[adam_m]

Looks like its time to replace the bearings in my MV12 so I was curious where people are buying bearings for those that have replaced them and if there are better options instead of the default Hitatchi bearings...

Adam,

[RicknBeachcrest]

I've bought a lot of bearings from Boca Bearings. I've also bought bearings off of ebay.
I would take the bearings out and measure them (this is where a digital caliper comes in handy) (metric I would guess) and take a look on ebay and see what you can find.

I'm sure you can find some for a lot less then Hitachi sells them for and you can probably get them faster too.

I had to replace a bearing in my power hand planner and got a bearing from ebay. Worked just fine.

[wizard]

Kaman Industrial Technologies is a good choice if you have a local branch. Kaman now has an internet site Kaman Industrial Technologies and lists close to 300,000 bearings. Beyond that, there are many other online bearing suppliers these days. Just do a Google search for "bearing suppliers".

I mention Kaman due to working with them a lot at work, very good service but also "industrial prices".

As far as better bearings that is an interesting question. First rule here is to avoid Chinese bearings. Generally I prefer to stick with German, Japanese or USA made bearings when we can get them. A good bearing supplier can steer you in the best direction for an upgrade if one is available. I say "if" because Hitachi is known to build to a high degree of performance.

You can look into options like ceramic bearings and synthetic lubes but realize that costs go up significantly.

[CNCMAN172]

Adam,
I used an M12V for years and had the same issues. I purchased a tube of 10 off of ebay, so let me warn you, do buy the cheap ones you find on ebay. They are not intended for high speed and go bad very fast. I had to order my replacements from an OEM distributor who services the Hitachi tools in my town. They ran about $25 or something in that ballpark and when you put those in and run they are quiet and work correctly. After going through maybe six OEM bearings I finally broke down and purchased a Water Cooled Spindle and it has been working fine for over 10 years and the noise level alone was so much lower that all by itself made the investment worth it to me.

Russ

[adam_m]

Thanks for the posts guys.

I guess my question should have been about the quality of the Hitachi replacement bearings since the Chinese have flooded the market with inferior product. Do they make a good replacement? They seem to be readily available in the web...

I realize that RPM is a factor in th bearing purchase and that they will need to be rated for speeds of a router, 30k I would assume.

I'm also ultimately going to add a spindle but I'm just not ready for it yet. I was hoping for another year out of the router, cutting aluminum was tough on it and I think what brought it down.

Adam,

Adam,
I used an M12V for years and had the same issues. I purchased a tube of 10 off of ebay, so let me warn you, do buy the cheap ones you find on ebay. They are not intended for high speed and go bad very fast. I had to order my replacements from an OEM distributor who services the Hitachi tools in my town. They ran about $25 or something in that ballpark and when you put those in and run they are quiet and work correctly. After going through maybe six OEM bearings I finally broke down and purchased a Water Cooled Spindle and it has been working fine for over 10 years and the noise level alone was so much lower that all by itself made the investment worth it to me.

Russ

[wizard]

Thanks for the posts guys.

I guess my question should have been about the quality of the Hitachi replacement bearings since the Chinese have flooded the market with inferior product. Do they make a good replacement? They seem to be readily available in the web...

You can buy from Hitachi if you want. I suspect the quality would be better than many suppliers would put forth. This due to Hitachi knowing exactly what was specified bearing wise when the router was built.

Still I'd locate a bearing supplier you can work with. The bearing son the router right now should have the bearing part number stamped on them. If not you have to measure up the bot, OD and thickness. If you haven't lost the balls getting a count of the number of balls can help as there are two basic types of radial ball bearings, one is called Conrad the other maximum. Generally you will save big time by going through a reputable bearing supplier.

I realize that RPM is a factor in th bearing purchase and that they will need to be rated for speeds of a router, 30k I would assume.

I'm also ultimately going to add a spindle but I'm just not ready for it yet. I was hoping for another year out of the router, cutting aluminum was tough on it and I think what brought it down.

Adam,

[adam_m]

In the States are there any reputable dealers that can be recommended?

I believe the bearings are:

608 VVM (608VVC2PS2L)
600 4VV (6004VVCMPS2L)

[wizard]

In the States are there any reputable dealers that can be recommended?

Well I mentioned Kaman due to experience with them.

As for online retailers I've heard good things about Boca and VXB but has never dealt with them myself.

I believe the bearings are:

608 VVM (608VVC2PS2L)
600 4VV (6004VVCMPS2L)

That is actually good as the base bearings are standard, that is 608 and 6004 are standard bearing form factors. The VV's likely indicate seal type. It is the numbers beyond the VV that will be interesting because they could be specifying features for high speed operation. You would need the manufactures catalog to get to the specifics.

[Mr.Chips]

I’ve got bearings. But how do you get that top bearing off not much space to work?