The first known ball bearing was found when excavating a vessel from the Nemi lake outside Rome in the 1930s. It was a thrust bearing designed to carry a turntable for a statue on one of emperor Caligula's ships, and dates to around 50 A.D. The bearing washers were made of wood and the upper washer, equipped with bronze balls with stub shafts on each side, rotated on the lower washer. The balls were mounted in recesses and not freely rotating as in modern bearings, but constrained by the stub shafts and straps over them.

   The modern bearings
Almost 2000 years after the early Roman bearing, Scicluna Enterprises offer the Maltese islands the latest latest invention in bearings, providing the perfect soloution to all any mechanical need.

   Scicluna Enterprises offers bearings in the following types:  ball bearings, bearing accessories, mounted bearings, roller bearings, sleeve bearings and special bearing types.  Scicluna Enterprisesis capable of meeting your bearing needs with products from the world's leading bearing manufacturer SKF. Scicluna Enterprises are proud to be Authorised Reprsentives for SKF. Contact us today for more information.
 
 

   Loose ball bearings are often found in earlier model motorcycles and bicycles. Found in virtually all moving mechanisms, bearings are hardly given a thought until something starts to grind -- or falls apart. Unlike caged or roller bearings, which are enclosed in a casing, loose ball bearings float freely between metal cups, or "races." Most are commonly found in older applications, loose bearings are used to maintain proper tolerances between two or more moving pieces of a rotating part, such as steering mechanisms or wheels. Since they are not secured inside a housing, loose bearings must be inserted one at a time.

   Apply a generous coat of bearing grease to both sides of the bottom bearing race by using your fingers. Insert the race into position, with the ridges on the grooves facing outward. If the tolerances are so close the race will not slide in place freely, tap the race into position with a wooden dowel, of the same diameter as the race, by tapping it with a rubber mallet. Check to ensure the race is seated evenly around the entire circumference of the installation point.

   Grease one ball bearing at a time and place each one in the groove of the race by using your fingers. Insert the bearing by using a pair of forceps or tweezers if the area is too small to reach with your fingers. Set the bottom bearing in place first, if working with a vertical surface. Stack the bearings up along each side of the race, and alternate placing bearings along the left and right sides of the race.

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Coat the top race with grease and insert the race with its grooves facing inward, creating a channel for the bearings between the two races.