[ATM] flex rocker azimuth stickiness

[Jay Kirkland <jaykirk2@compusmart.ab.ca>]

    I've no experience with a small tri but I did have a couple hundred 
lb 20" Obsession-style that moved smoothly with teflon and  ebony star. 
Did you do the Kriege/Berry weight/size of bearing calculation for 4 
instead of 3 bearings?  And could you be getting extra friction from the 
keeper bearings? Are the bearings sitting flat under the flex rocker?
    On the re-build of the 20, I didn't even consider teflon - just went 
straight to sealed ball bearings. I used 4 sets of three bearings each, 
a bolt with it's head cut off for the axle. Instead of ebony star, I 
used 1/16" aircraft grade aluminum. That was a mistake. It works fine, 
but it was too hard to router into a ring w/o losing a whole lot of 
weight (in sweat that was scared out of me). If you go to an aluminum 
ring, use regular 6061, maybe a bit thicker, and cut it in several 
passes with an upcut spiral bit, preferably with a 1/2" shank to help 
with the heat, and - very important - NOT carbide tipped. I built a 
friction brake (just a bit of teflon on a wooden block)  for it that I 
can tension down to control the friction, but with just ball bearings 
all around, it moves pretty much identically to my 12" regular Dob, so I 
haven't had to use it. Maybe on a windy night. If it ever clears up 
around here. Picture of the 20 with it's little siblings at 
http://tech.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/eqplatforms/photos/view/fded?b=14
but I think you have to sign in to get to the photos section.
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