Pieter,
If the bearings that you refer to are these, on either side of the hatch, then I turned up them on a lathe. For the shaft I used high tensile 1/4" UNF Counter sunk screws. I can imagine that there will be those who wouldn't agree with using these as the shaft but firstly, one, is not going to be constantly opening and shutting the hatch and secondly it was to help with getting the free play for the bearing right before welding. Also the load is taken on the shaft and on the taper of the head. I taped the receiving arm 1/4" UNF, then put the bearing on the shaft, screwed it in and nipped it up.
I then ground the end of the shaft that pertruded out of the receiving arm flush and disassembled it all. Then grind a taper on the end of the shaft for the weld to catch in. Grease and Reassemble it all, adjust the end play so that the bearing isn't too tight or too loose, weld the shaft in place and grind flush.
Sorry if that was teaching Granny to suck eggs, but I hope that it helps.
Jonathan
|