Bearing Separators, and chinese tat tools on general

[volvoid]

I need a bearing seperator to get remains of a wheel bearing off a stub axle.
Garage down the road from me says they cut a slot in the bearing race with angle grinder then whack with hammer+chisel until it breaks, being a hard steel its fairly brittle so works. anyone got a better idea ?
Im tempted to watch while they do mine and learn from it.

Looking at bearing separators, they all look alike, prices vary a lot, the cheapest items are of course chinese copies badly made from inferior steel, like this one, rad the customer review at the bottom - appalling.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-12PCS-...UAAOSwJQdW9AWN
I could of course spend 2 or 3 times as much and get the same junk.

What would you buy ?
How does one avoid buying chinese cr@p ?
Which tools are not generic tat ?

[pookie]

Listen to the professionals. If you are renewing the bearings there is no better way. However if you want to re-use the bearing then a seperater is the only way.



Salut!

Pookie

[ITSv40]

You get what you pay for and in the case of your link you will be buying crap by the dozen.

For any tool that is going to be put under strain, I buy the best. In the case of bearing pullers or three legged pullers and the likes only Sykes - Pickavant for me. Buy good buy once. I have Sykes - Pickavant tools that I have abused over the years and done jobs with them far in excess of what they were designed to do and still they are on the shelf waiting for the next job.

[60041]

I agree totally with ITSv40; Sykes Pickevant are worth their weight in gold.
I always buy the best tools I can afford (and sometimes ones I can't afford) - Chinese cr4p is an abomination: even so-called professional tools such as Sealy are often just junk.
I never miss a chance to look through boxes at car boot sales and bric a brac stalls and quite often find quality British tools for just a pound or two.
Go for Britool, Superslim, Gordon etc and you won't go wrong; some of the European brands like Hazet and Facom are also very good.
As for your bearing job, the grinder and chisel trick works well; just be very careful not to cut too far and nick the shaft, and don't bother trying to use a cheap Chinese chisel!
An alternative would be to see if any car accessory shops or car clubs in your area hire tools out and see if you can borrow a bearing puller - we used to have an independant motor factor who would let you have a puller kit for £5 for the weekend.

[green van man]

Some of the Chinese tat is good, how do the Chinese get a rocket into space?

3 ton garage jack Draper. Made in China.
8cfm free air delivery compressor Draper. Made in China.
10 ton power PAC body work ram. Made in China.

All well worth the money and worked hard without failing. I would of liked to buy British but either could not find or afford British kit.

As for removing the bearing remains I support the bearing with a jack or on a vice and smack it sharply with a large hammer, it will shatter. Caution wear eye/face protection as the bits can fly some distance.

If the bearing has failed to the extent that it has come apart then even the best of pullers will struggle due to the heat the bearing suffered when failing.

Paul.

[Austin160]

Grinding a stub axle bearing then hammering the bearing and shaft to break the bearing. Sounds a good recipe for a slightly misaligned stub axle to me.
How many of us have bought cheap tools and perhaps used them once to good effect to get you out of trouble with an awkward job - then thrown them away when you have had your money's worth?

[The Thong]

I agree, Stick with the well known and tested brands. Not sure what Draper are like these days but I've got my nearly full set of draper tools that I've had for 30yrs. Facom are good as are Britool etc. Keep away from the cheap stuff.

[KBB]

http://www.lasertools.co.uk/product/5834/

One of the best tools I ever bought for removing nuts, bolts and bearings.

[volvoid]

Im sure its very handy, but at £1000 list (still loads real price) I'll have to give tha one a miss

[Grimble]

Get a blowtorch and heat the bearing as evenly as you can. The expansion of the inner race should make it removable even with a cheap puller.

Once the tension is on the puller, hit the screw with a hammer, the combination of tension and shock should get it moving.

But in general, quality tools are a worthwhile lifetime investment.

I have had my Britool combination spanners since my apprenticeship days, same goes for a lot of my GKN allen keys. Can't beat a Record vice. Again over 35 years old and will definitely see me out.

It also applies to drill bits and such. The difference between a quality masonry drill compared with a cheap one is a lot of sweat and effort!