Best way to remove press fit bearings from 1/16" aluminum tubing?

I need to remove a press-fit 1/2 inch hex flanged bearing from one side of a 1x2x1/16" rectangular aluminum tube with bearings in the center of both of the 2 inch sides. What’s the best way to do this? The bearings were pressed in with an arbor press and the holes were CNC milled to exactly 1.125". Is our best bet to put something through the bore of one bearing and against the inner race of the second one to press it out? We have been trying this and haven’t had much luck so far.

In my experience, this would be your best bet. Make sure you support the outer wall as well, so that you don’t deform the aluminum if you press too hard. You may need to use that arbor press again.

In my experience, you want to put a flat bar into the tube to spread out the load to the outer race. A slice of ~1.3”ID tube under the tube is also a good idea.

You shouldn’t press on the inner race to press it out. That puts all the force on the balls. (Unless you are not reusing them.)
You should only press on the outer race when pressing.
Make up a round washer type plate with a recesses in the middle to only touch the outer race.

If the hole for the bearing is exactly 1.125", the press fit would be quite light. If you heat the parts (oven, torch) the aluminum will expand faster than the steel, and the bearing will fall right out.

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Tried this first and it worked great. When you’re holding a blowtorch, every problem looks flammable :grin:

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It can’t be tight if it’s liquid, right? :rofl:

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