>OK - I have this cast iron tractor seat that I want to make into an outdoor chair. I have this hackberry tree (see, there is a nexus here)growing a 45 degree angle out over the river. The top is busted out so I'm going to cut it off and put the tractor seat on the stump (it will be a great view). The trick is that I want the tractor seat to swivel, but am having trouble coming up with the requisite bit of hardware. Any ideas? (on the swivel hardware, not on the tractor seat over the river concept - let a guy get creative, sheeze).
>Although my main use for these is tool holders, rotating soldering stages and positioning engravers blocks under microscopes, I'd recommend using either the 9" or 12" lazy susan from Lee Valley. Very cheap (I think I paid $6.50 for the larger one) and very strong (750 and 1000 lbs, respectively)*. The trick, esp. for outdoor use, is to pack the bearing channel with a good grease for protection and long life, which also damps the bearings for a smooth ride.
More than one way to grease the channel, but I use either of the following:
a) Remove the top plate by progressively prying off the rim of the lower plate. Using something like a stub screwdriver with the sharp edges eased a bit, loosen this until you can gently spring off the top plate. Do this over a blanket or rug where you can trap the little steel balls, of course. Pack a good heavy grease into the channel and goop up the bearings while you're at it. At least they'll stick around instead of flying all over the place. Pry the rim of the bottom plate a bit wider so you can more easily fit the top plate again. Depending on the thickness of the grease, you may wish to remove one ball, which is easily done when you usually lose one as I do (don't worry, you'll find it soon enough when you are barefoot). Replace the top rim. Be sure you have all the bearings in the channel and not caught under the rim. Then, over a stake of engrain wood (more forgiving than an anvil if you're not used to doing this sort of thing, lightly roll the rim back over the top plate with the cross pein side of a forging hammer (or a Warrington hammer if you don't have metalworking stuff). A mallet and wide punch (wood, plastic, whatever) will work, too. I like to work the compass rose; N,S,E,W, then NE, SW, NW, SE, and so on, to keep things even. Just don't pinch anything down too tight and you're in business.
b) With a jeweler's saw, cut a flap in the top plate large enough to shake the balls through when you bend it back. Inject grease into the channel while rotating the plate. Reinsert the balls. Fold down the flap and fasten it with a patch of your devising (epoxy and just about anything).
*Lee Valley also has an assortment of other LS bearings for barstools, etc., but I prefer these (which also come in smaller sizes than 9", perhaps suitable for someone of not so formidable avoirdupois as myself).
>I don't know, think I'd be tempted to forget the tractor seat and carve a chair out of the tree. Besides, the tractor seat probably doesn't have a back and you should be able to sell it for big bucks to some hurting cross-country biker. :)
>You could also do something like Lee Grindinger did with the lazy suzan he made for a table center. The center was a tapered (Timkin) wheel bearing and had some outrigger wheels for it to ride on.
>Be sure to attach a small diameter cable to the seat and anchor it to a stake on shore. You'll need it to pull the seat out of the creek when the stump rots off. Hackberry doesn't hold up well to moisture unless it's alive.
>2 stainless steel plates with a stainless pin welded into one and passed thru a hole in the other.Bolt the pin plate to the seat(obviously)and the other to the stump.Place a large diameter washer made of nylon,Delrin or UHMW plastic between the plates and either the stump or the seat will rot away before you have to worry about the bearing not turning freely.
This is what we do for this type of bearing in a salt water environment.Should work till your greatgrandkids get tired of it.
