Hi Brian Lawson,

Actually, a product life of about 10 years is about what I have been
shooting for. I want the product to be maintenance free, and Timken's
Eng. department seemed to think that as long as the environment was
clean, and the bearings were sealed fairly well in the housing to avoid
any type of contamination, that a one time grease lube at assembly
would be fine.

The bearings and shaft are cheap, and easy to replace, the only thing I
don't like is that I have to pack the bearings with grease myself,
unless I buy a large amount that would justify a special order where
Timken could do it cost effectively. I'm thinking about some type of
jig I could use to pack many bearings at one time, perhaps using dowels
to push the grease into the bearings. I need to give some thought to
keeping the "mess" to a minimum, and avoid wasting grease in the
process.

Brian Lawson wrote:
This is advice from strictly empirical knowledge.

John2005:
Empirical Knowledge is the best kind as far as I am concerned, I
really appreciate the feedback of someone who has some real world
experience. I will take experience over textbooks & theories anytime.

Thanks again,
John