Ceramic Biltins

[Mile_High_Mark]

I "made" a set of ceramic Biltin bearings today. Basically I used the inner and outer races from a Biltin, and the ceramic balls and crown from some RocknRon's Rockets. To say that it was an exercise in patience would be a colossal understatement.

Snowing and sub-freezing temps prevent me from testing them.

[Jax]

Wimp.

[Raoul Duke]

NICE! was it hard getting those balls into the races? Iv been practicing on spare bearings, i can dismantel and repair one in 5 min. if im lucky, but the inner race of the biltins, i know, will F me up. I cant wait to see some pics and hear how they ride.

Hit up that garage ur so fond of!

[FightingTheTide]

I made the mistake of letting my ball bearings go loose once when I decided it would be smart to completely dismantle a bearing....

To get it back together I chased down all the balls, set them inside the outer racer, and lined them up all next to each other along one edge of the racer in a half circle (the balls took up about 1/2 of the racer since there were not spaced out). Then, I carefully inserted the inner racer at an angle, and once it was in, I slowly rotated the balls around till they were spaced out enough to hold the inner and outer racers in one piece....hope that made sense...

(Toothpicks come in handy for all of this)

Is that how you went about this?

[Anonymous]

hahah ya kinda, a lot less running.

ya, i placed the inner race inside the outer race, and placed a ball on each side. slowly raising the inner race towards the center but not quite, with the a ball on each side. i slowly wedge a ball next to another ball, only adding balls to one side and slowly moving the inner race closer to center as i add more balls.

The last ball is the hardest and most prone to sudden loss of balls......i slide the lonely ball closer to the group when i get about 4 balls in. This method has proven most effective for me.

tooth pick is nice, i made a pick outta a cut down thumbtack gorilla glued to a pen that i took point and ink out. it works nice and it does cramp my hands, like holding something small does. it makes removing the C clips a lot easier too

[Raoul Duke]

hahah ya kinda, a lot less running.

ya, i placed the inner race inside the outer race, and placed a ball on each side. slowly raising the inner race towards the center but not quite, with the a ball on each side. i slowly wedge a ball next to another ball, only adding balls to one side and slowly moving the inner race closer to center as i add more balls.

The last ball is the hardest and most prone to sudden loss of balls......i slide the lonely ball closer to the group when i get about 4 balls in. This method has proven most effective for me.

tooth pick is nice, i made a pick outta a cut down thumbtack gorilla glued to a pen that i took point and ink out. it works nice and it does cramp my hands, like holding something small does. it makes removing the C clips a lot easier too

^cant remember to login^

[chaindog]

you make it too hard. just line them all up on one side of the outer race. put the inner race in place and slide the balls around the races untill you can pop them back into the retainer.

[valskater]

I "made" a set of ceramic Biltin bearings today. Basically I used the inner and outer races from a Biltin, and the ceramic balls and crown from some RocknRon's Rockets. To say that it was an exercise in patience would be a colossal understatement.

Snowing and sub-freezing temps prevent me from testing them.

So did you spend all day playing with your balls since it was snowing?

[silversurfer]

Cool.

So when do you start offering them for sale?

Maybe after you test them in the garage?

On your garage racing set up?

Let us know.

And pictures please!

Thanks!

[Mile_High_Mark]

Because of various reasons, It's unlikely that I'll product-ize these bearings. If someone's just dying for a set, I'll sell the set that I put together, but I probably won't be selling these via MHS.

[bpz]

Just imagine the time commitment he'd have to put in to make these kinds of bearings easily available. Nevermind that Biltins are around $25 a set, ceramic Ron's at $74, you're already at $100 a set not including labor. I'm sure you and many others would pay that much for a nice set of bearings, but I don't think it'd be worth the effort for Mark to put together a few sets.

Why not just buy some Biltins and some ceramics (I'd suggest Pleasure Tools for the price) and do it up yourself? Might even get that nice feeling when you finish putting them together, too

[GPymp]

...weather report for Colorado: Cold. High 17 degrees. Garage temp: about 14-16 degrees. New name for MH Rollers garage: Amana, cuz it keeps "everything" cold.

At these temps add about 3-5 points on the duro of wheels and bushes.
Nose hair freezing is a bonus.


I am sure Mark will agree, Product testing will just have to wait...Friday?

[mark grimace]

You never know...Maybe Chris C will come out with ceramic Biltins. I know I'd be up for them.


It's a shame about the weather boys...it was cold here today too...75 degrees...it was torture

[Bushman]

[valskater]

Aren't those boards made to roll?

[mark grimace]

Aren't those boards made to roll?

huh?

[valskater]

Aren't those boards made to roll?

huh?

Kiddin' kinda looks like you're standing still....there, in your shorts, barefeet.......and warm weather.

[chaindog]

the price is the same as rons and builtins. you just end up with ceramic builtins and steel rons. (price is the same if you do it yourself)

[Triomphe]

You can't let the cold stop ya, It's -14 celcius (7 for all the fahrenheit people) up here in edmonton and it's was a great day to try out some new wheels. Just put on the long jons, a toque and some fatty mittens and giver.

[silversurfer]

the price is the same as rons and builtins. you just end up with ceramic builtins and steel rons. (price is the same if you do it yourself)

Is that true?

Can you make a steel rons by taking the builtin's balls and puting them into the rockects that the ceramic balls came out of?

Mark if those bearings test out well, and you want to, or are willing to sell them let me know.

I'm curious how they stack up against the donor bearings, Builtins and ceramic rockets.

Keep us posted. Very interesting experiment.

Did you try fitting a seal to replace the shield?

I'd like to see it lubed with rocket propellent or speed cream rather than what comes with the builtins.