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Black and Decker 7604 bearing info.

5K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  Jidis 
#1 ·
In case anybody else ends up fighting with one of these, I've recently stripped mine and repacked the bearings. Most of the online info I saw gives you proprietary B&D numbers, and I personally hate having something in a million pieces while I wait for parts, so maybe it'll help somebody to know what bearings it needs beforehand.

The ones in mine (assuming original) were both Japanese, labeled "Nachi NB". They are also both metal shielded on one side and rubber sealed on the other.

The larger one on the chuck end has 6001Z stamped in the metal, and 6001NSL in the rubber. The rubber sealed side was on the outside (nearest the chuck).

The smaller one near the brushes is 608Z in the metal shield and 608NSL in the rubber. The rubber seal is toward the inside on that one (nearest the armature).

Hope that's of use to someone. Be warned, this thing has a lot of old plastic in it. It's also got the brushes mounted inside those little Black and Decker plastic housings with the pointy Z-shaped contact pin. One of mine was already missing a chunk of plastic and the contact pin was half gone. I'll have to solder the new brushes to the contact plates, and probably reproduce the pin with solid copper wire. Hope it works. I bought that thing decades ago for dirt cheap and surprisingly grew fond of it for its compact size.
 
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#2 ·
take the old bearing to a bearing supply house and let them match and upgrade the bearings....
 
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#3 ·
#4 ·
Well, they cleaned up pretty well, and I don't usually have any trouble with removing and replacing those rubber type seals, so hopefully it'll do OK with what's already in it. I'm more concerned with the rest of it, as I'm not sure it's the quality of tool intended to be brought back to life every couple decades. I tried to make the absolute minimum amount of purchases and buy only the brushes, as the cost of two or three items would have brought it past its own value, but as mentioned, I'll be recreating part of the brush assembly.

Take Care
 
#5 ·
For the most part Craftsman, Ryobi, Skil, B&D, and a few other budget brands are throwaway when anything major goes wrong. They also tend to be hard to find parts for after a few years. Lots of people have been on the forum looking for collets and collet nuts because none are available for some of those brands. One of the issues with them is the cheap quality of parts as I pointed out with the link to your bearings. They probably buy them for about $.10 each. I've replaced some in a couple of PC sanders and they were cheap too.
 
#6 ·
For the most part Craftsman, Ryobi, Skil, B&D, and a few other budget brands are throwaway when anything major goes wrong.
Yeah, that's what stopped me from grabbing a replacement. There were a couple on eBay, but for some reason they seem to sell for about what you can get a more modern reputable tool for on Craigslist. I figure they're all the same age as mine, so they probably have the same stuff going bad. Downside is that I liked mine enough to have made quite a few jigs and baseplates for it over the years, and my Porter Cable is a bit too big for them. The 7604 base is relatively small (5.25" I think).

It's back together, but I haven't modded the brush holders yet. I'll probably know if it works by tonight. And thanks for the tip on the parts. When I looked, there seemed to be quite a few small ones in that 7xxx line which looked more rugged (metal), but it doesn't do much good if everything's unavailable.

Take Care
 
#7 · (Edited)
Well it actually works. The collet area gets pretty hot for the little time that I ran it. I'm hoping when the grease heats up and spreads around inside the bearings that'll improve (also hoping I didn't pack them too heavily). My big Rockwell table router ran really hot after I put new bearings in it too, and those were pre-greased.

The brush arrangement in this thing is a mess. The parts diagram has separate items for "brush & holder","plate,brush", and "holder,brush". I ordered what was listed as "brush & holder", but it was a raw brush with the little wire inside the spring connected to a small copper disc. I had to solder that to the old plate, along with fixing the pins on it. It would make more sense to sell the housing,brush,and plate as one unit, especially considering how poorly they hold up over time.

Also wish these people would just list the actual bearing type rather than these crazy numbers, or at least keep a cross reference list somewhere for us. I'm running into the same bearing numbers on half the stuff I've ripped up and could have just ordered several of each type to have on hand.

Take Care
 
#8 ·
The numbers are supposed to be somewhat universal but there are exceptions. The letters usually indicate the shielding and types of shielding. For example one Z should mean shielded on only one side. Also, the correct bearing number should be etched into the bearing race rather than on the shielding. Bearings are only supposed to be 40% full of grease. I read years ago that the most common cause of bearing failure is over lubrication. Friction goes up when they are too full and heat is the main cause of failure. Second of course is contamination which is why most of them we use are shielded.
 
#9 ·
Hi again Chuck!

I'm cool with the numbers you're talking about. The ones they give you on the other hand are weird. For instance, the larger 6001 bearing in this is known as a "330003-09". If they just said it was a 6001, we could get it from a million different places. I have a feeling those brushes I just bought are the same way. I've got a couple things I need to tear apart right now where I won't know what the actual bearing types are until the machine is in pieces, due to those weird manufacturer numbers. As bad as my memory is these days, it's nice being able to take something apart, replace stuff, and reassemble while the steps are still fresh in my head.

Take Care
 
#10 ·
The 6001 is the generic number that is supposed to indicate the OD, ID, and thickness. The letters are supposed to indicate whether it's shielded, one or both sides, and what the shielding material is. The other number you gave is probably B & D's part number which would be necessary for them. Like you say, you have to wait until it is apart until you know what the generic number is. I've heard that there are only 3 or 4 bearing makers in the world that actually make the rollers or balls. I also doubt that B & D makes the brushes. Whether they were specially made for them is hard to say. If B & D ordered enough of them they could be but if they weren't going to need enough to be able to do that then they would have picked an off the shelf one that was also being used elsewhere. I had an alternator go on me once on a Toyota car (the brushes I think it was) and I was in Vancouver at the time. I couldn't get the parts from a dealer without a wait but a little hole in the wall electrical shop had a look at them and he said he was pretty sure he had some like it and 4 hours later I was on the road again. Who knows what the ones he had were meant for.
 
#11 ·
If there are only a few manufacturers --My bearing house guy told me Italian were the best. Is there anyone making them in the USA? It maybe a small thing but whose bearings run our military equipment? It might seem a small thing but for the want of a nail a horseshoe was lost. for want of a horseshoe a horse was lost. for want of a horse a knight was lost and for want of a knight the battle was lost and I would hate to lose a chopper for the lack of a bearing
 
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