In article ,
Ecnerwal wrote:

In article ,
"Joe AutoDrill" wrote:

Random thoughts from the wild welcomed! We have two solutions as noted
above, but the customer would like to avoid both if possible...

Well, I don't claim to be an expert, but I am a throwback at various
times, and sometimes being a throwback is a good thing.

Without a picture/drawing to work from, I'm sort of flailing in the dark
here a bit, but it sounds like you are using ball bearings, and probably
depending on them for taking the thrust load sideways.

And you say you don't have space, so doing something like putting in a
dedicated roller thrust bearing is out, and using tapered roller
bearings is out.

But you might be able to use plain bronze, or Oilite. Plain bronze takes
higher loads. You're at low speed, high thrust, which is a good realm
for bronze. It might mean having to actually oil things, but plain
bearings do take considerable loads better than point contact bearings...

Again, flailing in the dark, you'll probably have to custom machine such
bearings to take both loads in the limited space available, but that
should be possible, I think.

I was also thinking of plain bearings, but I would add a twist: Poured
babbit bearings. Machine a stout integral flange into the shaft, pour
babbit around it with steel shim dams so it can be pulled apart and oil
grooves machined into the bearing surfaces.

Joe Gwinn