Trackball Bearings

jdhogg

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Joined
Nov 5, 2008
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Location
Appleton, Wisconsin
I bought a trackball kit from Bob for my Millipede and the trackball does not roll as smooth as anticipated.

Tried everything, 3 in 1 oil to lube the bearings, power drill to "break them in" via Bob Robert's website, but the new bearings are nowhere close to some existing bearings that I have.

Example: If I spin the new bearing by flicking it with my finger, it spins about one rotation.

If I spin some existing bearings, they spin numerous times. If I had to guess, I would say 10 rotations. Really smooth.

The easy fix is to use the "old" bearings instead of the "new", but these new bearings should be like butta, right? All 6 bearings are like this. What I'm I missing?

Thank you in advance.
 
Just reuse the old bearings! The shafts are usually where all the wear happens in a TB, if the bearings are a perfect match, just reuse them!
 
Soak the new bearing in mineral spirits for about 30 minutes.

Remove them from the mineral spirits and let drain a few minutes.

Now chuck them up in the drill to "wear them in".

Should be fine now.
 
Ok, thanks guys.

Ken, I don't have any mineral spirits here. Would Enviormentlly Safe Stripper or brake cleaner work as a subsitue?
 
Update. 3-in-1 was most of my problem after I cleaned with brake cleaner. Used Tri-Flow lubricant and the bearings are now awesome.
 
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