I was surprised recently to discover how inexpensive ball
bearings have become.
I needed two bearings to fix a piece of farm equipment. I have
learned it is is better not to go to the original equipment dealer
for bearings since they charge a premium for a name on a box that
contains a generic bearing. Instead, I usually go to a store (for
some reason called a "bearing house") that specializes in
bearings. You just slap the bearing on the counter and some old guy
matches it to one he has in stock.
Well, unfortunately, you can't do that in Wheeling WV any
more. On a hunch I had called first and I was told the business was
sold and moved to some place in Ohio about two hours from
me. Alternatives were as far away. Wheeling is one hour.
I was guessing the dealer would want $50.00. Just for fun I
checked MSC's web site - the bearing I wanted (SKF 6207 2RS) was
$37.42. (This is a common Metric 35X72X17 sealed ball
bearing.) When I Googled the SKF number up jumped many vendors
wanting to sell cheaper than $37.42. Since these bearings would be
going into an item that already had a couple thousand hours on it and
the bearings were fairly easy to get to, I chose a vendor that
advertised bearings equal to the SKF in load rating - 25,000 N
dynamic and 15,000 static. The winning vendor was vxb.com. $7.77
each. They have ten ways to ship, from $0.00 (pick it up yourself at
their outlet in Los Angeles) to $90 something for next day air. I
chose the "take your time" at $5.00. This turned out to be the USPS
which took 4 days.
The bearings (labeled CXJSD) looked and felt right and tapped
in with about the same force it took to remove the SKF ones. I put
it all back together and used it two hours. OK so far.
I have mixed feelings about all this. I suppose in my own
little way I have contributed to the loss of local jobs. But if the
Asian countries can make quality stuff this cheap I think we would be
better off doing something else. In fact, we are doing something
else locally - a shale gas boom that has brought lots of jobs and
money. But I guess not as much need for a bearing house as there
used to be. And it had a high Victorian ceiling and a worn hardwood floor.
Dave Gilmore, Cameron WV
I have lived here so long I trip over what has been gone for years.
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