Pot Metal Bearing Removal - A Good Way???

[Discman]

I've had good luck getting stuck mandrels removed by soaking them with penetrating oil for a day or so and then putting the whole thing in a freezer overnight. The contraction of the metal seems to do the trick.
Dave Jolley

[Henry]

Right, muriatic acid is sold by the gallon at hardware stores. It's HCL acid, IIRC; you could google it up and find out. I use it to dissolve the gray crust that forms in the toilet as a result of the very hard water we have; the crust is really calcium carbonate (limestone!). The muriatic soak really does the job on this stuff.

Perhaps a bit off topic, but does the muriatic acid damage the porcelain in toilets? I would love to find a solution for the hard water deposits in our toilet bowls, but I fear that anything strong enough to break down the deposits may compromise the integrity of the glazing on the porcelain, (i.e., make it so porous that it just introduces a new potential set of problems). Opinions?

Well, it didn't damage the porcelain on *my* toilets; YRMV Here's how I worked it: turn off the toilet tank fill valve and flush the toilet. Pour the muriatic acid into the toilet bowl (I use the entire gallon) and let it sit there and do its work for as long as you don't have to "go." (I have two bathrooms, so this isn't a problem for me!) Several hours is sufficient You'll find gray matter (the calcium carbonate gunk) loosened up and down in the water/acid at the bottom of the bowl. Turn fill valve back on and flush a few times. The action should be noticeably better than before. (Important Safety Tip: always add the acid to the water, never the reverse---not that you would in this application.)

You could spend the waiting time playing the phonograph or browsing this site!

P.S. I live in the Lehigh Valley in s.e. PA where historically there have been, and still are, many cement plants. It's because of the geology around here. We also have slate, and a few miles to the north the anthracite coal regions start. Most of our municipal drinking water supply is from deep wells and springs, thus the water is laden with "lime". Many folks have water softeners to deal with this problem. Interestingly enough, right next door to Allentown the city of Bethlehem draws most of its water from lakes, reservoirs, and rivers, not from underground, so their water is very soft.

[phonojim]

I removed a bushing from a Standard D by chipping it out between the mandrel and the support post. I used a pulley puller as follows: I took a heavy piece of steel from a lawn edger blade, cut it enough wider than the OD of the mandrel to make room for the puller hooks, cut a slot in the center to fit over the mandrel shaft and then placed it BETWEEN THE MANDREL AND THE BEARING POST. By placing the plate in this position, the force will be properly applied and not break the bushing post off the bedplate. I then used a pulley puller to push the mandrel out from the left end. After that I chipped out the rest of the bearing and installed a new one. I measured the ID of the hole in the bedplate support post, the OD of the shaft and went to thelocal bearing store and bought an oilite bronze bushing. IIRC, I had to chuck it up in the drill press and reduce the OD slightly to get a good press fit. After it was in place, I drilled an oil hole through the bushing then reamed the bushing ID with the proper sized reamer to remove any burrs left over from the drilling operation.
Even though some of you have had success with removing the mandrel from the shaft, I would only do that as a last resort. If I have to do another one, I'll start with the muriatic acid. That method was discussed at great length at one time and several people reported success with it. If it does work, it offers the least chance of damage to the mandrel, shaft and bedplate in my opinion.

Jim

P.S. Vinegar is an excellent de-limer for metal plumbing parts. I recently cleaned up my all metal low flow shower head by taking it apart and giving it a good overnight soak in common household vinegar. Looks and works like new!