[johnbryanpeters]

I tried to look this up and failed...

 

[englertracing]

Looks like metal ball bearings go back to the 1740s
So who knows precisely when they got covers
Or even modernish looking shields and seals

 

[maxyedor]

Earliest patent I can find is 1921, which seems about right based on tearing apart old machinery to replace bearings

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Earliest patent I can find is 1921, which seems about right based on tearing apart old machinery to replace bearings

Do you happen to have the patent number?

 

[Jm_]

Is he referring to tapered bearings, or roller-bearings?

 

[Westy]

This question keeps spinning around in my head. It is quite a load to bear. Hopefully someone can turn things around.

 

[slimshady]

I hope someone races up with the answer so we can seal this up as soon as possible.

 

[jstuhlman]

someone needs to dive balls deep into this question or else it's gonna spin out of control

 

[canadmos]

It would be a shame if this topic rolled into obscurity.

 

[slimshady]

Going against my basic thread derrailing insticts, what I found was the original bearing patent from Sven Wingquist had seals incorporated in 1907.

 

[maxyedor]

Do you happen to have the patent number?

Gotta do more reading when I get back to a computer, looking at the diagram this may not be exactly what You’re talking about, and not a modern seal. https://patents.google.com/patent/US1457584

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Interesting that the evolution of roller bearings as we know them was from addressing issues of shaft misalignment.