Sanders gone bust

[novocaine]

I've done it a few times, normally because the bearing isn't available for 3-6 weeks or pay day is 3 weeks away or there is a race on the next day and it's 8pm, at night (done this a few times, normally for someone else though).
not normally on something covered in saw dust though I have to admit, normally it's a bike bearing. plastic cages are your friend, you can normally pop them out and split the bearing, at which point cleaning becomes a simply matter. for those that can't be split, as Bawb says, degreaser, compressed air, about an 1/2 hour.

if you have the option of getting a new bearing, do that.

now, are you 100% sure on the 7mm width? I ask because CW bearings (name is stamped on the seal) don't make a bearing in 1600 series of those dimensions.

 

[AES]

+1. My own experience is much the same as above. You CAN clean bearings out (especially if the cover is plastic) but it does take a long, long, time and although a good clean will "get you through" for a while it's not really a long-term solution. Better (and much quicker) to replace with new - and if you try and price your time for cleaning, MUCH cheaper too.

 

[swb58]

All manufacturers use off the shelf bearings, they don't design something then ask a bearing maker to make something to their own requirements.
It's only recently I found out that the same size bearing lets the brushes rotate on an old upright Hoover and is also used in the motor of a Flymo mower.

 

[Dokkodo]

Glad I remembered to come back and look at this.

I didnt give them a super deep clean but I took the seals off, whizzed them with air and wd40 for a while a couple of times each way, bit of lube and put the seals back on, they are working ok so far but i didnt expect them to go on too long again, and having read all that now i definitely dont.

Yup mine are definitely 7mm - the cleverest measuring device i have says so. Maybe they are easier to come by China, i imagine thats where they and the sander are both made or assembled...

Sunnybob - I did see those bearings on that page also, but they look to be a different type, ie not sealed. Is that ok, are the seals on that page compatible with that bearing and on the same page for that very reason? I know nothing of bearings

Seals, on the other hand...

we can thank the google algorithms for taking us on that journey

 

[sunnybob]

pointing in the right direction is fine, but giving yes / no advice from a distance is a mugs game with possibly disastrous results. I believe they will fit, but I'm not there to see and hold them.
Email the company on the link I gave you, tell them the numbers on your bearing and what its used for. ask them for suitable replacements. Thats their job.