Badger Anthem needle bearing

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

Hi guys,

Well I finally registered to FSM so this is my first post but I have to say that this is definately the friendliest and most helpful forum on modeling that I have ever seen. You guys have definitely helped me recharge my addiction after a 20 year hiatus! The only bad thing about it is that my bank account has taken a beating!

Well, on to my question.

While giving my 155 a thorogh cleaning the other day, my $%*@# needle bearing fell out. I stuck a pipe cleaner saturated with LQ through the air passage (are you not supposed to do that?) and the little white piece of plastic landed on my table. I know Badger says to send the AB back to them and they will replace it free of charge but I’m right in the middle of a project and would hate to have my precious brush be away for 2-3 weeks! So I did what any self-respecting modeller would do…try to fix it myself. I carefully pushed the bearing back into the the passage with a wire so it fit snuggly towards the front of the brush. Now, I have no idea if its in the right place or not but I did notice that I was getting a little pulsing on my next session. Not terribly bad, but bad enough that I know I will probably have to send it in sometime.

Any suggestions on a quick fix (MikeV!) ? Maybe trying to reposition the bearing before sending it in? Not being an idiot and pushing an oversized pipe cleaner through the passage next time?[oops]

By the way, just finished my home-built spraybooth (Thanks for all the help and knowledge Styrene!) and will to post some pics of it once I figure out how to do that.

Thanks for any help guys!

Dave

2

The needle bearing is made of Teflon and should be pushed in till it seats. Use a tooth pick and cut off the end to the same size as the outer diameter of the bearing and push it into the passage until it stops. The reason your airbrush is pulsing is because the bearing is loose.

3

Thanks for the quick reply Tyamada

One question though. I’m guessing by your answer that the bearing should be pushed in through the front of the airbrush. I did push it back in, but I pushed it through the back of the airbrush with a long wire. Should I try getting it back out and push it through the head side?

Thanks

4

Yes, send it to Badger! [:D]

5

Yes, The needle bearing does go in from the front. No, You should not put a pipe cleaner or other foriegn object through the airbrush body - the needle bearing is made to a size that seals it around the needle anything larger in diameter will pop it out. Badger turns repairs around in about 48 hours - I’ve even known them to send out loaners in cases like yours where someone has “deadline”. You may want to conatct them. They are a top notch service company.

Kosmonot out