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I needed some way to mount things on bearings, and lacking a lathe or milling machine, i was not having much luck finding stock steel that fit stock bearings. The ID of tubing didn't fit the OD of the bearings i wanted to use, or there was a seam. While seams can be cut out and slack space epoxied up, i wanted something more durable, professional, and repeatable. I wanted things to fit!
Fastenal to the rescue. They opened a store in town, and while they didn't stock a lot, they did have the Big Blue Catalog, and did order stuff for delivery to the store or to my residence (which i can't, due to neighbors). Reading all the two inch thick book, i found two parts which fit pretty well, a bearing 1.125 (1&1/8 inch) OD and 0.5 (1/2 inch) ID, and some 3/16 wall 1.124 ID seamless tubing! I promptly ordered some. As a side effect, the 3/16 wall is heavy enough to weld other things to, like sheaves, pulleys, sprockets, levers,, or i can mount the tubing to a bulkhead to house a bearing with a shaft thru to the other side. A longer tubing than shown below can house a bearing at each end. Note the tubing is .001 smaller ID than the bearing OD, so these are definitely press fits, and unless the bearing disintegrates, they'll stay put. Word to those accepting of words: weld and cool before trying to put the bearing in, such heat distorts and melts things, as you know.
So this is what i did to get started.
Being latheless, and knowing the bandsaw will insist on cutting to one side, I decided to spin the tubing in place while the bandsaw cut it. This way, the bandsaw could not skew the cut on the way down. The vise jaws are snug, and the blade will help the tubing rotate at unexpected times. You can barely make it out, but on the right there is a visegrip as an endstop, and i keep the tubing pushed to it.
Closeup of the cutting:
The goove cut all the way round:
Almost cut thru:
One with bearing installed into the cutoff section:
Closeup:
Just two ways to mount them: