Effects of Steel Hardness On Wear

What about lubrication (b)? Brass and whitemetal have traditionally been used in combination as bearing materials on steel journals on rail vehicles, until the relatively recent application of the roller bearing, that is. Brass and whitemetal are both soft, and the application of grease, in early axleboxes, and oil, in later ones, is what stops the bearing from wearing away.

The grease once used was made from animal fat. Once the train was underway and the grease had begun to warm up a bit, it must have smelled a bit like a roast dinner as it went by!

General practice is a hard pin and a soft bush.... phos' bronze, white metal, sintered bronze etc...that way you only need to replace one part when it wears.

There are probably other good reasons too.

You can contact V.W. Kaiser for the best ratio as they produce kits that out last the competition by 4-5 times. They also have several patented bushing designs. We just started to produce some top plates for there kits.

V.W. Kaiser 888-854-6474

The rule of thumb is to have a difference of at least 100 Brinell points.

Load direction is critical. The hardest component should be the one that is subject to the "rotating" load. The hardest component should also be as geometrically perfect and smooth as possible. As the joint "wears in" the soft material conforms to the harder material forcing it to match the profile harder component. This increases the "perfect" contact area reducing the contact stress on the softer material. If the diameter of the joint is sufficiently large, or the softer material sufficiently hard, the joint will reach equilibrium and the rate of continued wear will drop of to near zero.