Originally Posted by ecotourist
My dad who was born in 1903 talked about using leather to make bearings. And I'm pretty sure he was talking about main and rod bearings. I don't know how long those "bearings" lasted, but they worked for a while. And if you have little money and lots of time, why not? I expect he was talking about life in the '30s during the great depression.
They also renewed bearings using molten lead but I'm not clear how that was done.
No doubt those were for low RPM, low stress engines for vehicles that weren't expected to go very fast. I remember a friend who was upset because I drove his +/- 1950 Studebaker home at 60 MPH. He thought 50 was a more appropriate top speed. Hence the common expression in our area "going like 60".
My first job in HS was at an antique Ford parts shop. The owner showed me how to rebuild early flathead V8s and Model A motors. Pouring bearings was fun, he always did that part, but then I'd use a line bore with a sharp bit precisely positioned to manually cut out the bearings to the proper clearances. It was really interesting. I'm assuming not many people left do that these days