Thanks to VPI especially ( Jim and Brf) and what's his name Matt something 😉, I got this done. Okay it is fairly easy or very easy. I'm sorry about not posting a video but stuff happens.
Suggested Equipment:
1. Industrial strength heat gun with various tips A curved one is the way to go to ensure that you are heating the entire circumference of the bearing --- The wife's 1800wHair would be a waste of time. Amazon is your friend.
2. Alcohol and Q-tips.
3. Wet (damp) towel to protect your plinth and the bearing.
5. Replacement Bearing (of course) But I think that a frugal person could just clean the old bearing off and rotate it.
6. Adhesive --- uhh this is a tough one, I had super glue but elected to go with JB weld, time will tell if this was a good decision or not. The reason for going with JB weld was that the old adhesive was black and hard. I don’t recall any super glue being like that, plus JB weld will melt if you get it hot enough.
Process:
1. Remove the platter and tonearm (if possible)
2. Wrap damp towel around the bearing assembly
3. Apply on lowest setting of your heat gun to get a feel for things
4. Check the bearing looseness by placing the entire stack of magnets by it, if it doesn’t move increase the heat.
5. Heat for 2-3 minutes at a time on high heat and check the bearing for looseness by placing the magnets near it.
6. When it has been heated enough the magnets will pull the bearing out of the bearing well.
7. Don’t forget that you are working with a hot heat gun which is not fault tolerant and quickly burn you for being careless.
8. Clean out bearing well
9. Apply adhesive and let set over night (which is what I’m doing)
Do you leave the bearing assembly attached to the table? The reason I am asking is that I have an Aries 3 and would love to be able to do this myself. If there is a process I would appreciate the steps.
Purchase a pencil torch (which allows localized heat) and heat up the ball bearing. Thermal expansion of the ball bearing will break the seal from the bearing shaft. You might have to tap the bearing shaft to release the ball. Below is a picture of a pencil torch for reference.
Back on the old forum there was an amazing thread that started with a discussion by BRF to replace the bearings with ceramics along with Sapphire thrust plates. Back when, I published a picture croniligy of my process following BRFs lead. Hey BRF if you see this, A big hello from Texas.To easily remove the old steel balls, I used a dremel cut off wheel to cut a slot in the top of the old ball. Then used a screwdriver to remove the bearing. Worked beautifully with no force. That is one of the threads I hope Mat can recover. It was full of amazing information.
Back when folks were replacing the steel ball bearings with ceramics we used a drop of thickened superglue. That was years ago now. Still going strong.
Thanks to VPI especially ( Jim and Brf) and what's his name Matt something 😉, I got this done. Okay it is fairly easy or very easy. I'm sorry about not posting a video but stuff happens.
Suggested Equipment:
1. Industrial strength heat gun with various tips A curved one is the way to go to ensure that you are heating the entire circumference of the bearing --- The wife's 1800wHair would be a waste of time. Amazon is your friend.
2. Alcohol and Q-tips.
3. Wet (damp) towel to protect your plinth and the bearing.
4. Magnets – Here is the link to the ones I used MIKEDE Strong Rare Earth Neodymium Magnets, Heavy Duty Bar Magnets with Double-Sided Adhesive, Powerful Pull Force, Perfect for Fridge, Garage, Kitchen, Science, Craft, Office, DIY 60x10x3mm 6pack: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific . They are use to lift the bearing out after you have applied enough heat to loosen it. Donot handle the hot bearing with your bare hands.
5. Replacement Bearing (of course) But I think that a frugal person could just clean the old bearing off and rotate it.
6. Adhesive --- uhh this is a tough one, I had super glue but elected to go with JB weld, time will tell if this was a good decision or not. The reason for going with JB weld was that the old adhesive was black and hard. I don’t recall any super glue being like that, plus JB weld will melt if you get it hot enough.
Process:
1. Remove the platter and tonearm (if possible)
2. Wrap damp towel around the bearing assembly
3. Apply on lowest setting of your heat gun to get a feel for things
4. Check the bearing looseness by placing the entire stack of magnets by it, if it doesn’t move increase the heat.
5. Heat for 2-3 minutes at a time on high heat and check the bearing for looseness by placing the magnets near it.
6. When it has been heated enough the magnets will pull the bearing out of the bearing well.
7. Don’t forget that you are working with a hot heat gun which is not fault tolerant and quickly burn you for being careless.
8. Clean out bearing well
9. Apply adhesive and let set over night (which is what I’m doing)
10. Reassemble and check.
11. Keep the old bearing for emergencies.
Thanks again to the VPI team and Brf.
M~
Question
Do you leave the bearing assembly attached to the table? The reason I am asking is that I have an Aries 3 and would love to be able to do this myself. If there is a process I would appreciate the steps.
M~
Purchase a pencil torch (which allows localized heat) and heat up the ball bearing. Thermal expansion of the ball bearing will break the seal from the bearing shaft. You might have to tap the bearing shaft to release the ball. Below is a picture of a pencil torch for reference.