the sleeve will work well - just grease it if it starts to scream. Bearings
are free, you take them off roller skates, roller blades, or razor scooters
that have been abandoned, outgrown, or you get them in a thrift shop for $3.
Even small towns have childeren that outgrow toys. But there is nothing
wrong with a brass sleeve - in fact, you can just bore a hole in the wood
and dip in oil (or wax) and the wood makes a fine bearing - the pressures
are not that high. I used ballbearings because they were handy - I have a
box full of them
"Earl" wrote in message
om...
In my very small town I could find no bearings to make a self powered
sander...new or used. None! Our local small downtown hardware store
suggested a brass sleeve for $1.26. He knew nothing about woodturning
but after explaining what I had in mind he came up with the idea. I
bought a 2" sanding wheel for 2.50, bummed some velcro from my wife
and for $3.76 had a sander. It works great. I know the sleeve won't
last like bearings so if I use it alot I will still be buying
bearings, but for less than a couple cups of espresso who can
complain. And as the guy at the hardware store pointed out, alot of
cheap power tools use sleeves instead of bearings and they last a
reasonable amount of time, so who knows how long it will last...

Earl