stick it into prop blade in desired direction(the thicker part should always point to the rear of your lure) . Now place the bearing on a steel surface , here I utulize my vise , and use a hammer to hit the thinner diameter a couple of times to comprime it just like a rivet's head . Take care not to hit and/or bend the props blade . This proccess would most likely also deform the bearings hole , so it must be redrilled briefly with same diameter as before . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 OK , the prop blade with bearing is done now , off course such bearings can be made for homemade props as well , but the smaller , the more finacky it gets . But all in all , they let those flat props perform a lot better , since they provide more guidance of the prop on its shaft . Hope , all is understandable , if not , just post ! greetz:yay: , diemai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tc-lures Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Nice job deimai thanks again Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palmetto Balsa Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 I didn't even read it yet but the photos said it all. Great job. That would spin great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
