So a while back I replaced the blade bearings in our cheap-after-rebate Farberware blender: a $20 pack of ten bearings (5 repairs!) from eBay for a $15 mixer.
[Update: They’re 6 mm ID x 13 mm OD x 5 mm thick.]
Of course, it turned into a shop project. I added spacers that held the shaft in the right position by eliminating some vertical play, dripped Loctite around the housing to fasten the outer races in place, silicone-lubed the seals, and generally did the last few dollars of engineering & manufacturing they couldn’t afford in a cheap blender.
The blender now works better than it ever did before. It used to emit a horrible whining rattle and didn’t have much go-power. Now, while it’s not silent, it whirs solidly and engages the pancake batter with a vengeance.
Blood no longer runs out of our ears…
I think the original bearings were crap quality, badly sealed, poorly mounted, and failed so fast we never knew how the mixer should behave. Grumble, etc.
Now that I know what to do, the next four repairs should go much quicker. If, indeed, the new bearings ever fail. The old ones were, IIRC, “dishwasher safe”, but I think that is a cruel hoax from the Planned Obsolescence & Early Failure Department. We’re rinsing the blade assembly by hand now.
If I thought spending more on a blender would get better bearings, I’d probably still buy cheap-after-rebate ones just for the quality shop time…
Memos to self: left-hand shaft thread, slightly shorter bottom extension, make stainless hardware.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 