Plastic barn door roller

[JRLesan]

Need to 'turn' a couple of door roller 'stays' and am wondering which 'plastic material' to use; needs to be (approximately) 1-1/2" with a 3/8" thru hole. I have PVC rounds on hand but PVC is sensitive to light and gets brittle. Barn has 9 doors and the existing stays on 6 of the doors have been in place for 30 some years and have weathered well. They were originally black in color but have now weathered to gray. Suggestions???

[Mk42gunner]

No idea what the originals were made of?

Maybe try delrin.

Robert

[Shawlerbrook]

The gray schedule 80 pvc electrical conduit is supposed to be UV resistant.

[country gent]

Make a simple mould and pour then from around 60 -70 durometer poly urethane. This is a rubber like material that isnt brittle. Im assuming these are the stops that the trolley bumps against.

Moulds can be made from plastic, metal, wood, clay. Or the silicone materials. A simple mould from wood would be a center from wood the desired thickness A pice of Plexiglas on each side doweled for location. Bore/drill the hole in the wood block the size of the roller and cut a fill channel on one side.rill the axle hole thru both pieces of Plexiglas. Coat mould with release agent assemble mould use a piece of pipe and bolt to locate it. Mix material to instructions and pour into mould. when cured cut the sprue off with a sharp knife

[jsizemore]

You may be able to find boat trailer rollers that will work. The ones with a sealed roller bearing work real good. I made delrin rollers for a case annealer from round stock I got from zoro.

[MaryB]

Black delrin for outdoor use.

[Plate plinker]

Last I knew those are still available. Why not just buy some.

[JRLesan]

Because money does not grow on trees and buying them less bracket plus shipping would cost as much as buying them with bracket at $17.00 ea.
Turned 2 out of 2" gray PVC round which I had on hand which took all of 30 minutes.
Thank you for the black Delrin suggestion (Mary B) and if the PVC rots I'll go that route...

[firefly1957]

Sand cast them from lead! :kidding:

I have some White Nylon I really like for such things I have had no problems with it in the sunlight and it takes a beating . Trouble is it was scrap from work and I am not sure what it is called?

[MaryB]

Because money does not grow on trees and buying them less bracket plus shipping would cost as much as buying them with bracket at $17.00 ea.
Turned 2 out of 2" gray PVC round which I had on hand which took all of 30 minutes.
Thank you for the black Delrin suggestion (Mary B) and if the PVC rots I'll go that route...

I have used gray PVC as antenna parts... degrades and gets brittle in a structural use in 2 years of sun exposure then cracks and falls apart. Fine if it has no weight on it...

[akajun]

Delrin / nylon

[farmbif]

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/63384028

[15meter]

If you are in Michigan, there is a company that is called ALRO, they deal in specialty alloys and plastics. They have multiple locations in Michigan with retail outlets affiliated with their distribution centers. They sell "usable drops," ends cut off from custom ordered sizes. they have bins of short pieces of aluminum, brass, stainless, bronze, all manner of plastics that they sell by the pound.

Stores in Livonia, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Kalamazoo that I am aware of. I've made a fair number of ice boat parts out of "usable drops" for pennies on the dollar of prime stock prices.

They also distribute through out the Mid-west, not sure if there are retail stores in other states.

Or make them out of wood. I got tired of replacing junk chinese plastic gage wheels on the deck of my lawnmower twice a summer so I glued up blanks out of exterior pressure treated plywood and turned the profile that I needed. Finishing out the second season on them. Looks like I'll get next year also. Roller on a barn door, I suspect they would last several decades. May have to make a set for my pole barn, my rollers have been shot for several years.

It will fit right in there on the stuff to do list at #853:holysheep