How is this best achieved? I did so and the bearings are not new smooth. They will work but not as long as intended. Are the skate shops equipped to do so?
The bore being tight I would think would prevent it from going in misaligned? Could it have gotten damaged pressing it into place?
No, beating it in with running around the periphery to keep aligned. There has to be a better way. Do skate shops have the right tools?
As long as you only hit on the outer race that method shouldn’t damage the bearing. A better way would be a hydraulic press but I don’t think any skateshop will have that.
1 Like
If you grab a 21mm or 27mm od socket (not the size but it’s actual od) and tap it in with a rubber mallet it will be less likely to miss strike and damage the bearings. Otherwise a press is the only other way i can think of to press a bearing into place
2 Likes
what i did with the onsra 115’s which have a really tight bearing seat is squeeze them on by putting one bearing on the axle and then the wheel, then i’d put the other bearing on and tighten down the nut. usually work pretty good
1 Like
I stuck to the outer race, and still did enough damage to hear it when I spin.
That sounds good, but that is a lot of jacking side thrust. directly on the race surface.
well they still spun normally after i inserted them so i went with it 
1 Like
I thought this question was about removing them. For that a close fit to 8mm like 5/16in rod with a blunt end can be used to tap the bearing out from the inside. I imagine if you mess up and put integrated spacer bearings in a metal core skate wheel then you need to ruin the bearings to get them out.
it was but someone else mentioned something about putting them back in which i responded to.
if i had to take bearings out the onsra wheels, i just tapped em out with a hammer and punch but at that point, i was replacing them anyways. probably not great for the seat but
Yes, all removals should be considered throw aways. You have to get brutal sometimes to get them out. While still being careful to not cock them on the way out.
An arbor press with adequate throat clearance, and an appropriately sized press die would be the easiest way to install bearings into a tight fitting seat.
For removal, yeah, tapping it out works fine if you can get the tools to where they need to be.
3 Likes