Sony TTS-8000 Lignum Vitae Bearings.

The Eco-Preservation is a 'Bolt the Stable Door after the Horse has Bolted' approach.
Fossil fuels used to produce Steam Power had commenced replacing Water Power during the 1700's, and was successfully used until the late 1800's.
Oil was now in use to power an engine and the rest is history.
It is difficult to suggest which of these energy producing methods started the depletion of the Ozone Layer, I think it pretty much known which method sealed its fate.

Much of the consumption of energy in the last few hundred years has been to produce and transport commodities, with further energy requirements associated with supply chains and consumer activity in relation to the available mass produced products, many many which are luxury items, purchased in excess and definitely not needed essentials items.

Every individual with a ready amount of disposable income, and in pursuit of satisfying there personal indulgences and esteem, is a facilitator to the commercial ventures that are substantial contributors to the impacts on the environment that are today's well voiced concern.
 
Please stop using electrically powered equipment then, including your computer.
Before that, stop all medication, since it is also modern and scientific, made using fossil fuel products.

During the French monarchy, life expectancy was about 40 years, and by that time their teeth had fallen out.
They invented and refined perfume to hide their body odor.

Before saying something like above post, think of all the gains that have come for mankind in general in the past 200 years.

And what had that got to do with some person using a piece of scrap wood to make a bearing?
 
I once attended a British Horological Society lecture about a rebuild of Harrison (who invented the chronometer) made estate clock. The arbor bearings were Lignum Vitae and were
totally unworn. Not bad for nearly 250 years constant use outside in all weathers.
 
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It is easy to get hold of the wrong end of the stick, hence there is a saying to describe when it has happened.
It looks like to myself an individual has got hold of the 'wrong end of the stick'.

How about, something like Clean Water and Clean Air is Vital to a Healthy Planet.
How about, Organisms that are only able to reproduce in 1% of the Oceans are responsible for producing 50% of the Oxygen needs for the entirety of the Planets Oxygen Dependant Life Forms.
How about, the daily continuance of Polluting Waterways, Seas and Oceans with residuals from items produced by the use of Fossil Fuels as the power source.
How about, it is inevitable something that is such need of special care and receiving so little, is going to be come fragile, is able to break, and the fallout as a result and the time required to create a repair is an unknown.
Funny how when COVID was rife, such a simple commodity as Oxygen was in very short supply to treat the worse cases of the Virus.

Electricity has been a curiosity for Hundreds of years, this is well documented, it has been utilised for Human purposes since the early 1700's and the endless development for the use of it is with the Human Race for a very long time.
Hopefully if the methods that are to evolve will consider all life forms on the Planet and become very beneficial to their existence.

The idea of stopping using Electricity is ludicrous, efficient low impact methods to produce and use electricity is the future, especially as means of producing power.
 
Depont was incorporated as a Company approx' 220 years ago, and Nestle approx' 156 years ago.
They certainly started out not knowing the Global Impact, that there production would contribute.
As Health and Safety Laws for the workplace commenced from around the latter quarter of the 1800's, both were becoming quite educated on the issues relating to occupational health.
After a 150 years of Occupational Health Laws commencing to be formed, there are still a lot of individuals suffering from afflictions that relate to this.
Both Companies are now very aware of there Operational Impact on the Planet.
I am not seeing these Brands as named Spearheads of creating changes that are beneficial to the environment and worthy of adopting, as a good practice for all competitors to comply to.

I am sure the methods used for protecting the bottom line are mimicked throughout all areas of industry.
 
I have heard some apparent benefits from a turntable bearing that incorporated some timber elements, so look forward to hearing about your results. I applaud your investigation of alternative methods. It will not suit everyone's tastes, peferences and scientific sensibilities. Best wishes sir.
 
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Apparently the LV wood has natural wax and oil, self lubricating, though a chronometer that is 250 years old would have been serviced and lubed at least once in a decade.
I have no idea of what part is metal, and which metal.
Today, a cheap quartz watch will match it for accuracy, if kept in a constant temperature area.
And the GPS clocks are far more accurate.

Still. good for such an old machine.

Jaipur has an observatory, a sun dial there has 2 seconds accuracy, about 90 feet tall, seen it myself, at least 250 years old also.
 
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The Harrison estate clock was not a chronometer. It was a large 4 sided clock mounted on a tower so all on the estate could see the time. As far as I know it wasnt ever serviced
it just kept running. It was only taken down and dismantled so a copy could be made. I think LV does have natural lubrication qualities which is why Harrison used it. The bearings
in his chronometers were very much smaller so had to be of brass and needed lubrication which was usually whale oil.
 
Lovely thread. I'm off to buy a bowling ball. I assume they're all lignum vitae? I imagine the postage is a bit steep. And nice to see another Hobbymat. But I see it has its original (and awful) tool post. I suffered that for a week before replacing it with a four-way post. That lasted twenty years until I saw a Dickson quick change post plus four holders at a sensible price. Fitting the Dickson meant losing the Hobbymat's top slide, so I made the fitting for the Dickson so that it used all the existing fittings for the old top slide. In theory, four screws allow me to put the top slide and its four-way post back on. In practice, it took three years before that happened for one job, and the Dickson went back on afterwards.
 
I went for the Dickson for the ease of setting centre height. I just drop a holder in, use it, drop another in, and use it. No mucking about with shims. However, it ends up being expensive in tool holders. The Dickson now has ten holders fully occupied and the larger lathe has twenty two fully occupied holders at the last count.

I've just discovered that bowling balls are made of all sorts of materials. But wood can be found. And if you're going to saw it up, you don't mind it being a bit tatty.
 
I suspect having the grain vertical will be better as it will be more likely to wick lubricant in that direction. Conversely, having horizontal grain would force one diameter to be end grain and the one at right angles to be side grain, which would probably wear and machine differently. But the thread starter seems to have given the whole thing a good deal of thought, and opted for vertical grain too.
 
Almost all wood is (slightly) lower density than water and floats. Materials are specified by relative density (relative to water), and although it's not the preferred measure, grammes per cubic centimetre is convenient. Thus, we have most woods <1, water = 1, aluminium and most glass 2.7, steel, copper, and brass = 8.9, lead = 11.3. There are denser materials, but they're uncommon. Anything having a relative density > 1 sinks, < 1 and it floats. It's quite surprising, you get used to the density of metals, so if you're handed a piece of tungsten (I've forgotten the relative density), you notice it as being unusually heavy.
 
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