Hydraulic Fingerboards

Wheel Bearings

"How do I make bearings?"

Well, the answer is, quite frankly, you can't. You can make wheel bushings using brass tube (as shown in one of mr_scorpio's fantastic workshops). but you can't make bearings like those in your real skateboard. At least not by yourself.

Luckily you don't have to. Miniture bearings are already made and are available from a number of sources. The bearings are quite expensive though, making the mod a little too costly for most, but for those who can afford it, nothing is more realistic or smooth.

I ordered some bearings from an online supplier for a very good price some time ago for use in one of my other hobbies. I had some spare ones and decided to try using them in a Tech Deck wheel. Work has just started on the project so little has been done yet, but shown to the left is a picture of a miniture bearing sitting on a standard Tech Deck axle. Stay tuned for the rest of this high tech mod.....

Here are a couple more pictures that should give a better idea of just how small these bearings really are.


Click above for larger images

I've gotten a couple e-mails regarding the bearings themseleves. The ones I am using (pictured above) were purchased for 1/64 slot car racing and are meant to be used as rear axle bearings in high performance slot cars. As such one has to keep in mind that these were not purchased to be used as fingerboard wheel bearings. That said, the cost of the above bearings was $12US each from my slot car supplier. At that price it would cost $50+ US once you figure in shipping charges and/or any taxes you might have to pay. I'll wait for everyone to pick their jaw off the floor before continuing...

Okay. Now that I've given the price, I have some good news..maybe. I found an online supplier that sells a bearing like the one above with a lower ABEC rating for less than $4US each. I've sent them an e-mail and asked if they sell to the general public. Hope to hear from them soon because if they do, I will be able to buy 4 bearings at the same price I currently pay for 1.

or those who might want to search for a supplier themselves, the size of the bearing I am using is
ID (Inside Diameter) = 1.5mm
OD (Outside Diameter) = 5mm
W (Width) = 2.6mm (*NOTE: there is also an open faced version that is 2mm wide)

The diagram to the right shows what needs to be done to a stock Tech Deck wheel to enable the use of miniature bearings. The plastic of a stock wheel rests directly on the axle. To maintain some strength and stability the portion of the wheel located behind the axle needs to be quite thick. Unfortunatelt, for the bearing mod this means that simply pressing the bearing into the wheel won't work. If you did that the wheel nut would not go on.

For the bearing to fit you must carefully remove material from the wheel (behind the nut) so that the bearing sits into the wheel. Make sure to leave a small portion of the stock wheel intact on the backside of the wheel to help hold the bearing in place.

Once you have the the material removed, slide the bearing in place to make sure you have enough axle showing to put the nut on. If you do, pop the bearing out, add a VERY small drop of super glue to the outside surface of the bearing and slide it back into place. Let the glue dry then mount your newly modified wheel. Repeat for the remaining wheels and you will be the proud owner of a fingerboard using REAL bearings.

More details coming soon....

Wheel Bearing Modification Diagram