How to Make Homemade Brass Bearings

These bearings are simple to make and work well for a long time. A piece of brass pipe is inserted tightly into a hole bored into a 4" x 4" x 4" block of hardwood. The bore into the hardwood is near the top, and a notch is cut across the block of hardwood intersecting the hole for the brass pipe. This is called the adjustment groove, in the diagram below. Another hole is drilled in the block 90 degrees from the brass pipe hole. This is a smaller hole and is used to accept a small bolt and nut, as a tightener once the brass pipe is inserted in the shaft hole. You can use a wingnut in place of the regular nut on this tightening bolt and it will make life easier. Oil the brass pipe regularly once the steel shafting, again, very tight fitting, is inserted into the brass pipe/bearing. The softer brass will conform quickly to the steel shaft once it is motorized and it will loosen up just right. Many manufactured brass bearings are used in lots of machinery worldwide to this day. If the brasspipe becomes loose in the hardwood block, just tighten the long bolt and nut to take up the slack.