Pressing in bearings, what lubricant?

[Richyvrlimited]

I've recently purchased a 20ton press and it's a revelation!

Might be a bit of a basic question, so apologies, but what lubricant should I use when pressing a bearing in? I tried some silicone spray and it seemed to be a bit 'sticky' when pressing the bearing in rather than it going in smoothly.

Would general 3in1 or engine oil be OK, or copperslip, or is there something specific i should use?

Many thanks

[Richyvrlimited]

Cheers fellas, much appreciated.

I'll try a smear of copperslip seeing as i have it to hand, it can't hurt I guess.

I've been freezing the bearings too, as I heard that helps. though it did then promptly freeze onto my fingers once I got it out of the wrapper!

[Richyvrlimited]

Mr2Mike said:

Don't bother; the particles of copper in copper grease can't possibly fit between a bearing and the housing if they are a press fit. Copper grease is an anti-seize compound, not a fitting lubricant.

If the bearing is going into the housing in short jumps rather than smoothly, it's almost certainly down the rigidity of your press and the workpiece. The bearing housing needs to be supported very rigidly around the circumference of the bearing.

Noted, cheers.

On one particular bearing I pressed in it did go in, in short jumps as you state. The press is an eBay sourced 20ton job. There's no pressure gauge and it looks like it just uses a bottle jack from a lorry.

The frame does seem to flex a bit when under a fair bit of load, so I guess it's that, I'm not sure how I could improve it's rigidity though....

Many thanks for the info!