This is a member of the Workshop Practice Series of books that all set a very high standard and although they are primarily aimed at the model engineer, provide information that can be applied to full scale engineering projects and help the novice to understand technology and manufacturing processes. Many will think of ball bearings when the subject is discussed. The ball bearing system is ubiquitous and applied to an enormous range of machines, great and small, but is just one of several types of bearing. The author begins by explaining that a bearing is the point where two surfaces are connected together in a machine. Until the Industrial Revolution, the most common bearing was the wheel hub on wagon or carriage. This simple rotary bearing might be a wooden wheel on a wooden shaft, where the plain surfaces were lubricated by animal fat. The low speed of a wagon drawn by humans or other animals could be served adequately by this simple form of bearing. The Industrial Revolution introduced a rapidly expanding range of machines that required higher speed bearings and introduced more complex combinations of forces. There was also a need to build bearings that could operate in the marine environment and which needed to be waterproof. Over a period of two centuries, bearing design has been forced to keep pace with emerging technologies that require ever more sophisticated bearings. The model engineer faces all of the challenges of a full scale engineer, with the added challenge of building very small bearings that may operate at very high scale speeds and under extreme forces. These demanding bearings also have to operate for proportionately longer periods without any human intervention, particularly when used in radio controlled models. The author has explained in easy to understand descriptions which bearings are most suitable for specific applications and then gone on to describe the design and manufacturing processes and the maintenance of bearings. His clear text is ably supported by some very effective illustration, using a mixture of drawings and photographs. This is a book which is exceptionally good value for money and an essential part of any model engineer's library. It will also make a first class guide to bearings for any practical engineer and an ideal book for those learning about technology and the application of machines - firetrench.com.
